Page 95 of Behind the Bench

I grab my phone off the counter and unhook it from the charger. The screen lights up and I’m surprised to see that I have no missed calls or messages. Disappointed, I make my way into the living room and find my parents watchingElf.

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. This time of year has only gotten better now that Lincoln’s green eyes and woodsy cologne both remind me of the season.Pushing thoughts of him aside, I crawl onto the couch next to my parents and distract myself with Buddy the Elf.

Buddy just finished redecorating the entire toy store when there’s a knock on our front door. I look over at my parents. “Are you expecting anybody today?”

They both shake their heads, and I let them know I’ll go see who it is.

Not even bothering to look through the peephole I open the door, and my entire world stands still.

Lincoln Scott is standing on my porch.

“Hey, beautiful.” That damn smile of his almost brings me to my knees. And then I launch myself into his arms.

He falls back a step, but then centers himself before sliding his hands under my ass and lifting me up off the ground. Apparently we’re the type of people who love a reunion because we both hold each other as tight as we can. I pick my head up off his shoulder to look at him and his eyes drop to my lips. That’s enough of an invitation for me, so I dive in and devour his mouth with mine.

A voice clearing behind me has us breaking our kiss and me unwrapping my legs from his waist. He sets me down on the ground and wipes his mouth, as if he can wash away the embarrassment of being caught making out by my father.

“I just came to check who’s here. You’ve been gone for a few minutes and we’ve been calling for you.”

Doing my best to hide a laugh behind my hands—and absolutely failing, I might add—I step to the side to introduce Lincoln. “Dad, this is Lincoln.”

Lincoln and Dad chuckle at my lame introduction. My dad’s hands are in the front pockets of his jeans as he rocks back on his heels. “Yeah, we’ve met. Nice to see you again, Lincoln.”

He removes his right hand from his pocket and reaches forward. My two favorite men shake hands and then Lincoln follows us into our house.

Holy shit. Lincoln is in my house!

What is he even doing here? I don’t have time to ask because after he removes his boots, we make our way into the living room to say hi to my mom.

They all exchange pleasantries and my parents ask how the drive was. Lincoln spends a couple minutes answering their questions, and I have to admit, it’s kind of nice bringing both of my worlds together. There’s a comfort between the four of us that has me hopeful for the future.

After a few minutes of catching up, my dad puts my mom back in her chair and they excuse themselves to the kitchen.

Once I know my parents are far enough away that they can’t hear me, I shove Lincoln in the shoulder and whisper-hiss, “What the hell are you doing here?”

He grabs my hand and pulls my body into his. He holds me for a few seconds then takes a step back. Twirling my hair in his finger, he looks at me and says, “I wanted to surprise you. I also wanted to give you your gift. Wait here.”

I stand shell-shocked as he quickly puts his boots back on and runs out to his car. Once he’s back in, he hands over a terribly wrapped box covered with snowmen.

“But I didn’t get you anything. I didn’t know we were doing gifts.”

A devastating smile stretches across his face. “I’m not expecting anything in return. Just open it.”

Like a little kid on Christmas, I tear open the wrapping paper with urgency. Tossing it to the ground, I lift the top of the white box and the sight brings tears to my eyes. I grab the jersey, abandoning the box to the floor and turn it around to seemontgomerystretched across the back with the number twelve under it.

“Lincoln…” It comes out barely above a whisper because I’m at a loss for words.

He scratches the back of his neck nervously. “Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?” I throw my arms around him and he holds me in his arms. “I love it.”

Lincoln strokes my hair once before kissing the top of my head. “Good. When I saw that little girl wearing it at one of our games, I knew you should have your own.” He releases me and looks over his shoulder before asking, “How did things go with your mom?”

This man. My heart beats a million miles a minute, and I do my best to pretend like he’s not totally rocking my world by being here. Grabbing his hand, I pull him down to sit on the couch with me.

“Things went well. Actually, they went great. I talked to my mom about everything and then my dad joined in. After a couple hours and many tears, I feel like I can finally move on from it all.”

Lincoln wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me toward him. He plants a gentle kiss on the side of my head, and I lean into him even more. Feeling absolutely content in his arms, I stay exactly where I am and ask him how his drive home went with Katie.

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