Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100661 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“You think it won’t be renewed? But you’re the best player on the team!”
He laughed. “I’m not, although I appreciate the compliment. And it might very well be renewed. Or I could get an offer from another team.”
“Another team?” For a moment, I wondered what would happen if he was offered a better contract somewhere else—somewhere far, like Seattle or Anaheim or Vancouver. He’d have to go, wouldn’t he?
My face must have given me away because Joe reached out and touched my shoulder. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, okay?”
“Okay.” This was why, I reminded myself. This was why it was best not to get attached.
“So what’s coming up for you?” he asked.
“Well, I have my big fundraising event in two weeks, and—”
“The one about the bootleggers?”
I laughed. “Yes. I’m excited because ticket sales have been very good. Now we just need donors to bring their checkbooks and channel their Christmas spirit a little early.”
“Hey, speaking of Christmas, I have a couple days off then,” he said. “I’ll be up in Michigan. Can I see you?”
“Of course.” My heart fluttered. “Just let me know when.”
“I’m flying up on Christmas Eve, and I have to go back the twenty-sixth.”
“Wow. They don’t give you much time.”
He shook his head. “Nope. If you’re too busy, I understand.”
“We usually do Christmas Eve at my dad’s house.”
“My siblings do Christmas Eve with their in-laws, so my parents always host everyone on Christmas Day.”
“I could drive down,” I offered. “As long as I wouldn’t be intruding.”
“Are you kidding? My mother would probably rather see you than me. You’re all she asks me about.”
I laughed. “She’s been so sweet to me. She calls or texts me every week to see how I’m doing.”
“See? They’d love to have you there.”
“Okay.” My car appeared in front of the building. “That’s me,” I said, wishing the valet had been a little slower.
Joe pulled me in close, wrapping his arms around me. “Drive carefully. And let me know when you get home.”
“I will.” I stayed right where I was, enjoying the warm, safe cocoon of his embrace. The solid bulk of his chest against my cheek.
“Thanks for coming down here,” he said.
“Thanks for inviting me.”
He released me slightly and pressed his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes, willing the lump in my throat to go away. Crying would be pointless and embarrassing.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said.
Because what other promise could he make?
I drove straight to Ari’s house and let myself in the back door. I found her in the kitchen, stirring something in a big pot on the stove. The aroma made my mouth water.
“Hey,” she said. “You’re back.”
“I’m back. Is Dash here?”
“No. He took Wren over to your dad’s.”
“Good.” I shrugged out of my coat and hung it on the back of a chair. “Because I did something I probably shouldn’t have. I’m not sorry, and I don’t regret it, but I have to tell on myself.”
“You slept with Joe.”
“I slept with Joe.”
“How was it?”
“Fucking magical. Fantastic. Even better than last time.”
“Eeek! Sit down and tell me everything before he gets back or Truman wakes up.” She set her spoon on the rest.
“What are you cooking?” I asked as I sat at the table. “Smells amazing.”
“Pumpkin gnocchi soup. Want to stay for dinner?”
“Yes, please.”
She came to the table and dropped breathlessly into the chair next to mine. “Okay, out with it. What happened to your rules?”
“They sort of went out the window after I knocked on his bedroom door last night.”
“Oh my God!” She pounded the table. “It’s me when I was sixteen sneaking into Dash’s room! Except I got rejected, and you didn’t.”
I laughed. “No, I didn’t.”
“What made you do it? I mean, other than the fact that he’s a hot professional hockey player and you’re having his baby.”
“Partly I did it because the baby was kicking and I knew he’d want to feel, but mostly because I just really wanted him. And I knew he wasn’t going to make a move, because I’d told him in September I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to mess around. He was respecting my wishes.”
“Right up until you showed up at his bedroom door in your nightie.”
“Exactly.” I sighed, shaking my head. “God, it was so good. What if it’s never like that with anyone else?”
Ari leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “Did you guys talk about anything?”
“Lots of things.” I shrugged. “We talk so easily.”
“Did you talk about the baby?”
“Constantly. Joe even bought him a book and a little sleeper with dinosaurs on it at the Field Museum gift shop.”
“You went to a museum?” She laughed. “That’s so you.”
“It was his idea,” I insisted. “He wants to learn about me.”
“God.” She sat back and dropped her hands into her lap. “He’s making this so difficult. Not that I want your baby’s dad to be a jerk, but when you’re trying not to fall in love with someone while also carrying his son, it might be easier if he was at least mildly insensitive or annoying.”