I feel the need for those words to come out again. I need her to know that they are true. She nods her head once, her eyes never leaving mine. I hold her gaze, refusing to break it until I am satisfied that she believes me.
No more miscommunications.
No more missed time.
No more.
This is for us—for our future.
WRENLY
“I know,” I say. “That woman was outside after the last game I went to. She clearly wanted to hook up with one of you, and she knew your name. I have no doubt that whole thing was planned and orchestrated to look exactly like it did.”
Eli’s eyes widen. But I know that he can’t be surprised by any of that information. Those women wait outside of that arena, and it wasn’t just a one-time thing. They are there every single game.
He drops his arms, his fingers sliding through his hair as he tugs on the ends. “I never want to hurt you, Wrenly. Not again.”
His voice almost cracks, and for some reason, that does something to the deepest part of me. It’s the vulnerability that gets me. This guy, who is a professional athlete, who is cool as hell, who has women falling over him—he wantsme.
Smiling, I move toward him, one step, then another. Placing my palms on the center of his chest, I tilt my head backward as I look up into his eyes. It’s at this very moment that I decide that the leap I need to make is to be all in.
As the guilt of leaving Texas threatens to consume me, I tamp it down because my dad made it clear that he’s good with me moving back to Ohio. That he just wants me to be happy. And that he knows it’s time, and he also made it clear that I can come back—always.
“I know you don’t want to hurt me again. Seeing that picture was a shock. You’re right. I probably wouldn’t have answered the phone if you’d called. I needed to think, and today, I was able to do that—a lot of it in silence, which I needed to do to process everything that happened and was happening. But you don’t need to be scared of me leaving you,” I say.
His brows furrow before he clears his throat. “I don’t?” he asks.
“No, Eli. You don’t.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I love you.”
I simply state it because it’s a simple statement.
The smile that consumes his face causes my heart to skip a beat. I feel it in my chest. And I know that I’ve made the right choice. He lowers his head. His mouth touches mine. I part my lips and wait for his tongue to slide inside of me, but he doesn’t deepen the kiss yet.
Instead, he speaks, and when he does, a thrill of desire slides up my spine. “I love you, too, Wrenly. I think I might have loved you since the moment I saw your picture on social media. It was cemented inside of me when I walked into that club and saw you leaning against the back wall. And then again, when you stood outside of the arena, our son in your arms. So fucking brave and beautiful, all rolled into one little body. I love you, Wrenly.”
“We’ll figure everything out,” I breathe against his mouth.
“Fuck yes, we will.”
Then he kisses me.
It’s a kiss for the ages, at least as much of a kiss that he can give me in my scrubs in the middle of a parking lot after work, but I don’t care—I accept it all, squeezing my thighs together and everything as I do.
Eli nibbles my bottom lip as he breaks the kiss, then places his forehead against mine while we attempt to catch our breaths.
“You’ll come to Ohio with me?” he asks.
“I’ll come to Ohio with you.”
He smirks as he lets out a heavy exhale.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I start to text my dad when Eli reaches out and wraps his fingers around my device. Lifting my gaze to meet his again, I tilt my head to the side, my brows snapping together with confusion as to why he’s holding on to my hand and phone.
“You don’t need to text your dad. I already talked to him. He’s waiting at home with Ryan for us.”
