He could tear down my walls without even trying. “I love you, too. Just be patient with me, okay? I’m getting there.”
“I know, love. At least give me the weekends that I’m home.”
I got lost in his eyes. “Yeah, we can start there.”
When we finished eating, we started the walk to my apartment. My bag was back on his shoulder as he draped his arm around me. My skin tingled at every point of contact. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me?”
I did. I really did. But I was exhausted. “I’ll be there tomorrow after work.”
Axel accepted my answer, and when we got to my building, or I guess it was his building, I turned to take my bag.
“Can I come up?”
“You want to?”
“Yes,” he chuckled. “I’ve never been in your apartment. Maybe I’ll want to stay over with you sometime.”
I laughed nervously. “You’re too big for my bed. It’s a twin.”
His amused grin did things to me. “Hmm. Okay. I still want to see it.”
“Okay. Come on. I’ll give you the ten-second tour.”
As we climbed the four flights, his hand rested on my waist as he walked behind me. As we passed my elderly neighbor’s apartments, a thought came to mind. “Do you think it’s possible to put in an elevator? Mrs. Martinelli, in 3-B, has trouble getting up the stairs.”
Axel looked around. “I’ll get the architect to take a look and see what we can do.”
I stopped and turned to face him. “You’d really do that? I’m sure it’s expensive.”
He gave me one of those looks that said I was being silly. “If it’s what the building needs to make it comfortable, then we’ll do it. What else does it need?”
I said what came to mind. “I love you. And if I wasn’t already there, what you just said would have done it.”
I saw the real man Axel tried to hide. But he couldn’t do it with me. “I love you, too.”
Chapter 28
Axel
It might have been a good thing that Luca had more self-control than I did. If he’d come home with me, sleep would have been out the window. Was that how it was with a new relationship? Did you want to fuck every time you were together, or was it just me?
After yesterday’s rigorous physical assessment and drills on the ice, I was still sore, even after walking across Brooklyn. I went in early to hit the bike to work out some of the lactic acid hanging around in my muscles before we took the ice. The team was ready to start line placements, and I needed to be sharp.
Twenty minutes into my warmup, Decker walked in. He got down on the mats and started to stretch. “How’re you feeling?”
“I’m dragging a bit. But it's only day two. I’ll get there. How are you?”
“A little tight.”
When he was finished, he got on a bike. We peddled our way through small talk about his kids and how his wife, Jenna, was preparing for the season, and when I was hosting the next team party. “Did you hear who the GM added to the roster? Should give us more experience and even more of an edge.”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve been busy. Anyone I would recognize?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. A defenseman from Montreal and a forward from Los Angeles. Guerin and Williamson”
I looked at Decker, sure I hadn’t heard the name correctly. “Williamson? Heath Williamson?”
“Yeah,” he said, “I think that’s his name. You know him?”
