I head back to the table, remembering where I spotted the final piece for thetwo heads are better than onelettuce, then slide it into place. “I like this puzzle. Would your dad like it?”
His eyes flicker with vulnerability. “Yes.”
I grab it and rush to the counter to buy it before he can stop me. When we get to his car, I hand it to him. “You can give it to him.”
“Thanks. Seriously.” He sets the puzzle and The NakedTruth down on the back seat next to my garment bag and the gift bag with the wedding dress. “This means a lot.”
This whole night has meant a lot. “You’re welcome.”
He turns on the car but doesn’t make a move to go. He stares straight ahead at the street unfolding in front of us, clearly thinking before he turns to me. “It means a lot, especially since my dad’s still around, you know?”
My throat tightens. “I do.”
“Clem told you?”
“Enough. I know your mom left?”
He sighs heavily. “When we were in high school. Gavin was in college. She was just done.”
My heart aches for his family. “I’m sorry. That sounds terrible.”
He drags a hand across his beard. “It kind of sucked.”
That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one, but I’m learning he doesn’t share easily. When he does it’s the bare minimum. But sometimes the bare minimum is enough. “Do you ever miss her?”
He scoffs lightly, shakes his head. “Nope. My dad is there for me for whatever I need.”
I can’t not touch him right now, so I reach out and squeeze his biceps. “I’m glad.”
“Me too, Remy.” He taps the gas, and pulls into traffic. After we cruise through a few green lights, I return to the topic du jour. “When do you want to play The Naked Truth?”
I half want him to say tonight, but I also don’t know that I can excavate any more of my emotions today. I hold my breath, waiting for him to answer.
“Tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow. That work for you?”
He has a game in the late afternoon. I need to be at the arena too. I’m conducting a VIP tour for a local youth sports and mental health charity that we partner with prior to warmups. “Before the game?”
“Yeah, I was thinking since we picked up your dress today, why don’t you come over to my place? You can help me pick out a suit for the wedding. I’ve got a lot.”
But all I hear iswhy don’t you come over.
Lake’s inviting me to his apartment, in the city, before a game. He wants me to look through his clothes. Like a girlfriend would do. Then, play The Naked Truth.
My chest is lava.
My throat is a desert.
He’s been in my home, so I don’t know why this feels different. But maybe it’s because of the way he kissed me today.
Maybe it’s because of the things he said in the dressing room.
Or possibly it’s because he wants to do five things with me that a bride and a groom were never able to do.
“Sure,” I answer, but my voice hardly sounds like my own. This is the real danger, and I’m walking right into it.
As the buses and the buildings and the city streak by, I try to tell myself it’s just his home. It’s just a project. It’s just a thing two people going to a wedding together would do.
But it’s also a card game, a list, and a night where we held hands.
