Page 118 of Rebound
“Holden will win the fight,” I say, without even a beat.
Reese gives me shocked pikachu face. “How’s that possible? I’m a better fighter.”
“Holden’s scrappier.”
Holden laughs and I pat Reese on the back as he digests that information. “I’m going to ask my wife to dance.” I walk towards Lavinia, sliding an arm around her waist when I reach her.
“Do you want to dance, Mrs. Maddox?”
Her bright eyes meet mine. “I absolutely do.”
I hand her clutch to Sage, who’s sadly working tonight since the Christmas party is a big PR opportunity for the Titans.
I pull Lavinia to the middle of the dance floor and we sway slowly to the music.
“I saw you talking to Ford and my dad.”
“It was guy talk. Your Dad asked me to call him Aiden,” I say.
Lavinia lets out a quiet squeal of excitement. “You’re in the big leagues now, kid. You’ve made it.”
“The jury’s still out on that.” I twirl her once and bring her closer again. Lavinia fits against me perfectly, every part of her aligned against mine.
She makes me want to knock down all my walls and let her in, let her see all the mess that’s inside. I’ve kept people at arm’s length because I always believed that relationships lead to bitterness. People are too individualistic to ever be comfortable with someone else. I told myself I’ll never change for anyone.
Until I woke up married to Lavinia Callahan.
I’ll be whoever she needs me to be. I’ll fit into whatever shape she wants. The irony is, she doesn’t seem to want me to be anyone other than myself. Whatever she sees in me, she accepts. It scares me because I have no idea what to do.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lavinia whispers.
“This is nice,” I say. “I’ve never done this before.”
“Dancing?” Lavinia frowns.
“Dating. Relationships. It’s all very new.”
“What’s the verdict?” She asks, face softening.
“I’ll do it again, as long as it’s you.”
Lavinia blinks in surprise and I see fear flit across her face.
“You look really beautiful,” I whisper to distract her. “I want you to know, I’ll wait however long it takes for you to realize this isn’t a friendship. I've never been a patient man, but I will be for you. This isn’t temporary.”
Lavinia’s lips part on a gasp, and I kiss her before she has a chance to say anything. I’ve waited years for her, and I can wait more. Lavinia needs time to accept that she’ll always be mine.
THIRTY-SEVEN
ROMAN
Away games are hell. They’re worse when you have a beautiful wife at home you want to spend all your time with. Seriously, most of my time is spent thinking what Lavinia is up to at any given moment.
Especially since I had her mostly to myself over Christmas break. It was my first Christmas I spent with someone since I was a kid. We spent the day at her parents’ house watching Christmas movies.
It reminded me of when we were kids, and her mom would make Christmas cookies for us. The whole house smelled of sugar and vanilla. This time, it was Lavinia who did the baking, and I ate everything she made, diet be damned, because it was all delicious.
I’ve been spoiled by her presence every day and now here I am, stalking her social media hoping she posts. I suddenly feel like I’m back in high school and college, all those years when Lavinia wasn’t mine, and I had to get my fill of her through social media.
