Page 69 of Offside and Off-Limits
“What makes you say that?”
“Oh, I notice things,” she replies with a smirk. “Shared looks, the way your eyes always find her. And you, young man, have quite the reputation with the ladies.” I open my mouth to defend myself but don’t get the chance when she adds, “You take care of Clara’s heart, now. That girl has been through enough.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply.
Mrs. McCluskey’s words stick with me as I towel off in the tent and change back into my clothes from earlier. She's right, I do watch Clara constantly. The way she laughed when Carson yelped as the cold water hit him, how she grinned when Asher struck a dramatic pose, the way she was momentarily concerned for me after my drenching until she saw I was okay. The genuine joy on her face as she captured every ridiculous but fun moment of the event.
Clara has been guarded with me, and for good reason. But what she doesn't know is that somewhere between her resistance and me watching her fierce love for Hannah and Benny, I stopped being the guy who never gets serious with a woman.
This is about me wanting to be the man who earns the right to be a part of her world. The man who gets to make her laugh until she snorts, who gets to kiss away the worry lines that appear when she's stressed. To rub her feet when she’s tired at the end of a long day.
I've spent most of my adult life purposefully and successfully avoiding exactly this kind of complication. But I'm not avoiding it anymore.
I’m running straight toward it.
CHAPTER 15
CLARA
My head isfull of Cade. The way he stepped up to do the Drench for Defense without a second thought, for me and for the town. The self-deprecating T-shirts he had made for himself and the other guys, poking fun at their tough guy hockey personas and making the town laugh. The softness in his gaze as he looked at me before my sister stepped forward to douse him with water.
And yes, the way he looked in his wet T-shirt, all muscular and strong, his confident smile never wavering.
I pull out my phone and tap out a messageto Bailey.
Me:
I’ve made a decision.
Bailey:
Is this about your complicated love triangle?
Me:
I'm breaking things off with Warrior. He’s been great, but I want real. I want now. And somehow, real and now look a whole lot like someone else.
My phone begins to ring in my hand and I press “answer.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my cautious friend?” Bailey asks.
“I guess I got beyond liking him from a distance. I know this may sound corny, but it’s true. Cade makes me feel seen for the first time in years.”
“You’re falling for him?”
“I don’t know how we’ll make it work, but I want to at least try. I’m tired of being scared of everything going wrong, Bailey. What if it actually goes right?”
“And the non-fraternization clause?”
“I’ll deal with that,” I say, sounding a hundred times more confident than I feel.
“Then you, my dear, will have one heck of a story to tell. Now go get your man.”
I feel giddy at the thought. “I need to tell Warrior first.”
“That’s the right thing to do. Good luck. Love you loads.”
“Love you loads, too.”
