Page 124 of Break the Ice
“Thanks for saving the day… and my finger,” I tell him while Dad and Kailey play the movie they paused with all the commotion.
Holding my gaze, he murmurs, “Thank you for catching me.”
No words form past the emotion swelling in my throat, I nod while we both sink into the couch.
Our knees touch with the natural spread of our thighs, and I can’t help taking a long glimpse over him. I’ll never get over how perfect he is with his thick thighs, lean hips, and tightly muscled torso. Eli adjusts his Rolex—the Submariner is his favorite from his collection—bringing my attention to his jacked forearm.
It’s only when I rake my gaze up his pale, golden skin to his rolled sleeve that I notice the darkening crimson stain. “I got blood on your shirt.”
“I got sick on yours.” I know he’s trying to make light of what happened, but it won’t work.
The sight of him collapsing and his panicked, teary gaze will haunt me for as long as I live. There’s nothing Eli can say or do to change that. Ever.
“Vomit washes out,” I tell him, resisting the urge to trace the stain of my blood on his shirt. “That won’t.”
“I’ll send you the bill for a new shirt.” A pressed smile softens the chiseled lines of his face when I flit my eyes to his. “It’s not a big deal, Jayden.”
The fuck it isn’t.
He touched me of his own free will. I didn’t instigate a single second of it—it was all him. His hand on my face.
In front of my family… in front of Finley.
How is he being so nonchalant over it when I’m losing my fucking mind?
“Why are we watchingScent of a Womanagain?” Isla groans, coming up behind me on the couch and giving me a hug.
“Because it’s Thanksgiving,” Kailey retorts as Isla rests her head on my shoulder and whispers, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Fido.”
“It was an accident. Blame it on the curse,” I tell her.
Her arms coil tighter. “I’m sorry.”
Leaning further back into the couch, I grip her waist and lift her over the back of the seat next to me. “So, you never told me whose bones I’m breaking.”
“Huh?”
“Who fucked you over, Lala?”
“Nobody,” she shrugs with a tired sigh that says otherwise.
“But seriously… who?”
This girl is as feisty as they come. Too damn spunky for her own good, to the point that she will bottle up all her feelings until she explodes. While I’m still not pleased with her for bringing down the mood today, or talking about Finley crassly, she’s still the tiny baby girl who got lost in my lanky arms. The little girl who used to sneak into my bed during thunderstorms and bundle herself up into my suitcase whenever I had to travel for a tournament. So, in spite of her shitty attitude, I’ll always have her back.
“I told you, nobody. They don’t matter because they don’t exist to me anymore.”
“Good, but I’m happy to break his bones if you change your mind.”
We both sit back, and the instant I put my feet up on the table, she puts her legs over mine and snuggles into my side.
“Thanks for the offer, but I got it,” she croons with a rueful chuckle as Finley walks Momma over with a tray of glasses, the jugs of frozen margaritas, and the usual strawberry and orange sunset slushy.
Dad makes quick work of taking the tray and placing it on the table, along with the snacks The Sire and Mom set out for the game.
“Okay, girls, grab a slushy,” Momma instructs Kailey and Isla when the credits of the movie roll. “Everyone else, help yourselves to the good stuff.”
Finley hands each of us a glass while she continues the conversation she and Momma were having about the benefits of Pilates as part of a regular workout routine.
