28. Larkin

We were somewherebetween Cottonwood Falls and Dallas when Knox reached across the center console and held his hand palm up for me to hold.

Butterflies danced in my stomach at the sight of his hand, at the invitation. At what it meant. And warmth spread through me as I slipped my hand into his, memorizing every bit of our contact, from his calloused skin to the way his hand enveloped mine, the way he wasn’t a lazy hand-holder, but actually squeezed my hand like he was grateful for the moment and didn’t want to let me go.

I realized I was staring at our intertwined fingers, his tanned, tattooed skin contrasting with my pale and freckled complexion. Then I glanced up to see him looking at the road, a smile on his lips.

Both the kids had fallen asleep, and their soft snores blended with the music playing low on the radio.

I wished I could talk to the old me, in the midst of a divorce, thinking that all men would leave, that men viewed love as a game, and tell her that she’d soon be feeling butterflies in her stomach at simply holding hands with a man.

A good man.

“Tell me about Ford,” I said. “We didn’t get to talk much at your party. What’s he really like?”

Knox let out a quiet chuckle. “He’s a shit.”

I had to laugh at that too. “Details?”

“He’s a terrible liar. Every time he tries, he can’t make eye contact, and when you call him on it, he instantly starts smiling. Usually he was just lying about whether or not chores were done, stuff like that. Or when he tried to get Fletcher and me in trouble when we were little kids, you know, usual younger sibling stuff.”

I nodded, missing my big sister so much. I couldn’t wait to tell her about this trip with Knox.

“He was a really hard worker too,” Knox said. “Always stayed late after sports practice to work on a new skill. He could have been the best one on the team and he still stayed after everyone else, trying to get just a little bit better.”

“It sounds like you admire him,” I commented.

“I do.” He glanced my way a moment, gifting me with one of his small smiles. “I guess part of me wishes I could have dealt with things the way he had. I like my life now, but I wish it wasn’t as hard to get here, you know?”

I totally understood. “My dad left my mom when I was too young to remember. I know it’s not the same as what you went through, but in my teenage years, I was adamant that I wouldn”t date until I was old enough to make good decisions with men. In high school, I thought that meant college. But then I told myself I wouldn”t date until I graduated nursing school so I’d have time to invest in the right guy.” I shook my head at my youthful naivete. If only I’d known then what I knew now. “Sometimes I wonder if I’d had more experience dating, would I have noticed Seth’s red flags?”

He squeezed my hand comfortingly. “Don’t blame yourself for anyone else’s bad behavior, okay?”

My chest tightened, fighting against the words. Wasn’t it my job to know better?

As if he could hear my thoughts, he reminded me, “Seth is a grown man. He made his choices, not you.”

I nodded. But as Knox shifted in his seat, I could tell there was a question on the tip of his tongue.

“Ask me,” I said.

He checked the rearview mirror to make sure the kids were still asleep, and then his voice was low, rough. “Was Seth your first?”

I could barely hear my own voice as I said, “He was.”

I could see all his suppressed emotions as his eyelids shuddered.

“And Bennett?” he asked.

“Nothing happened,” I admitted.

Then he smiled. “Good.” His gaze intensified as he pinned it on me, just long enough to make my heart beat faster. “I’m going to show you how a man should treat a woman. In every sense of the word.”

My lips parted and my thighs clenched. Every part of me was looking forward to him keeping that promise.

Traffic grew heavier the closer we got to Dallas, and he had to put two hands on the wheel to navigate the zipping and weaving drivers. He followed the directions playing on the truck screen until we reached the parking garage right next to the stadium.

“Knox, it must cost a fortune to park here,” I said. I’d only been to a game once before, and even parking a mile away had cost twenty dollars. “I don’t mind walking.”

He smirked. “Don’t worry. I know a guy.”

I rolled my eyes at the joke and wondered why I hadn’t thought of that. He carefully pulled the truck into a spot, using the palm of his hand to spin the wheel. Something was so damn sexy about that; I had to pry my eyes away so he wouldn’t catch me staring.

Once he turned off the truck, we got out to wake the kids, and they were in a good mood, excited to watch the game.

We walked with all the people heading toward the stadium, but Knox took us to a private elevator toward the back where an attendant sat on a small black stool.

“This is fan-cy,” Emily said, staring around at the mirrored elevator with elaborate purple and gold tapestry and marble floors.

The attendant chuckled, her dark skin crinkling around her eyes. “Your first game, honey?”

Emily nodded.

The woman reached into a bag behind her and pulled out a small purple football with the Diamonds logo on it and held it out.

“Can I have it?” Emily asked.

“Of course, sugar,” the woman said, then she glanced at Knox. “Which suite?”

“Marquise,” Knox answered.

And if Emily thought the elevator was fancy, the suite made it look like a dump in comparison.

The room held about twenty people, all famous or relatives of the players. There was a bar with two bartenders on staff, an entire buffet of game day snacks, multiple TV screens showing the game, and then a giant windowed view of the entire field.

“Oh my goodness!” Emily jumped up and down in place as we took in the room, and then she sprinted through the short row of seats up to the window. Knox followed her while I walked in holding Jackson, and the pair of them looked over the field. I could see Knox pointing to show her different parts of the stadium.

After how low she’d been with Seth leaving her in the lurch, my heart warmed seeing Knox treat her like a precious gem… like a diamond.

Jackson squirmed in my arms, so I got him some soft food from the buffet, and we went to sit beside Knox and Emily while Jackson took food in his fists and shoved it into his mouth.

Soon, the game began, and we were swept up in the excitement of the day. Yelling encouragement for the players, groaning at mistakes, and arguing with the refs, who had no chance at hearing us.

But then, during a time-out, the camera panned the audience, showing couples for the kiss cam on the jumbo screen.

And then the cameras landed on us.

And the chanting started. “KISS HER. KISS HER!”

My heart sped up, and my cheeks flushed, and with tens of thousands of people staring at me, I wished I could disappear into the floor. I turned toward Knox. “You really don’t have to,” I told him. After last night, I wasn’t sure he was ready for this again—if it was too soon.

His gaze was on me, all blue eyes and full lips and heat that had no place burning in a public space.

“I’m not ashamed to show fifty thousand people exactly how I feel about you,” he said, his voice just low enough for me to hear.

I lifted my chin, entering this special place that existed only for him and me. “And how is that?”

His eyes flicked to my lips, and then he caught my chin in his calloused hand, guiding my mouth to meet his.

The second our mouths touched, it was a shock to my system more intense than any lightning crash. Warmth and tenderness even stronger than the night before, attraction that went beyond anything my brain could think or my heart had felt.

All the yelling, the cheers, the people watching us on the jumbo screen faded away until all I could focus on was this man and the fact that this was how he felt about me. And that it just kept getting better.

We broke apart, and my eyes blinked open, stunned at what had just happened and how it made me feel. And when I met Knox’s eyes, saw his grin, I couldn’t help but smile myself.

Beside Knox, Emily yelled, “ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?”

Chuckles erupted around the suite.

“What’s funny?” Emily asked.

Knox tucked her under his arm. “Maybe I have something funny written on my back?”

She giggled. “Yeah, Steve.”

I smiled at Knox, but a part of me was terrified too.

Because it was so easy to fall for him. What happened if he let me hit the ground?