Page 77 of More Than a Hero
The boys exchanged looks. “So you all are like our safety net, huh?” David murmured.
Hannah smiled, placing a hand over his. “Absolutely.”
For the first time that evening, the tension eased. The room didn’t feel so heavy anymore. The past and present had come together in a way none of them had expected, and Angie could see the way the boys sat a little straighter, their expressions a little lighter.
A bridge had been built tonight. And not just between the boys and the seniors. As she looked over at Pete, her heart squeezed with an emotion that she hadn’t realized was growing. She was falling for this handsome, kind, and honorable man. Smiling, she stood and began serving the cookies she’d brought.
31
Pete’s eyes blinked open, and for a moment, he just lay, letting the warmth of the morning and the softness of the sheets settle around him. He didn’t need to shift to know he wasn’t in his bed. Angie’s sheets were softer and smoother, wrapping around him like a whisper. The pale blue walls and lace curtains didn’t belong to his world but were integral in hers. The way the light filtered through them softened the morning, making it feel less like a harsh wake-up call and more like a gentle welcome to another day with her.
And then there was her warm and faintly floral scent that had sunk into her pillow and into his skin. The silk of her hair brushed over his arm, and her body curled into his like she belonged there. Like she belonged to him.
He loved this. The ease of it, the rightness. He wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life.Was it too soon to say that? To even think it?
But he didn’t have a blueprint for love. His parents sure as hell hadn’t modeled it, and the only real examples he had came from friends—friends who didn’t exactly sit around talking about feelings and forever. But the way he felt with her? Theway she made everything seem brighter, lighter, even when they weren’t talking?I want this for always.
A soft sigh stirred the air between them, brushing over his skin. She moved, shifting her body closer and pressing against him like a perfect fit. He held his breath, waiting for the first glimpse of her eyes.
Angie’s lashes fluttered, her eyes slowly blinking open, unfocused for a second. And then—there was that flicker of honesty in her expression before she was fully awake but knew she was with him. And when she did, her entire face softened. A slow, lazy smile curved her lips, beaming up at him like she held the sun inside her. She was beautiful. His heart gave an aching clench in his chest.
He rolled onto his forearms, hovering above her, giving her space but not too much. Her body knew his now and responded before she was even fully aware. Her thighs parted in a way that made heat rise sharp inside him as his hips were cradled.
His hands cupped her face, thumbs tracing the curves of her cheeks, memorizing how she felt beneath him. His breath hitched as her hands slid over his back. Her fingernails gently scraped over his skin, sending tingles throughout his body.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep and need. Her knee was less swollen, and her joints were less painful. He was learning the little tells her body or expression would give when she was in pain.
She started to reply, but he was already kissing her, swallowing the words, stealing her breath, letting his body say what he wasn’t sure he knew how to put into words.
She moaned into his mouth, sending a fresh wave of heat rushing through him. Her fingers tightened against his skin, pulling him closer, letting her body tell him what she wanted.
And he gave it to her. With a slow, unhurried roll of his hips, he pressed into her, feeling her body welcome him in a way that made his chest go tight.
Her hands clung to him, her lips trembled against his, and she breathed his name in a way that let him know he was someone special. It no longer mattered if it was too soon. He was a goner.
Pete had never been a man to overthink things. Life came fast, and you either grabbed hold or got left behind. But this feeling in his chest was flaming out of control like a wildfire. It filled all the empty spaces he didn’t even know existed before Angie. And he’d never felt this way before.
She lay on the bed underneath him, and he drank her in. Her hair was spread out on the pillow, a little wild from his hands. Her lips were still swollen from his kisses. Yet there was hesitation in her eyes, like a battle deep inside. He wasn’t about to let her fight alone.
“You’re thinking too much,” he murmured, keeping his weight off her chest. He kissed her lightly, then pulled back, keeping her eyes on him. “I can see that little crease right here—” He smoothed his thumb between her brows. “Tell me what’s racing through your mind.”
Angie exhaled a soft, unsteady breath, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “It’s just… this seems like we’re going at the speed of light. My feelings… they don’t make sense to happen so quickly.”
Pete felt a slow smile pull at his lips. “Does it have to make sense?”
She blinked up at him, and he saw the battle still waging in her gaze. Logic and reason on one side, and the undeniable feelings between them on the other.
“Angie,” he said, voice steady as a promise, “I don’t know much about love. Didn’t see it modeled when I was growing up.But, as an adult, I’ve seen most of my friends fall in love, and sometimes very quickly. That tells me that love doesn’t run on a clock. It’s not always convenient, and it sure as hell doesn’t wait for us to make sense of it. I’ve seen friends fall on a first date or after years of knowing each other. It comes when it comes. I know what I feel, and I’m not about to argue with this.” He finished, unsure he’d ever said so much at one time. Certainly not about feelings.
Her breath hitched, and he felt the tremor in her chest as she lay underneath him. “But how do we know it’s real?”
Pete kissed her lightly, his touch grounding them both. “Because it is real. Just like I know how to breathe, I know I want to be with you no matter what. I don’t need time to tell me what I already feel in my heart.”
She searched his face, and he let her. He wanted her to see that he had no doubts or hesitations. All she would find in his eyes was steady certainty.
Finally, Angie smiled, and the sun shone brighter. “Are you always this convincing?”
Pete grinned. “Only when it matters.”
