“I’m scared too, but you’re worth the risk. Tally, you’re wortheverything.”
I kissed the curve of his smile. “Then let’s risk it all.”
FIFTEEN
TALLY
I lay in bed, flat on my back, debating for the fiftieth time whether I should wake Alec up with kisses.
I wanted to. God, it was tempting, but after we’d holed up in our room yesterday and spent the whole time exploring each other in new ways—in between breaks for room service—I could use a little time to think.
Yesterday, we’d been flying high on positive emotions and sex hormones. Now, in the quiet hours of the morning, my mind was clearer and I’d be better able to figure out where to go from here.
I lifted Alec’s arm, which he’d draped across my belly, and slowly eased out from under it. I slipped one leg off the edge of the bed and then the other. I inched away from him, wary of shifting too much of my weight at once and alerting him to the fact I’d woken.
If he stirred now, he’d probably kiss me and drag me into another round of lovemaking. I wasn’t opposed to that, exactly, but it would addle my mind for another few hours, and then I’d have missed my window for contemplation.
Little by little, I eased onto my feet. I’d love a shower because I must smell like sex, but the water would disturb Alec. Best to just get changed and leave. I could shower later.
I found a pair of yoga pants on the floor near my suitcase, grabbed it, and quietly opened the suitcase and rifled through until I’d found underwear and a tank top. I dressed and let myself out of the hotel room.
I made my way down to the beach, pausing by the outdoor activities shed to collect a yoga mat, which I tucked under my arm and took with me onto the sand. A handful of people were out and about. More than I’d expected, but it was the warmest morning of our stay, the air almost unpleasantly humid and without much wind, so it made sense that guests would want to paddle in the shallows to cool off.
I walked a couple hundred yards along the beach, unrolled the yoga mat, and positioned it so that I could watch the waves as I did my sun salutations. I started in mountain pose, transitioned to a forward fold, to downward dog, plank, up-dog, back to downward dog, and returned to mountain in a series of fluid movements.
I cycled through the short set of poses six times before moving into the body of my yoga practice. Warrior two pose came first, then sun warrior, extended warrior, and a repeated shift back and forth between the three, stretching one side and then the other.
As I brought my legs back to the center and took my weight onto my left foot, I wondered what the change in my relationship with Alec would mean in the wider context of our lives. Our friendship was irrevocably altered, no matter what happened. However much it worried me, I’d accepted that.
But what would it mean for me to have a boyfriend in the NHL?
Waves lapped at the sand, and I extended my arms ahead of me, preparing to enter warrior three.
I already went to all of Alec’s home games, and I knew many of the other players’ partners didn’t attend away games, so it wasn’t like I’d be expected to do that. Just as well, since I was so busy with Coco Luxe.
Would the media care more about who I was now that I was dating Alec? They’d never bothered me much before, but we hadn’t hid the fact we were old school friends and it wasn’t a particularly exciting story, so they’d left me alone. But if we were old-friends-turned-happy-couple, that might be an angle worth investigating. The public adored a good love story.
Would they disrupt Coco Luxe?
I gently placed my foot on the ground and transferred my weight to the other foot, extending my left leg out behind me and circling my arms forward. A gull screeched overhead.
No, I couldn’t see any potential increased media interest in me being a negative thing for Coco Luxe. If anything, it might be good for the business.
As another upside, Alec worked at least as many hours as me, if not more. Combined with travel, it meant he wouldn’t hound me to focus less on my business, like Thad had. Unfortunately, it also meant less time with him, but it wouldn’t be forever. The length of a professional sportsman’s career was limited.
One of the major downsides was that I’d have to live with the knowledge that women would likely throw themselves at him every time he was out of town. I trusted that he wouldn’t cheat on me. Alec was a good man. He’d never hurt anyone the way Thad had done to me, but it would be irritating to know how many people wished they could steal him from me.
I returned to a standing position and shook out my feet, then pressed the bottom of my right foot into the inside of my left thigh and put my palms together in front of my chest.
Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to become aware of the world behind me, using my other senses. The air was warm as it passed through my nose, and it carried the scent of seawater. A little girl laughed farther down the beach, and nearby, someone’s feet kicked up sand as they drew closer.
Frowning, I opened my eyes and looked around.
Coral smiled at me tentatively and tucked her loose hair behind her ear. “Can we talk?”
I lowered my foot to the mat. “I suppose so.”
It wouldn’t do me any good to avoid her forever. Especially now that I was genuinely with Alec and couldn’t care less about Thad—except for my wounded pride.
