“I can understand that. I would miss the ice, and I won’t ask you not to go. I would never keep you from fulfilling your dreams. I’m just worried.”
“Worried?” I ask, confused as I gaze up into his eyes. “What do you have to be worried about?”
“That you’ll find something better in New York, or you’ll realize you love it there more.”
“If you’re not there, I can’t love it.”
He presses his lips together. “So maybe, I should help out with that. I can ask to be traded—”
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. You’ve strived to play for the Assassins. I’m not asking you to trade to a team you won’t like.”
“It would help the salary space here if your mom let me go—”
“I won’t let her,” I promise, my eyes searching his. “When I’m done performing, I don’t want to live in New York. I love living here. I want to buy a house here. I want to raise our kids here and grow old here. I love Nashville.”
His eyes are full of apprehension. “I’m scared you won’t come back.”
I cup his face. “Aiden, where you are is where I am.” I chuckle a little but with no humor. “What is this? You’ve never been like this. You’ve got me. I’m going nowhere.”
He pauses for a second. “I know I’ll never love anyone the way I love you, and it makes me insecure. You make me fucking crazy, and while I want you to live your dreams, I want to be right there to make sure I’m still good enough for you.”
I eye him. “Aiden,” I say as a breath, shrugging my shoulders. “You are it for me.” I cup his jaw, running my thumb along his bottom lip. “Nothing, and I mean nothing or no one, can come between us but our insecurities. It’s you and me, Aiden. That’s it.”
He swallows hard, cupping me by the back of my neck. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I agree, a grin pulling at my lips. “So, you’re still going to marry me?”
“Absolutely. I’ll marry you every day, Shelli Grace. As long as there is a seat for me front row on opening night.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “That seat belongs to no one but you.”
Our lips meet then, both of us smiling as we hold each other close.
Just the way I love us to be.
Chapter 7
Aiden
I slide my fingers along the nape of Shelli’s neck, my lips moving with hers. I pull away only slightly, my lips still touching hers as I whisper, “I want to eat a meal together, on FaceTime, every day.”
Her lips turn up, slowly, and she nods. “Sounds great. And we cannot go more than two weeks without seeing each other. Even if it’s only for a night. Last time, we went a month, and I about went crazy.”
“Agreed,” I say, kissing her top lip. “We’ll need to sync our calendars and really keep up with it.”
“Smart. And at least two nights of phone sex a week.”
I waggle my brows at her. “And seven days at the most.”
Her lips tip up. “My thoughts exactly. Where are we on the house issue? Are we going to stay in the apartment or buy a house?”
“I’d still like to find our dream home but not be so insane about it.”
“Okay. We’ll tell the real estate agent what we want and settle for nothing else.”
“Solid plan. And you’ll stay in an apartment in New York since you told your dad to sell his place?” I ask.
She side-eyes me at my dry tone. “That’s fine with me.” She cups my jaw, her face changing as she grins happily at me. “See? We can do this.”
“Of course we can. I just don’t want to,” I admit honestly. “I want you all to myself.”
She leans into me. “I’m yours.”
I take her mouth with mine and draw the kisses out of her, slowly but with hunger. I cup her ass in one hand, my other hand holding her hip as our kisses turn more and more desperate. She stops the kiss first, her eyes opening just as mine do. “We’re an awesome team, Aiden. Nothing can touch us. I promise. I also promise never to withhold information again, but I can’t promise that another part won’t come up that I’ll want to do.”
I swallow hard, getting lost in her blue eyes. “I want whatever you want, but I do have a question.”
Her eyes search mine. “Yeah?”
“I was under the impression you wanted kids.”
Something moves in her eyes. Fear? I’m not sure, but she presses her hands to my chest, leaning into them as she gazes up into my eyes. “I have dreamed of marrying you my whole life, and when I was younger, even into my teenage years, I was convinced we would have a huge family. I want that, and I know it may seem that since everyone else is popping out kids, I’d want one now too. But I want us first. I want us to know each other inside and out. I want to enjoy us before we settle down and have kids. But, yes—God, yes—Aiden, I want your babies.”