Page 91 of Wildest Dreams

“I… get really nervous talking through my feelings like this,” she whispers. “I hate the vulnerability that comes with putting my heart on my sleeve.”

I slide my hand to that tiny heart-shaped freckle just beneath her elbow and give it a small caress with the large pad of my thumb.

“I know,” I murmur. “But you never have to do it alone. I’m here with you, and I’m putting my heart on my sleeve too.”

I offer her the briefest hint of a smile before swiping a hand down my chest to rid myself of the rain clinging to my pecs.

“Did you really wait for me?” she asks suddenly, brow arched as tears shimmer in her beautiful eyes.

I almost laugh as I tug her closer, the soft fabric of her dress rubbing up against the muscles of my abdomen.

“Check that secret cell phone you’ve got stashed away,” I tell her, unable to resist towering over her as her palms scrunch the fabric of my soaked shorts in her fists. “How many goddamn months I spent trying to get you on dates that you never fuckingturned up at. You remember those messages? You remember the fucking flowersI would leave outside the condo doors?”

She winces and shakes her head, and I stroke my fingers through her hair, stopping it from falling forward and hiding her beautiful face.

I did wait for Aisling, for most of my freshman year. But after all those months I knew that I had to take the hint. She wasn’t interested, so I had to move on.

Didn’t stop me from implementing a self-imposed no sex rule during my entire senior year though. Because even though she had a boyfriend at the time, I knew that Aisling and I had some seriously unfinished business.

“I was just... I was protecting myself,” she says, her whisper frantic as she searches my eyes.

“I know.”

I nod down at her and tangle my fingers in her soft, dark waves.

“I’m glad that you did. I’m glad that you put yourself first. And I can see it from your side and I know how fucking terrible it looked. But I would never do anything to hurt you, Aisling – that predestined lifestyle that the chicks at Carter U had set up for me was the goddamn opposite of what I wanted. I met you, and I wanted to keep you.” I give the back of her neck a gentle squeeze. “End of story.”

“Tanner…” she says warily, eyes wide as I hold her firmly against me in the rain.

“It was always you.” I stroke her jaw. “That’s something that you’ll never need to question.”

I move my hand from the back of her neck so that I can gently shield her face from the downpour with my palm, earning a wet little laugh from her as a stray tear streaks down her cheek.

“No crying,” I tell her, leaning down to quickly kiss it away. Her chest shudders against mine as my lips meet her skin, andit takes every ounce of strength that I have to pull myself back from her. To resist finally claiming her mouth with mine.

“I didn’t want to fall for you,” she whispers, a concerned shimmer in her eyes.

“You didn’t want to fall for the asshole that your friends were talking about. But you already fell for the real me, Aisling – the version that’s there for you and only you. You want that quiet small town life? I can give you that. You know that, Aisling – that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

She gives me a dry look, pouting a little.

“You’re about to become a famous hockey player. I hardly think that a quiet small town life is in the cards for you right now.”

She is absolutely not finding another way to wiggle back out of my life again.

“Okay, look. Yeah, the NHL’s a big deal, but how many players’ private lives do you know about?”

I raise my eyebrows at her as she frowns and purses her lips. I hide my smirk.Got her.

“See? It’s not one of those… showy sports, baby. Some of the guys might be like that, especially when they’re crazy famous, but with guys like me – guys like Hunter and Caden and all of the other guys from Carter U who plan on going pro – we’re just doing the sport. Playing the game, making some money, and then at the end of the day wanting nothing more than to get back to our girl.”

I brush my thumb over her soft cheek and feel my chest swell with satisfaction as she relaxes against me.

My voice is low and quiet as I tease, “Now stop trying to make up obstacles and tell me that I can make you mine.”

She scowls up at me from under the palm that I’ve got shielding her perfect face from the rain. My eyes drop down toher dress and I watch the downpour begin to turn the soft pink fabric wet and translucent.

My jaw muscles flex.

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