Page 24 of Unexpected Forever
“That’s sweet of you. But it would also make this thing”—I wave a hand between us—“a bit complicated, don’t you think?”
He leans his head back and looks at the ceiling. “Yeah, I suppose it would.”
We’re both quiet for a moment before he turns his head and looks back at me. “Why haven’t you left Madison Ridge before now?”
“I don’t know. I got comfortable, I guess. I had a job, and I have friends and my family. It was always ‘maybe next year’ until the dream just faded away.”
“And now you have an amazing opportunity here.”
I nod. “Yeah. And I feel guilty even saying this to you.”
“Don’t. I get it. Go with what your gut tells you. My gut has never steered me wrong.”
“Never?”
“Nope.” He shifts and the sheet falls a little farther down his torso, revealing that V I may have licked a time or two in the past few hours.
“I was cut after my first year with the Angels, so I was a free agent my second year. The Bull Sharks offered me a contract that wasn’t the best of the ones I was offered. But after doing some research and visiting the facility, I knew they were the best team to go with.”
“How did you know?”
“It was just a feeling I had right here.” He pats his rock-hard abs, and it makes me drool just a little. “I’ve learned to trust that feeling over the years.”
“It was definitely the right call. You were their longest-tenured player in the organization’s history.”
He tilts his head with a grin.Thatgrin. “You do know a lot about me, don’t you?”
Heat floods my cheeks and I try to duck my head, but he’s quick. Laughing, he sits up and snags the back of my neck, pulling me close, our foreheads touching.
“Since I know you’re not a stalker, I like that you know my stats and you know about the game I love so much.”
His lips brush mine lightly once, twice, and he pulls back slightly so I can see his face.
“But you know what I like most?”
“What?” My voice is barely a whisper.
“I like that you treat me like I’m a normal guy. It’s been a long time since a woman I’ve gone to bed with has done that.”
I grin. “Well, it was my pleasure.”
His smile fades, his expression serious. “You’re going to be great at whatever you decide to do, Charley. You’ve got a fire in you that makes you a force to be reckoned with.”
I study his face. “You barely know me.”
His lips curve in a smile. “I’d say I know you pretty well at this point.”
I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do. But I stand by what I said. I have faith in you.”
Those words are a balm to my heart. As much as I love and admire my mom, even she hasn’t said those words to me.
For this man—who I just met but feel like I’ve known for years—to say he has faith in me is overwhelming.
He cups my face and kisses me, soft and slow. But before long, it turns heated, almost primal as he lays me back and settles his broad body between my legs.
“Charley.” My name is a reverent plea from his lips as he kisses my neck. “What are you doing to me?”
