Her eyes are wide when she looks at me, shaking her head and sucking in a deep breath. “No, Jason. God, no. You’re … you’re amazing. You’re kind and funny and thoughtful and …” Her cheeks turn pink, visible even in the dimness of my car interior, only lit from the lights in the parking garage.
“And what?” I prod, a smile tugging at my lips.
She rolls her eyes. “And you’re hot.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes again. “You know I do. We’ve been over this before.”
I do my best to bite back my grin. “I know. But I still like hearing you say it.”
“Anyway,” she continues. “I’m not just with you because you’re there and you’re hot. If I only thought you were hot, I wouldn’t sleep with you. There are lots of people who are hot. I’m not interested in sleeping with them, though.”
Relief swamps me. That also means she wasn’t doing it out of any sense of obligation. Right? “And you weren’t worried I’d change my mind if you said no?”
Her eyes widen in alarm. “What? No! I would never think you were that kind of guy. And if I did, I’d just pack up and leave. Stay with Marissa or something. I’m sure she’d let me crash at her place if I really needed to.”
The knot that’s been tightly coiled in my guts since I thought she didn’t really want me loosens, coming undone as I breathe and consider everything. “Okay, so let me just … I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page. About everything.” She nods, her gaze steady on mine. I hold out my hand in invitation, and she only hesitates for a second before setting her hand in mine. Her fingers are cold, and I cover them with my other hand, wanting to give her my warmth.
“So. We agreed for you to come live with me so I could help you. You were hesitant because you didn’t like the idea that I was only doing it out of some misguided—in your opinion—sense of guilt. But when the only other option was moving back in with your parents, who are neglectful, unsupportive, and controlling, you decided to risk moving here. Does that about sum it up?”
“Yeah.” It comes out hoarse, and she clears her throat before trying again. “Yeah. That puts it pretty succinctly.”
I nod. “Okay. You knew I was also suggesting you marry me, for the pragmatic reason that then you’d have access to health insurance, plus it would help me explain you moving in with me without having to drag out our past for the entire hockey community to pick apart.”
Her eyes widen on that last part. “I guess … I hadn’t realized that was a possibility.”
With a half shrug, I tilt my head back and forth. “I would’ve done my best to keep a lid on it. I prefer to keep my private life private as much as I can. But I am a public figure, and it wouldn’t be that difficult for someone to go digging and find our connection. Depending on who that person is … yeah, it could get picked up as a story. I’ve seen more made out of less.”
“Huh.” She looks away, down at where our hands are still joined, and I give her a second to process what is apparently new information.
“But you, for your own reasons, weren’t ready to get married, even though you moved out here. Which is … understandable. The thing that I don’t think you realized, and I didn’t do anything to let you know this either, is that I didn’tjustwant to marry you for some kind of convenience for either of us. As you pointed out more than once, I didn’t really gain anything materially from the deal.”
She snorts. “No kidding. It seems like it’s cost you quite a lot of money, actually.”
I shrug one shoulder again. “I can afford it.”
Another snort. “So you’ve said. More than once.”
“It’s true. I don’t care about the money. What I do care about—what I’ve always cared about since I came up with this harebrained scheme—isyou.” I wait until she meets my eyes again because I want her to see the naked truth stamped on my face. “I’ve always intended for you to stay as long as you wanted. Forever, if I could swing it. I’ve known since I took you to that wedding outside of Madison.”
Her eyes widen as she takes that in. “Jason … what exactly are you saying?”
“I love you, Hailey MacKay. I fell for you while you played violin for some little kids at a park. And I’ve been trying to figure out how to get you to give me a chance ever since.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Hailey
I blink at him,stupefied, his words replaying in my mind.I love you, Hailey MacKay.
“You—you love me?” I squeak, still trying to process.
He squeezes my hand, still clasped between both of his, and chuckles softly. “I do. And when you wouldn’t tell your parents about us and then threw my own words back in my face, it hurt. Bad. I thought it meant you didn’t have feelings for me. But I had time to think about it, and looking back, I didn’t actually spell out my real motivation. I wanted to marry you for the same reason most people want to get married, Hailey. Yes, your financial circumstances made me jump to that sooner than I probably would’ve otherwise—maybe I do have a little bit of a white knight complex, at least where you’re concerned. But it killed me to see you struggle, to have you sick in my house, refusing to see a doctor because you didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford the bill when I could both afford to pay and make sure you have insurance. I knew you didn’t feel the same way then. Or at least, I’m pretty sure you didn’t. But I’d hoped …”He looks down and clears his throat. “When you let me kiss you and take you to bed, I’d hoped that you were at least headed that direction.”
“I was,” I interrupt, needing him to know the truth. “I had a crush on you when I was a kid. That was part of the reason I was always trying to hang around with you and Hunter. Plus, you were always nice to me, even though I was just Hunter’s annoying little sister. You never treated me like I was a pest.”
He shrugs. “You weren’t a pest.”
