Page 162 of Pucking Rebound
My throat finally works. “Hey.” I suddenly feel nervous around him and chew the side of my mouth.
Staring at each other, I eventually ask, “What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
I nervously laugh. “What?” I think I must have misheard him.
“Do you like the house, Lola?” he asks calmly, but I can tell he’s nervous when his voice wavers.
My entire body is vibrating to the thumping of my heart. “I do. I love this house.”Why is he asking?
“I bought it from Wade for us,” Jordy says with a straight face.
I burst out laughing at how crazy he sounds. “You’re joking?” Checking Wade’s serious expression, then Jordy’s, I realize he’s not. “Oh.” I’m speechless, which is unusual for me.
Tears prick my eyes at his next words as happiness fills me up from toes to the top of my head. “This will be where we raise our baby. In a house you love. Across the street from your brother and sister-in-law and niece or nephew. We’re going to fill it full of memories. Together, as a family.”
“Together?” He’s such a beautiful man, and he wants to build a family together. How did I get so lucky?
Wade kisses me on the cheek. “Welcome to your happy ever after, Lola.” Then he leaves.
What’s happening?
Gingerly, Jordy walks to me at the same time I walk to him, meeting somewhere in the middle.
He cups my cheek in the same way he’s done a million times, and I lean into it, inviting more. His touch is always incredibly tender and makes my eyes flutter shut. I’ve missed everything about us.
“Gladiola-Grace Ramsay.” He calls me by my full name, and I open my eyes to meet his dreamy ones.
“I’m completely, hopelessly, and madly in love with you—body, heart, mind, and soul.”
Oh, dear Lord, I was not expecting him to say that, but it’s what I’ve craved to hear, making my heart flood with happiness.
“You love me?”
“I do. I've known for weeks.” His face is now full of strength, his tone of voice the same. “I never wanted us to go our separate ways. Every day, I wished that we could be together. I just couldn’t figure out how. I love you so fucking much. I don’t want to spend another night apart.” His voice flounders. “But I don’t know if you feel the same way.”
I blink in astonished silence.
“Say something.” His thumb brushes my cheek.
“Do you remember on New Year’s Eve? I told you I was catching feelings?”
“How could I forget?” He bows his head, moving closer to my lips.
“I had already fallen for you, Jordan. I think I started falling for you when you took me to build a snowman, then some more when you bought me a bauble to fill with my hopes and dreams. Do you want to know what I wrote in mine?”
“Tell me.”
I snake my arms around his waist. “Figure out a way for Jordy and me to continue our relationship after I finish working for the Eagles without any consequences for Jordy… and hope Wade doesn’t kill him.”
The mood between us suddenly buoyant, his lips curve upward, his eyes sparkling with happiness.
“Do you want to know what I wrote in mine?” he asks, and I answer with a series of quick head nods. “Figure out a way for Lola and me to be together without getting my ass transferred or demoted to the AHL.”
We want the same things.
My skin tingles with excitement and, for the first time in weeks, elation floods my heart.
