Chapter 7

She was so close.Maybe six inches from me. But that gap was shrinking bit by bit, like an invisible string was tugging us closer. I could snake my arm around her waist and have her settled on my lap before she knew what was happening. Or maybe she already understood my thoughts. If the hitch in her breath and the way her eyes were dilated were any indication, then that was the case.

Before I could act on it, though, she stepped back. As the warmth that had surrounded me vanished, disappointment crashed over me in a tidal wave.

Why did she have such a profound effect on me? Before I could process that thought, the stark white circle that surrounded the Revs logo on her shirt captured my attention, reminding me without words that we couldn't cross that line. She'd always wanted this career. Even when she was a junior in high school, back when I was still drifting aimlessly, without a clue about what I wanted, she knew. She'd talked about her dream of one day working for a professional team. Hockey was her first choice, but she hadn't minded the idea of working for a pro baseball team either. While she had her sights set on her future, all I wanted was her.

Pain lanced through my shoulder, pulling me from my trance and making me wince.

She backed up another step, then another. "You need to ice. I'll get something."

Nodding, I dragged myself back to the sofa. Once I was flat on my back, I tucked my good arm behind my head. "There's a bag of peas in freezer."

I forced my body to relax, breathing through the pain in my shoulder and the dull throb in my head, and tracked Aurora as she moved across the apartment. And fuck if I wasn't an asshole. Because when she bent over the freezer, giving me the perfect view of her ass, I couldn't help but smirk. She wasn't tiny, and that was perfect. I had big hands, and from here, it was easy to see that my palms would fit perfectly molded around the globes of her ass. Before I'd had my fill, she stood up and spun around. Looked like I'd have to bury the bag of peas better next time.

In less than a minute, she had the peas on my shoulder and was collecting the plates we'd used for pizza and bustling around the kitchen.

My eyes drifted shut, the exhaustion of the day weighing on me. When I opened them again, she was curled up on the love seat, wearing her dark-framed glasses, attention locked in on her book. Iron Flame. Interesting.

"I read that one when it came out." My voice was gruff from sleep. As I pulled the bag of peas from my shoulder, I cleared my throat.

"Really?" She lifted her head and scanned my bookshelves like she was searching for it.

"I spend so much time on the plane, so I read on my phone a lot. I only buy physical copies of my favorites."

"So this series didn't earn a place?" She lifted one brow in challenge. Hmm. She must have loved them so far.

"I'll see when the series is done. I won't buy a set until it's full."

With a smile, she nodded. "I remember that about you. You were horrified when I bought Cinder and Scarlett before we knew whether we actually liked the series."

"Turned out you were right. It was epic."

She flashed a smile, and my stomach bottomed out. Behind the glasses she was sporting—she must have taken her contacts out at some point—her brown eyes sparkled.

God, how had I ever forgotten the feeling I got when she smiled at me? I gave my teammate Dragon so much shit for how willing he was to turn himself into a pretzel if it made his girl happy, but as I sat here, soaking in the warmth that hit me when Aurora smiled at me, it was easy to remember how easily I'd become that guy eleven years ago and how easily I could fall right back into that role.

My stomach rumbled loudly.

"Someone's hungry."

I rested a hand on my abdomen. "Growing boys need their food."

She chuckled and shook her head. "That might have worked at eighteen, but you're twenty-nine. You're done growing."

Surprised by my hunger since I'd put away a few slices of pizza, I glanced at the clock. "Oh shit, it's almost seven."

"Yeah, you were out for a while, Sleeping Beauty," she teased.

With a chuckle, I pushed to my feet and headed for the kitchen. I wanted to figure out dinner before the game came on, so I pulled open the fridge and surveyed the meals Jeanie had left.

"Is this okay for dinner?" I asked, setting what looked to be a chicken and broccoli pasta on the marble countertop.

She stepped up next to me at the island. "I thought you didn't cook."

"I don't." I shrugged. "I have someone who drops off food and cleans."

"Every day?"

"Not when I'm away." I turned and preheated the oven.

At first, I had tried to do it all myself. My family didn't have a ton of money when I was growing up, and I felt more comfortable cleaning and cooking—or ordering takeout—myself. But during my first season with the Revs, I learned that paying someone to do things here and there made my life infinitely less complicated. I wasn't wasteful. I respected that my time was just as valuable to me as money.

"But I'm at the stadium most days until eight or nine o'clock, so I don't have time to do this stuff."

"I guess that makes sense." She shrugged.

"She cooks and cleans, even does my laundry. It means when I come home, I have time to relax. And I need that."

"Because every minute you're outside these walls, you have to be on."

I shrugged. I was a different person here than I was out there, yes, and very few people saw the real me. They wanted the larger-than-life, fun athlete, so that's what I gave them. But I wasn't interested in talking about that with Aurora. "We need to put the game on," I said, making my way for the remote on the coffee table, thankful to escape her line of questioning.

"You can't watch TV." She yanked the remote away from me.

I sighed. "Fine. I won't watch it. I'll just sit here and listen to it." I closed my eyes. "I need to know how Potter does. That kid's bat isn't where it should be, and we're making a playoff run this year."

"If I see you watching it or getting worked up, we're shutting it off."

"As long as they win, I won't get the least bit worked up," I promised. Cracking my eyes open again, I took her in. She was still dressed in the Revs polo and black pants she'd worn to work. "We're not going anywhere. Go get comfy."

"This is pretty much all I brought." She shrugged.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "You didn't bring anything to change into?" She was staying for five days, and she'd only packed work clothes?

"Only pajamas, but I'm not putting those on." She averted her gaze and shifted on her feet.

"Give me a break." Sighing, I stomped to my bedroom in search of sweats and a T-shirt.

When I held them out to her, she looked from them to me and back again, a frown marring her pretty face.

"It's not like I haven't seen you in sweatpants and T-shirts before." I cocked a brow. I wasn't going to pretend we were strangers.

She huffed, but finally accepted the clothes. "Thanks."

I shook my head as she made her way to the guest room to change. When she stepped back into the living room, I froze. At the sight of her, my heart skipped off beat in my chest and my blood surged south. In sweatpants, I was at risk of very easily embarrassing myself, but with one quick shift, I hid the issue. What was it about her wearing my T-shirt that made my chest puff out? That, along with the dick problem and the sudden caveman urge to throw her over my shoulder and drag her to my room, was ridiculous. If she'd walked out in lingerie? Sure, I'd get the way my body had taken over. But she was standing before me in an oversized shirt that hid her body, with her purple toenail polish peeking out beneath the hem of my white sweats. As I took in the glasses and off-center messed bun, it hit me. The casual Aurora that stood in front of me now was more than just reminiscent of the girl I'd been obsessed with.

I swallowed hard. I understood the line in the sand. If I made a move, she could lose a job she'd wanted her entire life. And I couldn't do that to her. So my focus needed to be on anything but the girl of my dreams who was currently tucking herself into the far side of the couch.

So I focused on the announcers, the play calling, the game. I leaned back so my head rested on the cushion behind me and closed my eyes. Oddly, I was hyped up and relaxed all at the same time. Honestly, if Aurora shifted over two cushions and curled into the crook of my arm, I might call tonight the best night I'd had in years.

It was ridiculous, since I had a concussion and couldn't play the game I loved, but it was true.