Page 144 of Risking the Pucking Defense

She shrugs, letting me see a more vulnerable side of the woman who’s constantly giving orders and taking names at work.

“There’s literally nothing better than hanging out with you.”

“You’re just saying that because your cum is still dripping out of me.”

My eyes drop despite the fact that I know I can’t see anything. But fuck if I don’t want to.

“I’d say it whether we’d had sex or not, Hails. You’re my favorite person.”

Her breath catches, and she stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“You’re incredible,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Confident, independent, fearless, beautiful.”

Her cheeks heat and she drops her eyes to my chest as if my words are hard to absorb.

“Hey,” I say, tucking my fingers beneath her chin and forcing her to look back up at me. “Everything I’ve said to you is true. I’d never lie to you, baby.”

Tears fill her eyes, and I fucking hate that I’ve put them there, even if I was saying good things.

“What is it?”

It takes her a moment to respond, and when she does, her words are like a knife through my chest.

“No one…no one has ever said those kinds of things to me before.”

My chin drops in shock.

How?

How is that possible?

She’s…fuck, she’s everything.

“Then you’ve been spending time with the wrong kind of people, Hails, because I think you’re the most incredible person I’ve ever met.”

I catch one of her tears as it escapes, and I make a promise to myself that I’ll do whatever it takes to show her just how amazing she is every single day.

“M-my ex…” she starts, but her words trail off. I’m not sure if it’s because she isn’t ready, or if she just can’t find the words. Either way, I hold her tighter and hope she feels the support, the encouragement to be brave and open up. “He…he never loved me. It wasn’t a real relationship, not really. It was…a business deal.”

“His loss,” I tell her. “If he’d figured out just how amazing you are, then I might never have gotten the chance to see it.”

She smiles at me. There are more words, more secrets on the tip of her tongue, but she holds them back. For now, at least. And I’ll wait as long as she needs me to.

“So, what did you have planned for the day then?” she finally asks, making a wide smile spread across my face.

41

HAILEE

“Wait here. I’ll only be a few minutes,” Hayden says before he pushes his car door open and climbs out, leaving me sitting in his passenger seat.

When we finally made it out of his apartment, he wanted to know where I’d parked my car, and I had to hesitantly explain that I’d gotten an Uber to his place.

He wanted to ask, I could see the questions burning in his eyes, but just like all the other questions that are building inside him, he swallowed them down and just accepted my words.

I have so much I need to tell him, but every time I try to say the words, something stops me.

Fear.