Fast and fierce, my boy threw himself into every drill like it was a championship game. The other kids could take him, matching him and giving him a run for his money, and I could see the sense of belonging taking shape on his features.
It was all over his flushed face as he skated past with a grin that wouldn’t quit. Pride swelled inside me, so big that my chest started aching.Callum doesn’t know Brody is his son, and he already made the right call for him. A call I’ve been too afraid to make.
About half an hour in, the doors opened and the man himself walked in, tall and steady, dressed in the kind of suit that didn’t belong anywhere near a neighborhood rink. Those blue eyes focused on the ice first, scanning and drinking in the scene. Then he lifted his gaze to the bleachers. When he found me, his whole expression shifted.
The hard lines around his mouth softened, his shoulders loosened, and something almost tender flickered across his face. Heat crawled up my neck despite the chill. For one dizzying second, I was nineteen again, standing across a crowded room and realizing Callum Westwood had noticed me.
That same wild flutter stirred low in my stomach, the same butterflies I’d buried for so long because I never thought I’d stand a chance with him.God, I had such a crush on that boy.
Now here I was, so many years later, and I remembered what it felt like to beseenby him, really seen, in a way no one else had noticed me before. The fact that it still made butterflies explodeto life in my stomach honestly terrified me more than anything else ever had.
But it excited me too.
CHAPTER 11
CALLUM
Ispotted her on the bleachers right away, her legs crossed and a takeout coffee cup clutched between her hands like it was life support. She stared at me, and as soon as her eyes met mine, it was like time slowed.
Across the distance, I saw her inch forward a little, but the movement was almost instinctual, as if she wasn’t even aware she was doing it. A gorgeous, pink flush bloomed across her cheeks, but then the boards rattled with some kid crashing into them and her gaze darted back to the ice.
My heart was doing strange, potentially worrying things in my chest as I climbed the steps toward her. I was torn between calling up the family cardiologist and accepting that this might just be what actual nerves felt like.
I couldn’t even pretend anymore that the conversation we were about to have didn’t matter. Now that it was Maisie Morgan I might be marrying, I didn’t want it to be anyone else. Not anymore. Business arrangement though it might be, I suddenly couldn’t envision myself making those vows to anyone else.
When I dropped down beside her, I grinned and readied my smoothest opener, but before I could say anything, she beat me to it. “I’ll marry you.”
I choked on absolutely nothing, my heart rate skyrocketing and my jaw slack. She was still staring down at the ice, gaze tracking the team as they skated from one side to the other, and her voice had been as flat as a ref’s whistle.
“Excuse me?”
Her cheeks pinked again, but her gaze stayed locked on the ice. “Don’t make me say it again.”
“Just like that?” I leaned closer, half-grinning, half-trying to figure out if I’d stepped into some alternate universe. “No dramatic pause, no build-up, no flowers? Just,I’ll marry you?”
She finally shot me a look. “You don’t really strike me as a flowers and candlelight kind of guy. You put an ad in the paper after all. Don’t start demanding romance now.”
All around us, the rink was buzzing with activity. Gage and the other coaches shouted instructions from below and laughter rang out from some kids waiting their turn. On the ice, the boys were a blur, their sticks crashing and their own shouts ringing out into the cold air.
I was barely aware of any of it. I just stared back at her, her dark chocolate hair pulled up into another high ponytail that she’d braided and wrapped around itself to make a bun. It was sexy.
I swallowed hard, doing my best to forget about the lust zapping through me. “I’m not usually a candlelight and romance kind of guy, but I thought I’d at least get a warning before you accepted my proposal. Maybe a drumroll? Or a mariachi band?”
Maisie rolled her eyes, but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch. “Sorry, the mariachi band was fully booked and the drummer was averse to carrying his whole drum set up the bleachers. What are you gonna do?”
“Well, I mean, there’s a drumroll app for that,” I joked. “Seriously, though, you’re saying yes?”
She held my gaze for a long beat before she nodded. “It’s business, right? You made an offer and I’m accepting it. We don’t need to pretend like there are hearts or romance involved. I don’t need any of that. All I want is stability for Brody. If you can provide that, we’re good.”
Her son’s name dropped like a gavel, a stark reminder of why she would even consider this madness.
“Okay,” I said carefully, but inside, my chest felt lighter than it had in weeks. “Then I accept your acceptance.”
She huffed out a laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Guilty.” I kept looking at her, drinking in her casual jeans and sneakers combo and wondering what the catch was. “Let’s talk T’s and C’s. Terms and conditions. Like you said, this is business. There will be contracts involved, so what are your terms? I’m assuming your acceptance isn’t unconditional.”
“Absolutely not.” She didn’t even blink. “If you’re serious about this, you’re moving into my house. Brody’s routines don’t change. My job doesn’t change. My life doesn’t just vanish because you have a fancy apartment.”
