She takes a deep breath, then she blows it out, calming herself. “I saw you here,” she whispers, “and I thought I imagined it.”
I shook my head. “I’m real. I’m here. I’m yours.”
She stands defiantly, and she swallows hard. Is she going to reject me? I hope she changed her mind and that the lump in her throat was a sign of her eating her disappointment and bitterness she’s feeling.
“How can I trustyouwhenyouforgot? I can’t sacrifice my career for you. I promised myself I wouldn’t become my mother, hitching her star to the next boyfriend like he is going to carry her out of Pine Hollow and live happily ever after. Don’t you get it? I can’t go back.” Her voice rises, but I get it. She has every right to be pissed. “You forgot. I called you, and itwent to your voicemail.”
“I know,” I murmur. “I was in the boat with the guys and the Stanley Cup. I screwed up. I’m not here because we make sense, or because it’s easy. Hell, I know I’m not perfect. I fucked up. But I can try harder. This is new to me, and I’m sorry.”
She stares at me like she is searching for the catch. But there aren’tany catches. I want her the way she is, and I’m prepared to wait for her to catch up to me.
She moves toward me, and when her fingers finally curl into my shirt, just a little, but just enough to make it intimate, I knew she’s forgiven me.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she whispers.
“Message received,” I murmur against her lips. “Please don’t run away again. Run to me, not away. Can you do that?”
Maybe she doesn’t believe a man like me wants her, but I’ll be damned if she’s walking away again.
“I’ll run to you, but I need to know where you are.”
“Done,” I reply. And this time, I kiss her like my life depends on it.
24
KATE
REPUTATIONS AND FAIRY TALES.
“You’re supposedto be a stranger, just a name and a face/But the way you see right through me’s got me lost in this place.”Kate Riggs
We board the jet, and I can’t keep my eyes off my husband.
Fake husband. Whatever.
Mamma always said to find a man with big feet—that it meant big, well… you know. I hate to admit it, but she wasn’t wrong. Finn’sverywell-endowed. Sure, this marriage is a sham, but the sex? Very real. And after a year-long dry spell, I’m enjoying every second of it.
The only problem? I’m getting used to him, and that’s dangerous.
He always makes sure there’s coffee waiting for me in the morning. He doesn’t get annoyed when I stop mid-sentence to scribble lyrics down, like the words might escape me if I wait too long.
And it’s not just the sex or the coffee or the quiet patience.
It’shim.
I can’t stop thinking about what that woman said in the bathroom back at the gala—her voice haunts me. Will he leave me when the newness of us is over?
Why hasn’t Finn ever married? What did he ever see in her?
He’s rich, famous, and stupidly handsome. He’s on the cover of every magazine with that damn silver cup, and men everywhere act like it’s the Holy Grail. Hell, he even makes me block out time to spend with it, like it’s his mistress or something.
Men are weird. But… I’ll be a sport about it.
We hit cruising altitude, and Finn pours himself a drink. I watch him, not bothering to hide it.
“You always stare like that?” he asks, one brow lifted.
“Maybe.” I grin, propping my chin in my hand. “You gonna tell me why you’ve never been married?” My Tennessee accent comes out. It tends to do that when I’m feeling cocky.
