“And you thought I could use dinner then?” She chuckled. Yeah, it was that kind of day. “I wish you’d stop being wonderful. It makes it hard to stay mad at you.”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “You inspire me.”
“Gag!” She elbowed him. They settled again. A thought had plagued her for days and she had to ask, but asking could do damage. Once words were out, they couldn’t be put back in. “Were you, at all, trying to punish me for what happened?”
He dropped his white container beside him and reached for her hand. “No. Not at all. Never did I blame you.”
“I blamed me,” she whispered.
His face contorted. “Please don’t. You’re amazing.”
“I kept wondering if I’d checked everything.”
“Tilly, I slipped. My mind wasn’t in the game, and I slipped.”
She chewed her bottom lip. His mind wasn’t on climbing because he was thinking about proposing to her. She couldn’t say that out loud or even ask for confirmation, because, well, you just didn’t blurt outI know you were going to propose.
“I’m sorry, Brayden. I’m so sorry you had to go through all this.” She hugged him close, reveling in his comfort. Before she lost herself, she stood up. “You’re an amazing man—coming through all this the way you have, working so hard in PT. I’m proud of you. I want you to know that.”
His eyes shone. “Thank you.”
She stretched. “I need some Advil and sleep.” She hesitated and then kissed his cheek. “Thanks for dinner.”
He smiled. She went inside and shut the door but didn’t go straight to bed. Instead, she watched as Brayden gathered up the garbage and the leftovers, sorting them into two bags. He walked the garbage to the can and then took the can to the curb. Tomorrow was garbage day. He came back for the leftovers, his eyes lingering on her door. She pressed her hand to her belly, wondering if he was going to knock. If he knocked, she’d let him in.
As if he understood that, he turned and walked back to his place. She rocked back on her heels. Brayden was a dang good man, and he’d make a wonderful husband. She just needed to get over that last hurdle. She needed to let go of her fear. Easier said than done. It was human nature to protect yourself. Having been burned by the stove once, a kid didn’t touch it again.
But was Brayden a stove? Was he bound to hurt her every time she got close? Or had he made a mistake and learned from it? She hoped it was the latter. She wanted to believe he’d come out a better man.
Her head pounded, reminding her that she needed to take something soon or she would have a rough night. Not as bad as it would have been without him.
Was that a sign? She wanted it to be.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Brayden
“Okay, this could go one of two ways, bro. It’s either going to come off as creepy and stalkerish, or it’s going to go big.”
Brayden shot Juan a warning look. “It’s not going to happen at all if she hears us coming. Shut it.”
Juan zipped his fingers across his lips and threw an imaginary key over his shoulder.
Blake snickered behind him. “If only it were that easy.”
Coach Wolfe exchanged a knowing look with his wife. Behind them were Dustin and Clover and a herd of people from the front office and then a group of players. Brayden juggled the cake and the bag of plates and forks. Clover held tight to a bouquet of balloons. They were her idea, and Brayden had to admit it was a good one. The mix of colors added a sense of whimsy to the group that wasn’t there before. And they could use some whimsy, because Brayden was taking a giant leap here, jumping over several of Tilly’s carefully drawn lines.
Yes, she’d let him hold her.
Yes, they’d talked through some things.
And, yes, she’d kissed him back.
But none of that meant they were back together. This surprise party for her last day of physical therapy was his way of staking a claim in her life. Like he was the one who could arrange parties in her behalf.
Doc had declared her of sound body—100% healed from the fall. They needed to celebrate the big and the small things together. He’d thought he had to scale a cliff to ask her to marry him—he should have just asked. He should have wrapped his arms around her and told her she was the only thing that mattered in this world and begged her to be his wife.
He hoped he’d learned something from his mistakes.
