Since I can’t kiss her, I do the next best thing and drink her in as she attempts to play nurse. Her blue eyes look like gemstones in the bright lights of the room, and that freckle on her lip keeps playing peek-a-boo with me every time she tugs her lip between her teeth as she concentrates on keeping the ice pack on my injury without pressing too hard.
I trace a finger down her cheek. “Come with me.”
She blinks at me. “Where?”
“To the ranch. For Christmas. Nana said you weren’t sure you could make it. Was it because of Langston?”
She drops her gaze. “Originally, yes.”
I tip her chin up, forcing her to look at me, which I seem to have to do a lot of late. But I will make it my life’s mission to ensure this amazing woman knows how priceless she is. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore. It’s over.”
Something wars in her eyes, but then it flits away. Is she having doubts about us?
A small smile spreads across her kissable lips. “I’ll see if I can take a few days off and leave early, too.”
“Good.” My relief is palpable. I need her there with me to face what comes next. Possibly say goodbye to the only place I’ve ever called home. My sisters and I are in this weird tug of war, each of us offering to walk away from our careers to run the ranch, only to be shot down by the other two. Not that Nana would let any of us do that. Knowing her, she’d secretly sell the place first.
The next words practically rip me apart. “This may be our last Christmas there.”
Bree’s eyes connect with mine in a deep exchange of understanding. Her fingers touch the uninjured side of my face. “I believe everything is going to work out better than you think.”
Holding my hand over hers, I press my cheek into her palm. She smells of sweet honeysuckle, like the stuff that grows wild on the fences back home.
That’s when it hits me. Bree Suttonismy home. Not a piece of property. Sure, my family has owned the ranch for generations, but maybe that timeline is supposed to come to an end.
The thought isn’t as painful this time, and I think I can move on as long as I have her. “I’ll send Nana a text to let her know you’re coming.”
She tilts her head in an adorable yet coy manner that heats everything in me. “How about we surprise her?”
“Are you nervous about telling them we’re together?”
“Maybe a little?” Her eyes search mine.
I’m half tempted to tell her I want it all—a marriage, a family, a life. The things I’d dreamed of having with her but had lost hope that they could ever come true. Yet here we are.
But I’ve had years to fall for this woman, while she’s only discovering who I am to her now. I’ll give her all the time she needs to figure it out as long as it leads her back to me.
I slide off the table, towering over Bree in my skates. It’s killing me to not kiss her and show her she has nothing to worry about. “Bree, they’ve known for years how I feel about you.”
“They have?” Her expression shifts from surprise to mortification. “Do they know I ghosted you for almost a year?”
“Over a year.” I stride toward the locker room, ready for a shower, food, and some alone time with my girl.
“Again, semantics. What if they think I’m horrible?” She cringes.
“Trust me. They could never think that. They adore you. Always have. Always will.”
Bree blinks teary eyes at me. “I adore them, too.”
I tilt my head toward the door. “I’m going to get cleaned up. I suggest you don’t follow me unless you want to see a bunch of goalies in various states of undress.”
She taps a finger to her cheek as if in thought. “Tempting, but no.”
I scowl at her, regretting it the minute I feel the pain shoot through my lip. “Hey, now. I’m the only one you look at from now on.”
“That works both ways, you know.” She pretends to pout.
Unable to resist touching her one more time, I hold her face and press our foreheads and noses together. “There has never been, nor will ever be, any other woman for me, Bree-bear. You’re it.”
