In Full Bloom (Second Chances 1)

As he finished chewing, he said, “This is amazing. Thank you so much. I know how much that little lumpy thing cost, but I have to say, totally worth it.”

They sipped their wine and took their time as they ate the decadent meal. When they were done, she pushed away from the table and grabbed her plate.

He raised his hand and said, “No. No. Seriously. Sit down. You just made me the best meal I’ve ever eaten. You’re not doing the dishes. Sit. I’ve got them. Do you want more wine?”

He rose when she shook her head and picked up the plates. Within a few minutes, he had the dishes in the dishwasher and joined her in the living room. She was lying on the couch, her hand on her stomach, completely relaxed.

He smirked and said, “That’s okay. I’ll just take the chair.”

She smiled and said, “No. I’ll sit up.”

“I’ve got a better idea. Lean up for a second,” he asked.

When she complied, he slid into the seat and then pulled her gently back so her head rested on his leg. He stroked his hand through her hair and said, “Thank you again. That meal was indescribable.”

“The whole day has been filled with a lot of indescribable,” she agreed as her eyes slid closed.

“I had no idea you could cook like that. You’ve never made me a bad meal before, but that was outstanding, baby. What other secrets are you hiding? Tell me something else I don’t know about you.”

Her eyes flickered open and she said, “You first.”

Just like that they were sharing little bits of themselves. They sat there for hours, just talking. He had never felt that close to another human being than he did in that moment.

Around eleven, she started to make noises about going back to her apartment. When he asked her to stay the night, she hesitated.

“I’ve got an early staff meeting. I’m getting up at 5:30.”

“Ouch,” he said with a wince. “I’ll just set the alarm, Princess.”

Her face somewhat incredulous, she asked, “Really?”

“Really,” he said. “Stay with me.”

* * * *

The silence in the SUV was deafening. They had just dropped off Jamie and Cora. Under normal circumstances, he would have expected to be taunted the whole way home. The Panthers had utterly destroyed the Hawks. They had been going back and forth over it the whole week.

He had a pretty good idea of what was currently weighing on her mind, though. He couldn’t blame her. It was on his mind, too.

r /> They had gone in search of food and the restrooms during the first intermission. With an armload of food and drinks, he had gone looking for her. When he finally spotted her, she’d been standing outside the exit to the ladies room having a heated discussion with a guy about her own age.

She hadn’t seemed at all pleased to be there, so he had headed toward them. Even over the loud conversations from the hockey fans around them, he managed to catch a small snippet of the discussion as he had approached them.

“Wow. You put on some weight, Tare.”

Little asshole. He’d been ready to haul off and deck the guy at that point. Hell, it made him angry even now. The comment had been purposefully mean. Also, fucking stupid, he acknowledged. Taryn was gorgeous.

Evan had managed to restrain his temper at the time but there was no way a comment like that could be allowed to slide. Before he’d been able to open his mouth to speak, she had told the kid to fuck off.

When he heard her reply, though, he realized there was some definite history between the two. She’d basically told him that he didn’t get to speak to her that way anymore. Which would mean that he’d been allowed to talk to her like that at some point.

The guy had opened his mouth to respond, but had spotted him, and apparently thought better of it. Evan had been none too friendly, and also towered over him by at least six inches. When Evan had made the suggestion that he walk the fuck away, quickly, the asshole had taken the advice.

As they had walked back to their seats, he didn’t say anything else about it. She was obviously shaken. He had wanted to press the issue, then and there, but realized that it wasn’t the time or place.

The closer they got back to their seats, the more the tension had drained out of her shoulders. By the end of the game, she’d been on her feet, screaming just like everyone else had been. Well, except for Jamie and himself. The Panthers had scored two goals in under a minute with only four minutes left in the period.

Taryn tended to bottle things up. This time would be no exception, he realized, if the complete silence was any indication. The tension was almost unbearable in the car.