Page 69 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

His hands locked around her biceps. “Why are you crying?” His deep voice was lower than usual, and the surrounding air bristled with masculine energy.

She lifted her hands and swiped at her damp cheeks. “I’m not.”

“Fine. Tears of joy. Where’ve you been all week?”

“Busy. We’re at over eight thousand subscribers, and my publisher asked me to write some articles.”

He held her gaze for a long moment, and she knew he intuited the truth—that she’d been avoiding him a teensy bit. She felt it was the only way to slow their relationship pace, because with Chad, she sensed there was only one speed—supersonic.

They’d shared a few tender secrets as well as amazing kisses, and she knew how easy it would be to ignore her doubts and jump in with both feet. They needed to form a strong foundation of trust over time, otherwise their relationship wouldn’t be able to withstand the problems thrown at them, and everything would shake and crumble apart.

“I miss you.” He pulled her in for a long, deep kiss, leaving her breathless when he released her.

“I miss you, too.” She pressed lightly against his chest, forcing herself to slide from his arms. “Go get ready for your game.”

He caught her hand, his eyes cutting over her shoulder in the direction she’d come from. “Don’t judge all of us based on him.”

“Chad…”

“I get that you’re scared, and that he hurt you.”

She met his eyes, almost expecting to see her fears returned. Instead, she saw something scarier.

She looked away, wishing she had the courage to feel all the things he did. To trust in them, and for that trust to be enough.

“That guy and I are nothing alike. Nothing, Tina.”

“What’s the difference?” She focused on him, desperately hoping he’d produce a nice little chart illustrating what she could trust and believe. Something concrete so her heart could finally overrule her terrified mind and she could just…let go. Let go and not care if one of them hit the supersonic button.

“Everything,” he said. “Absolutely everything that matters. And I will fight through your fears until you’re able to see it.”

“What on earth has gotten into Mullens?” Cassandra McTavish asked, leaning forward to get a better view of the ice. She was dating the team’s goalie and had been to a few games lately with Hannah and Jenny, but instead of sitting in the usual VIP sky box tonight, Cass, Jenny, Meddy and Athena were down by center ice. In fact, Meddy had insisted Cass hire a babysitter for her son and Landon’s daughter so the gals could have a proper girls night out.

As one, Meddy and Jenny echoed Cass’s posture, craning their necks to follow the players.

Athena ignored them, her mind still out in the hallway, processing Lonnie’s words. If she did get busy when she was upset, then why was she still running so hard? Last year, keeping busy had prevented her from thinking about how often Lonnie was away, about how far she was from her family and about her mom’s health. Plus it had been productive. She’d come out of it with a cookbook, a second one in the works, as well as a job with a professional sports team. Much better than sitting at home worrying.

But now her life was even more hectic, when by all accounts it was good. She was close to home again, spending time with her family, and she had great jobs and friendships, as well as a hunky new boyfriend.

There was nothing to be upset about. She should be letting loose, going to her monthly book club meetings and curling up in Chad’s home library several nights a week. Shouldn’t she?

Maybe staying busy was about more than her just being upset. Maybe she also used it to avoid thinking about scary things, such as the idea that Chad might be serious about proving how different he was than Lonnie.

What if Chad was The One?

She’d already fallen for him. She’d studiously tried to deny that truth, but she’d seen the photos of herself for the new cookbook cover. The rescheduled photo shoot had finally occurred, and Chad had been amazing, practically making love to the camera. And his effect had haloed, making her a glowing, beautiful, bright-eyed happy woman.

She knew it wasn’t just the makeup and lights, because in the first photo shoot she hadn’t glowed. Not even slightly.

Despite pumping the brakes, she was in love.

Athena let out a shuddery breath, letting the scary truth settle into her bones. She clenched her hands into fists, resisting the urge to get up and do something in order to distract herself.

A player from the other team slammed into the boards in front of her and she jumped as his helmet hit the Plexiglass with a clack. Lonnie’s exposed cheek pressed against the translucent barrier before he slid down and out of sight.

The Dragon who’d body-checked her ex looked up with burning rage firing his eyes. As he met Athena’s gaze the anger melted into something softer, something that took her breath away.

She blinked, and Chad was gone.

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