Like my parents’ marriage.
Before I could catch my breath, ask to pause, to think, my heel hit a puddle. I squeaked as my feet shot out from under me. Gunnar saw me mid-fall, his arm hooking under my knees as he dipped me low, our faces inches apart. Rain dripped from his eyelashes onto my cheeks.
“Nice save, Mr. Evaldson,” I breathed.
His smile softened. “I’ll always be here for you, Zaila.”
And then, because the universe has a sense of humor, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. Back on my feet, I pulled it out, the screen lit up with a text from Jay: Saw you two sneaking off. Cute. Just remember, he’s not the settling type.
Gunnar’s gaze moved over the screen. His jaw tightened.
I shoved the phone away, but the damage was done. The magic of the moment shredded like ice under a skate blade.
“Zaila.” His voice was rough. “We need to talk.”
My stomach dropped, and I braced myself, but Gunnar just cupped my face, his thumbs brushing away raindrops and some tears.
“I love you.”
The words punched through me, leaving me breathless, weightless.
“I love you,” he repeated, louder this time, like he was daring the world to argue. “And I don’t give a damn who knows it. Not the team, not your coworkers, not the fucking press.”
I stared at him, my lips parting… Up on my toes, I kissed him. Not gentle. Not sweet. A kiss that tasted like rain and recklessness, like every doubt I’d carried about our age difference, our professional disparities, melting away. Gunnar hauled me closer until there was no space left between us.
When we broke apart, gasping, he rested his forehead against mine. “I’ve wanted to tell you that—yell it from rooftops, really—ever since you schooled that stuffy old shirt at the gala with your literary knowledge. You were so unbelievably sexy.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked.
He stared down at me. “You didn’t seem ready.”
I raised my eyebrows, ignoring the rain in my face. “I love you too, you ridiculous man.”
His grin could’ve powered Houston for the month of August. “This is the best news.” But then he frowned. “My love looks chilled,” he announced, like the words my love weren’t currently short-circuiting my brain.
I elbowed him. “I don’t feel the cold.”
He kissed my temple. “That’s because all our love is warming you, Rookie. But you’ll chill soon.”
Perhaps he was right. And I did feel a bit of a chill as Jay’s comments and smirks flitted through my mind. Deep down, I was unable to shake the feeling that I didn’t fit into Gunnar’s world, and perhaps I never would. But, then again, we could build a new one—where we fit so perfectly together.
Chapter 25
Zaila
A happy haze surrounded me for the better part of the next month. Gunnar Evaldson loved me.
The sexy hockey owner with the icy eyes that warmed just for me, that Gunnar. My Gunnar. The giddiness that came with our new connection allowed me to push aside my worry for my mother, and she was so happy for me that for a while, everything seemed perfect.
When I informed Tim, he just chuckled. He told me he’d decided we were perfect together after that first meeting.
“Lydia saw it, too,” he said. “That’s why she went off on you.” His expression grew more serious. “What about Jay?”
“He knows,” I said. “But…I’d prefer not to make a big deal about it, mainly because Jay’s made it a little weird.”
Tim’s look told me he knew I’d understated the issue with Jay. But he didn’t say anything more, so I didn’t either.
At home, if I hovered, my anxiety over her condition setting in, Mom shooed me out of the house so I could spend time with Gunnar, something I was desperate to do. And while I appreciated the chance to get to know him better, he understood my need to be with my mom, so we settled into a routine of him bringing over dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as long as there wasn’t a game, and brunch on Sunday, where we lingered around the table, simply enjoying each other. Gunnar was too busy for much more than that, though he asked me up to his office for lunch as often as possible.
