I shoved at her shoulder. “Let’s get through your wedding first, okay?”
She smirked, admiring the beautiful diamond ring gracing her left hand. “Fair.”
Tonight, my emotions had been all over the place, but for the first time since moving away from Hartford, I felt hope.
Chapter 22
Maddox
Sleep eluded me asthoughts of Bristol filtered through my mind.
Was she thinking of me, or had that life-altering kiss already been forgotten?
In the darkness of my hotel room, I checked the bedside clock for at least the hundredth time in the last two hours. It read: 3:08 AM.
Fuck, I would be dragging tomorrow. I didn’t even get the benefit of taking a nap pre-game like the players anymore. No, my afternoon would be spent making last-minute line adjustments and reviewing film on the Comets with my coaching staff.
Groaning, I sat up in bed, rubbing both hands over my face. Desperate to turn off my brain, I threw on athletic shorts and a T-shirt before lacing up a pair of sneakers on my feet. The hotel gym was open 24/7, and a few hours spent pushing my body to the point of exhaustion was my only hope of passing out tonight.
I snatched my cell phone and key card, tucking both in my pocket, before I opened the door, but stumbled back in shock.
With her hand raised like she was preparing to knock, stood Bristol.
A gasp slipped from her lips when the door opened without warning. When her eyes met mine, her cheeks pinkened, drawing my attention to her beautifully make-up-free face and the barely noticeable freckles along the bridge of her nose.
Since she was stunned speechless, I took the lead. “Hey. Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” she breathed out.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked, even though the answer was obvious.
She nodded.
“Me neither. Sorry if I scared you by opening the door. I was headed to the gym, hoping to wear myself out.”
“Oh.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she took a step back. “I’ll let you go.”
When she turned to leave, I panicked, snaking a hand out to snag her wrist and spinning her to face me.
“Please don’t,” I begged.
“You want me to stay?” The hope shining in her eyes was enough to bring me to my knees. I knew at that moment I would give her the world if she asked for it.
“More than anything,” I confessed.
“Okay.” Bristol dipped her head, allowing me to tug her inside my hotel room.
I turned on a lamp. It cast enough of a glow that we could see each other without being too harsh in the middle of the night.
Gesturing to the armchairs in the corner near the window, I offered, “Care to sit?”
“Sure.” She crossed the room, dropping into one and tucking her legs beneath her.
Sitting opposite her, I dared to touch the fabric of her navy silk pajamas. They were the same ones she’d bought when we were in LA. “These look comfortable.”
That got a tiny smile out of her. “And modest too. Couldn’t be roaming the halls this late at night in any of the other items.”
I cocked my head. “Other items?” As far as I could recall, she’d left the shop with only the PJ set she was wearing and the sex toys that had fueled my fantasies of getting a chance to use them with her.
