“I didn’t think…” I scratch my jaw. “I’m not used to anyone wondering where I am. I didn’t think you’d notice, not with all your competition prep.”
She points a finger at me. “That’s fucking bullshit. You knew I was wondering why you weren’t in the gym. You knew I wanted to see you.”
“So you could fuck me.”
She recoils. “Oh, okay. I’m sorry that’s such a chore for you. Forget I said anything.”
She goes to turn, and I grab her hand to keep her in place. It’s time to put it all on the line for her. Isla’s gaze falls to our joined hands before bouncing to my face.
“You are the best part of my day, Isla. I walk past the rink ten times a day to glimpse you. Seeing you is what I look forward to most in my life, and that’sterrifyingwhen you made it clear this is casual.”
“You told me to use you.”
“I know.” I run a hand roughly through my hair. “I know I did. I thought it was all you’d give me. I convinced myself that this arrangement could be enough for me. But, baby, I can’t have only part of you. It hurts too fucking much.”
Isla draws a shuddering breath. “You don’t want all of me. You might think you do, but—”
“I want you, Isla. And not only in my bed. I want you in my kitchen cooking dinner beside me. I want you in the stands watching my hockey games and in my rink teaching skating lessons. I want you by my side, period. You’re the person I want to argue with. The person who I want to tell me to pull my head out of my ass when I’m being too stubborn for my own good.”
Tears stream down Isla’s face and mix with the rain. She does nothing to clear it, her entire attention on me.
“You challenge me,” I continue, “and I don’t just mean when we’re bickering about whatever today’s topic is. You make me think about how I’m running my business, my relationships with my family, and what I want for the rest of my life. Your existence challenges me to be a better man, one who deserves you. Everything I thought I knew about myself and my life has been turned on its head by you. It scares the shit out of me, but I’ve never felt more alive. I didn’t know my heart could feel this way.”
“What way?” Isla whispers, the words so soft they’re almost lost on the rain.
“Full, with love…for you. When I think of my future, that's what I see. You and me, Red.”
“What if Spencer doesn’t want to partner with me anymore?” she asks.
“Nothing will change how I feel about you, Isla.Nothing.”
She takes a tentative step forward. “I’m scared,” she admits through another shaky breath. “I love you so fucking much, Wes,and I want everything you do. I see what our life could be like so clearly. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, to have a partner like you, a family like yours, and I’m so terrified that I’ll screw it up. That if I reach for it, I’ll lose it.”
“That’s how I’ve felt this entire summer—on borrowed time with you. Trust me, I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Isla.”
A watery laugh escapes her. She leaps into my arms, and I catch her, securing her against the side of the building as she kisses me. Rain continues to pour down on us, soaking us to the bone, but there’s nowhere else in the universe that I’d rather be than right here, holding this unforgettable woman in my arms.
“I missed you.” She presses a kiss to my neck. She curls around me tighter, a contented sigh escaping her lips. “Come to my room with me?”
“Like you have to ask.” I walk us toward the parking deck with Isla still secured against me in my favorite position.
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“Let me take care of you, Covington.”
She doesn’t speak. She only wraps herself tighter around me. I squeeze back, needing the proof that this moment is real, and that I’m heading home with the woman of my dreams.
Tonight, and every night for the rest of my life.
Chapter 26
Isla
Wesundressesmeslowlyin front of my hotel bathroom mirror, while the shower runs beside us, warming the room.
I watch as he lifts his sweatshirt over my head, then removes my skating costume, his eyes bouncing between my body and meeting my gaze in the mirror. The painstaking carefulness of each movement brings tears to my eyes. I’ve never been cared for like this before.
I’m stripped bare of everything—my clothes, the armor I’ve adorned to protect myself, the denial of my feelings. He sees all of me, and all he does is continue to look, like he can’t believe I’m here with him.
