“Every time I see you, your smile gets larger.” She nodded toward the phone in my lap. “You know, I told you happiness looks beautiful on you. Now I’m starting to think what I see is love.”
I let out a loud breath. “Oh, Bettie.”
“Am I wrong?”
I slowly raised my shoulders. “No.”
She lowered her red glasses to the end of her nose. “He’s special, isn’t he?”
“He is.” I swallowed, my chest pounding. “You know more than Maya.”
“I had a feeling. You’ve been very vocal about her situation. I could only assume she would be the same about yours.”
“She will be, when the time is right. It’s just ... not right yet.”
I couldn’t help but think of Ben’s mom and what that must have been like for Gavin. No wonder he didn’t date or bring women around Ben. The fear of them leaving—or worse—had to be far greater than the desire to love.
“The beginning is such a special period.” She linked her fingers and set them on the armrest. “An important one too. The pieces need time to click. A rhythm needs to be set, communication has to feel its way through the silence. If it were me, I’d keep it quiet too.”
“You would?”
“It gives you the freedom to move at your own pace without the questions and pressure and judgment of others. I often hear people say that things should come easy. That the beginning is the least complicated stage. I disagree. Powerful, yes. Unforgettable, yes.” Her head bounced, emphasizing each point. “But there’s nothing easy about two souls colliding. That’s like putting the moon and sun side by side. The energy needs to find a balance, and when it’s significant and monumental, that balance takes patience and testing.”
My eyes closed, my face scrunching as her words hit. And then they hit again. “Yes.” My eyes finally opened. “We’re slowly learning that.”
“Take your time. No need to rush it.”
There was movement from the aisle, and Maya squeezed in between us, taking her seat. “What did I miss?” She lifted her beer and took a sip.
Bettie looked at me as she replied, “Absolutely nothing, my darling.”
Chapter Twenty
Gavin
“I shouldn’t be surprised you’re at this game, considering you own the team ... but I am.” Emily’s back was against the wall of the elevator, her hands on my chest, her face pointed up at me. “Maybe I’m more surprised that I agreed to meet you mid-game, knowing I’m going to return to your grandmother looking freshly fucked.”
I chuckled. “I can stop the elevator. Take you back upstairs. Return you not freshly fucked.” My lips went to her neck despite the offer I’d just made.
I needed a taste, regardless of what she decided.
“And not have you ravage me? Hell no. That’s not an option.”
“Good choice.” I kissed around the curve of her collarbone, the flavor of her skin something I now constantly craved, and pulled away just as the door opened.
“Where are you taking me? And if you say it’s a surprise, so help me God—”
“An office. With a door that locks.”
I linked our fingers and brought her into the hallway on the ground floor of the arena, a place that was extremely busy, considering it was the middle of a game and we were on the same level as the ice, thelocker rooms, the training room, the workout room, and all the other team facilities.
“I’m grateful we’re not in the owner’s suite.” She snorted. It was so fucking cute. “I really thought that’s where you were going to ask me to meet you. That you had a fantasy of having me and the game at the same time.”
“I thought about it.”
She squeezed my hand. “You did?”
I laughed. “And become a meme that will forever live on social media, fuck no.” I glanced over my shoulder to look at her. “And let everyone in the arena see your body, also fuck no.”
