She flicked her eyes to mine as she took a bite.
“Why is it a slip? Do you really think I’d share you? Not in a million fucking years.”
Her lips twitched into a smile as she chewed.
“You didn’t want to share me when we went for coffee, so no, that’s not news. I’ve just never had one of those.”
I squinted at her, leaning forward on the couch.
“One of those? You never dated, even in school?”
“I dated, sure. But no one that I was interested in for more than a couple of dates. I told you my mother was never without a boyfriend, even now. I don’t judge her for that, and as a romance writer, I’d never slut-shame anyone,” she said with a hollow laugh. “But that’s all she cared about. Her next good time. And she’d use my grandmother and then me with Taylor to make sure being a parent never inconvenienced her.”
I nodded, waiting for her to continue.
“I didn’t want to be like that. Mom was a different person for every guy she dated. Would start liking whatever they liked, loved whatever food or music they were into. She used to tell me that’s what you had to do to get a man to like you. That and lose a couple of pounds.” She quirked a brow.
“All of which she was dead wrong about. You know that, right?”
I’d never hit a woman in my life, but I feared the temptation if I ever met Rachel’s mother face-to-face.
“Of course I know that. It’s weird when you have a parent you don’t like. You wonder if all the shitty traits they have somehow made it into your DNA, so you avoid certain situations just in case you can’t help yourself.”
Her shoulders jerked with a chuckle. “I guess that’s how I looked at men for a while. I was afraid if I got too close to one, I’d be tempted to lose myself like she always did. And with my sister, I couldn’t afford to do that.”
“And how do you feel now?”
She dropped her gaze to my rug, the corner of her mouth twitching. “I feel that the right person makes you better. Changes you, but in a good way. I feel more like me when I’m with you than I ever have in my life.”
I knew exactly what she meant. From the moment we met, she both thrilled me and brought me an odd but palpable peace. Talking to her just made me feel better, made me feel less lostand alone, which had been my baseline since I’d blown out my knee and lost my career.
“Same,” was all I could say, sliding my hand to the back of her neck to bring her in for a kiss. It was too early to say everything else I’d been thinking. The instant connection was already enough to scare us both a little, even though we’d finally stopped fighting it.
“So,” she murmured against my lips as she pulled away, “you’re my first boyfriend. At least, the first man I could actually call one.” She flitted her eyes down her torso. “This is really cheesy, isn’t it? I called you my first boyfriend as I’m wearing your jersey—shit,” she hissed as she inspected the hem between her fingers. “I think I got grease on it. I’ll wash it for you.”
I shook my head. “No, you’ll take it home and keep it. There is no way I’d be able to concentrate during a game. I’d picture it draped over your amazing fucking body, and, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s no room in my white pants to get excited.”
She burst out laughing and dropped her head into her hands.
“Now,thatwould make for a good reel,” she said, climbing on my lap. “Thank you,” she whispered and kissed my cheek.
“For what?”
“I’ve never had a…person before. It’s really nice.”
She pressed her head into my chest, curling into a ball as I slid my hand up and down her thigh.
I wanted to be her person, somehow lighten the load of all she’d taken on since she’d been just a kid. I couldn’t fix it all for her, but I was thrilled to get the chance to try.
“Can I ask you something?” Rachel asked as she cuddled next to me in my bed. She’d lost the jersey, finally, and while we’d gone to bed early, I spied two a.m. glowing back at me from the alarm clock on my nightstand.
“I think we’re past all pretense at this point. Ask me anything you want.” I dipped my chin to meet her gaze as I threaded my hands through her hair.
“What happened with your ex-wife? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
“No, I’ll tell you.” I shifted to lie on my side. “I met her when I first started playing for Washington. We were together for a few years before we got married, so she knew what my life was like. All the road trips, the training. It never bothered her until we were married. She’d complain I was never home, and when I was, she said I looked like I didn’t want to be there.”
“She was mad at you for traveling when she knew it was part of your job?”
