Chapter 7

My cast is covered in Sierra autographs.

Pink fiberglass dotted with scribbles of black Sharpie.

Scribbles except for Lake Jordan's signature. His name takes up a good portion of my forearm.

And scribbles except for Lake Jordan's signature and…except for Leo's.

Because he blurted out the question just as Lake came around the corner and then the next minutes were filled with my arm being cradled in a series of big hockey hands as signatures were scrawled over the surface.

First Lake's.

Then about twenty others.

Just not Leo's.

Now, though, we‘re alone. No big hands gently turning my arm and signing my cast. No teammates studying me like I'm a science experiment. In fact, no hockey players in the hall at all. Well, no hockey players aside from Leo.

Who's not studying me like a science experiment.

Instead, he's looking at me like…

My belly flutters.

He's looking at me like he did that night, like…the warmth in his voice when he comforted me and the careful way he held me against him when my world imploded.

"You tired?" he asks softly.

I am.

I worked today and it's still not easy doing hair with a cast on.

But…I'm also not.

Watching him on the ice, rooting for him to score when he had the puck, wincing with each hit he took, worry coursing through me, but also…excitement—all of those have my adrenaline going.

Hockey is exciting.

Having a personal connection to someone on the ice below?

Even more so.

"No," I say as he steps closer, fingers tightening on the Sharpie one of the players put in my hand.

"Wanna go for a drive?"

That's…not what I expected him to say, and yet, it sounds perfect.

Dumb, maybe, to be talking to a man so soon after Toby. Maybe I should be nursing my broken heart, taking a beat, stopping and thinking.

But…I stopped and thought a lot when it came to Toby, when it came to Colleen.

Letting a lot of things slide.

Ignoring what I wanted.

So, today, I'm going to do what I want.

And that's to see what this thing with Leo is, to take a drive with him, to talk and text and…nod. "Yeah," I murmur. "I'd like that."

The frown on his face—the one that had been there from the moment his teammates descended—disappears and he smiles down at me. "Good."

Then he wraps an arm around me, drawing me gently toward him, bringing his big, warm body against mine, wrapping me in a hug that's…

Well, damn.

The man gives great hug.

I sigh, drop my forehead against his chest.

Weird. Fast. Right.

Ultimately, that's what the last week and a half have continuously told me.

That this thing between us is weird and fast and right and intense and?—

Right.

Yes, to all of those. But mostly the right.

Leo's arms around me. Me breathing in his scent. The warm, fuzzy feeling in my belly.

All of it.

"I missed you," he says.

Weird. Fast. Right.

I lean back, touch his jaw lightly, brush over the spot where there's a faint pink scar, wonder for a second what caused it, then I say, "I missed you too."

The smile he gives me…

Warm.

Right.

"Should we take that drive?" I ask.

His arms tighten and for a second, I think we're just going to spend the entire night standing in each other's embrace, but then his hold loosens and he wraps one arm around my shoulders, tucking me against his side.

We walk out of the arena.

We get into his car.

And…we drive.

The water laps quietly against the shore, soft slaps of sound that break the quiet of the night. There's snow behind us, piles of white fluffy stuff higher on the beach, the result of another—unwanted—deposit from the record-breaking snowfall this winter.

But it's the moon that gets me.

Full and bright and gilding the lake in silver, its reflection stretched into a series of ripples and waves, but no less beautiful than its original brethren overhead.

"You like this," Leo says and I glance up, seeing him watching me.

"Yeah," I murmur. "I don't get much time to do it though."

"Why not?"

I shrug. "Life. Work. Expenses. I told you I opened my salon six months ago"—he nods—"and so it's not just dealing with my normal clients, but all of the other stuff." I sigh then admit the truth, both to myself and Leo, "And Toby and Colleen weren't much for the outdoors."

"What the fuck are they doing up in Tahoe then?" he asks.

That's…a good question.

Because this is the land of hiking and snow and the great outdoors, beaches and clear, blue water. This is the land of bears and trails and?—

I laugh, those pieces slotting together in a weird-ass puzzle. "No clue."

Leo's face gentles and he touches a finger to my cheek. "Well, let's make sure you get outside more, yeah? Work is good. It's important and fulfilling. It's just"—he crouches a little so our gazes are aligned—"not everything."

I inhale.

Then let out the breath.

Thinking this man gets me.

After a week and half.

And how long did I waste with Toby?

Too long.

"No," I agree. "It's not everything."

A smile as he takes my hand, draws me forward, and I'm not paying attention to my feet, to my surroundings.

Because his hand is warm and I'm feeling all that right in my belly.

In my heart.

So, I don't see the rock.

I trip, flying forward, seeing the ground coming up toward my face.

But just like in the bar, Leo's there, catching me, sweeping me up, holding me close, saving me from busting my face open.

"Sweetheart," he chastises lightly, his arms tight around me, my body pressed to his.

I don't fight his hold.

Being held by him isn't a trial—those strong arms, the steady grip, the warmth and the spicy scent of him, the steady bounces against of my body against his hard chest as he walks us forward.

Then sits on a rock overlooking the water and that gorgeous reflection of the moon.

"Did you hurt yourself?" he asks gruffly.

I shake my head.

"This too much?" he asks, still gruff.

I shake my head again. "No."

"I don't mean holding you," he presses.

I still. Release a breath. "I know that," I say softly. "I'm okay." I shrug as well as I'm able to, considering he's still holding me. "Really," I add when he snorts quietly. "I think seeing them in my salon was just the nail in the coffin, the final step toward what would have always been the conclusion. I'm better off without them. And…" I glance out at the lake again.

"And what, sweetheart?" he asks, smoothing my hair back, making my heart skip.

Sweetheart.

From him.

More right.

"And…I'm glad I'm here." A beat. "With you."

His eyes warm, mouth hitching up. "Yeah. Me too, sweetheart."

I shiver.

Not from the cold. But from that smile and that velvet rasp and my body being very close to his.

His arms tighten. "You're cold." He starts to stand.

"No," I say quickly, hands going to his shoulders, pushing down lightly, as though I can make him sit again just from that simple touch.

And maybe I can.

Because he does sit, even with my casted hand's push being pathetically weak because it's still healing.

But I'm not focused on that.

Because all at once, I realize our mouths are very close.

My inhale is sharp.

My exhale meets his lips as his mouth presses to mine.

Sparks fly behind my closed lids, brighter than the reflection of the moon on the water, erasing everything except for the feel of his body against mine, his lips guiding mine open, his tongue sliding inside, sensation flooding through me like a dam has suddenly burst.

He's kissing me.

And it feels like this is the first time I've ever had a man's mouth on mine.

I sigh.

So fucking perfect.

Especially, when his hand slides up my back, clenching in my hair, tilting my head back, the little twinge on my scalp making me moan and press closer, nails digging into his shoulders, mouth swallowing his groan, feeling it vibrate against my chest.

Feeling him.

Kissing him.

Wanting him.

Which, unfortunately, is the moment he pulls back, leaving us both breathing heavy, even as his mouth tips up again. "My girl can kiss."

That makes me blush.

And the warm, weird, right feeling settles in my belly again.

"You're not so bad yourself," I say, waggling my brows.

He chuckles.

My cheeks hurt, I'm smiling so wide. "Leo?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"Wanna do it again?"

No hesitation.

The man doesn't hesitate for one second.

He bends and kisses me under the moonlight.