“Just breathe, sweetheart,” he said under his breath. I could only offer him a jerky nod.
“You did so good in there. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.Nothing. I’ll never regret us, Cade. I love you.” He repeated the words over and over until I was steady enough to let him get me into the passenger seat and buckle me in before going around to the driver’s side door.
I finally allowed my eyes to close, exhaustion creeping in on the heels of panic.
thirty-nine
CADEN
Ash didn’t let go of my hand for the entirety of the drive to the hotel he’d booked for us.
Pulling up to the familiar four-star venue, the lead weight in my stomach had already started to lessen.
“Sorry. I know we’ve been here before under less than great circumstances, but this is the nicest place in the city.” Ash’s tone hinted at a trace of uncertainty.
“I’m good with anything, you know that.” I offered him a weak smile. “It sure beats every place we’ve stayed in with the Hammerheads.”
“That’s true enough,” he agreed. “But there’s nothing wrong with spoiling ourselves a little. We work our asses off. We deserve it, sweetheart. So, you’re just going to have to learn to tolerate some of the nicer things in life.”
Keen to lighten the mood after the shitshow in my parents’ kitchen, I played along with his teasing. The smile I offered him was wobbly, but sincere.
“I will do my best to adjust.”
The next several minutes unfolded the same way they had the first time we’d stayed here. The woman working reception still had eyes only for Ash while she checked him in. But this time,waiting by the elevator, I didn’t feel a hint of envy over the way she openly admired him.
Every part of me—my mind, body, and heart—knew that Ash loved me.
We made it to the door of the room, this time on the top floor of the hotel. Pressing the keycard against the lock, I followed behind Ash as we entered.
A flick of the light switch revealed Ash had booked us a suite this time.
“A bit over the top for less than a twelve-hour stay?” I asked, loving his thoughtfulness.
“What did we say, sweetheart? It’s been a long day. We can let ourselves have this.” He let go of my hand to drop his bag and my backpack on the loveseat in the small living area, before turning and striding back to where I stood and wrapping his arms around me.
A crinkling sound came from between our abdomens.
“Ash? What is that?” I tiled my head back so I could see his whole face. It could have been remnants from the chill outside, but I swore that Ash’s skin flushed slightly.
Disentangling our arms, Ash stepped back and reached into his half-unzipped coat.
My mouth dropped open in shock as I saw the curled corner of a familiar blue glossy paper.
“You didn’t go to the bathroom. You went into my room to steal my poster!”
Embarrassment and desire warred for top spot inside my chest.
Ash only grinned as he carefully unfolded the poster that had hung above my bed since my time in the juniors. Back when Ash was a curiosity that I couldn’t shake. I’d chalked it up to wanting to be cool in all situations like Ash had been on the ice or when facing the media. Looking back, my need to watch Ash play hadmore to do with a teenage crush than I could never let myself admit.
Thank god for all the years in between because the real Ash was a person so few people got to see—and he let me see all of him. That was better than knowing a superstar any day.
Except I was the lucky man who got to enjoy both.
Ash held the poster up in front of his chest, the slight lines from his hasty folding job lightly marring the glossy finish of the paper.
“There was no way I was leaving your parents’ house without this. It’s very valuable, sweetheart,” he said, as he smoothed the vertical crease against his chest and belly.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure there are more copies of your rookie season poster floating around the internet and sports memorabilia stores Ash.”
