Everything else be damned—as long as Jayne loves me, we’ll figure it out.
I stop kissing her and look down into her pretty face.
“There’s a good chance we’ll have to start over somewhere.”
“That’s okay.”
“If things go bad with hockey, I have a contract for the rest of this season but after that, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If I get sent to the minors, I’ll barely be making six figures. It sounds like a lot of money but there are a lot of expenses too.”
“That doesn’t matter. I can get a job making forty or fifty, maybe more, depending on where we live. With both our salaries, we’ll be fine. People survive on much less.”
Fuck, I love this woman.
I kiss her again and she winds her arms around my neck. Our tongues tangle together with delicious familiarity, but then she pulls away, her eyes wide, as if she just thought of something.
“Wait a minute—why are you in trouble?Youdidn’t do anything wrong. My dad is the one embezzling money. Right?”
“I don’t know how things are going to play out,” I explain. “But your dad threatened to tell people I sexually assaulted you. I’ve also been a healthy scratch for the last few games, which has the sports pages buzzing. People want to know what’s going on and?—”
“Then we tell them.” She puts her hands on either side of my face. “We’re stronger together, Bodi. And we have friends. Kelly. West. Vik.”
“Ashton Knight has been really helpful too.”
“We’re not alone. If we have to hold a press conference to tell the world that two legal, consenting adults fell in love, and for whatever reason that pissed my father off, we will.”
Ireallylove this woman.
“Are you sure you want to go public with all that?”
“If we have to. But even if my father has somehow already ruined your career, we’ll be fine. We’ll be extra careful with your money while you’re making it, I’ll finish my master’s, and then we’ll figure out our next steps.”
I drop my forehead to hers and we stand like that for what feels like an eternity. Eyes closed, bodies pressed together, breathing soft and steady.
The two of us. Together. For good this time.
It feels like we’re exactly where we should be—together.
“I was planning to tell you how I feel that night at dinner. The day the shit hit the fan.”
Her eyes open and she smiles. “And I was going to tell you how I felt that night too.”
“Did you write me a letter instead?”
Her cheeks flush pink as she nods. “I did. Areallylong letter.”
“Someday I’ll read it. Today, I want to take you to bed and?—”
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I reach for it grudgingly.
“It’s West,” I say.
“You better answer it.”
“Hey, man.” I put him on speaker.
“Can you get an Uber to the arena?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
