Page 39 of Forecasting the Forward

He shrugs. “I pack light. You took longer to pack, so I booked everything. We’ll have a couple hours in Vegas before we have to fly back east. I can rebook you to Denver if you’d like, but I’d kinda like to have you in Cleveland with me, if that’s okay.”

He looks somewhat bashful as he waits for my response. “Why?”

Jacob looks down at our conjoined hands. “I want to introduce you to my teammates. Technically it’ll be our honeymoon, and I figure together in Cleveland is still better than apart. And honestly, I’ll feel better if you’re with me. I don’t know if your brother will lash out, and I can’t protect you from a thousand miles away.”

I can’t help the sweet sigh that escapes my lips. I didn’t expect such a thoughtful response. “A honeymoon in Cleveland? I sure am a lucky girl.”

He lifts our hands to kiss the back of mine. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go during the All-Star break.”

“Shit.”

I look over to find Jacob clearly aggravated. “What?”

“The Clark County courthouse closed at midnight, and they don’t open again until eight.” After a slight delay on the tarmac in Indianapolis, we barely made our connecting flight in Dallas. Now we’re heading to Vegas. “I’ll have to change our return flights.”

“Oh. And with the time difference flying back east, you may not make your game,” I surmise.

“Maybe. Let me do some research.” He types furiously on his iPad, and I take a moment to watch him. Smushed in this economy seat, he looks miserable, but I know if I asked him, he’d say he’s fine. He commented earlier that he normally chooses first class just for leg room, but both flights tonight are completely full. I let out a yawn, and he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “You can use my shoulder, darlin’. You’ve had a long day.”

“No longer than you,” I murmur, my eyes drifting closed.

“I’m used to it, and I didn’t have the emotional trauma of my family this week. Rest your eyes, baby.” I let my temple fall against him, and feel him rummaging around his lap before he covers me with his suit jacket. I feel his lips ghost over my forehead before the sounds of the jet engines lull me to sleep.

“Well,what do you want to do for six hours?” I ask Jacob as we leave the airport in an Uber. At just after two in the morning, I’m surprised at how bustling Las Vegas is.

“I was hoping to get a few hours of sleep,” he confesses. “If I do make the game tomorrow, I need a little bit of shut-eye, or I’ll be a menace on the ice.”

“Oh, of course,” I tell him. My power nap on the flight from Dallas has left me wide awake, but I’m fine reading a book in a hotel room.

“I got us a room at a hotel off the strip, but close to the courthouse. I figure we need every extra minute we can get.”

“You were busy,” I comment.

“You were dead to the world,” he says with a smile. “Besides, it kept me from focusing on the cute little snores you kept letting out.”

“I do not snore!” I gasp.

“Yeah, you do. It was adorable,” he laughs.

I cross my arms over my chest, popping my lower lip out in mild indignation. “Well, you won’t think it’s cute in twenty years when I’m sawing logs like a lumberjack and stealing all the blankets.”

Jacob turns toward me, giving me a sweet smile. “From your mouth to God’s ears, darlin’. Because that sounds fucking amazing.”

“I — I didn’t mean …” I stammer, but he reaches up to place a finger over my lips.

“Let a man dream, Becca.” His hand drifts across my cheek and into my hair. “I can make you happy.”

“I thought you were just my fake boyfriend,” I whisper.

His brow furrows as he stares at me. “Let me make you happy, baby.”

“Okay,” I finally say. I don’t know what else to say. I can’t believe this man is willing to marry me to ensure I’m not forced into a relationship with the son of some old geezer who is a friend of my family. I wouldn’t have let that happen anyway. My brother might think he has pull when it comes to me, but he doesn’t. I won’t ever go anywhere near him again.

But the way Jacob looks at me makes me wish for this to be real. To have a happily ever after. Maybe I can believe in this. Just for a little while.

Upon entering our hotel room,I stop when I notice the single king-size bed.

“It’s all they had available. I promise I’ll behave,” Jacob says, winking at me. “I really need some sleep. Let me use the bathroom to brush my teeth, and then you can do whatever you need. I’ll be asleep before you come out.”

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