Page 61 of Rookie Move
That was the problem with Leo turning up. Two weeks ago, if you’d asked Georgia whether or not she was doing well, she would have answeredhell yes. She had a good life in Brooklyn and she didn’t walk around scared all the time. She’dhealed, goddamn it. So what if she hadn’t dated anyone more than twice in six years? Good men were thin on the ground. It wasn’t because she was damaged goods.
And yet... Leo waltzed into town and threw everything into high relief. Suddenly it was impossible not to compare her old life with her new one. And the new one didn’t stack up so well.
Georgia pushed her fingertips into the corners of her eyes and took a deep breath.
There was a tap on the door. “Gigi? You okay?”
“Yeah,” she bit out. A tear escaped its prison and trickled down her finger.
The door opened a crack, and one brown eye looked down at her. Then the door opened further to reveal Leo’s concerned face. He held out a hand. “Come here, Gi. Come sit with me.”
She shook her head. Sitting beside Leo would just make itache.
“Please,” he whispered.
Georgia stood up. Her plan was to beat it to her own room before the trickle turned to a river. She’d never been a cryer, either. Not until after she’d been... A sob forced itself out of her chest.
Two arms pulled her against the warm wall of Leo’s chest. She took a deep, shaky breath and bit her lip, tryingto stop the fricking tears. But she’d been holding it all back for days. And he felt so good. Her eyes dripped like leaky faucets, and she pressed her forehead into his T-shirt so she couldn’t see her own miserable face in the mirror. “I’m sorry,” she said, the words garbled by the fresh-smelling cotton.
“Nah,” he said softly. “Come on now.” He bent his knees and lifted her a foot off the ground, his forearm catching her under her backside.
She closed her eyes and pressed her hot cheek against his shoulder. There was the sound of effort as he flung the comforter aside and deposited her onto the bed. Then he clicked off the lamp.
Since the TV was already black, the room became dark, except for the low light shining through the open door from her own room.
Leo traveled around to the opposite side of the king-sized bed and got in. His voice came through the dark, the sound a cross between a growl and a whisper. “Let me hold you.”
She rolled, depositing her chin on his shoulder. Strong arms pulled her closer, until she was half on his body. It felt divine. Except for one problem. “I don’t even want to count all the times you’ve held me while I cried.” The words sounded bitter. But shewasbitter. To be with Leo meant going back to that place where they both felt bad about what had happened, and what they’d lost.
His hand sifted through her hair while she waited for him to say something. “I don’t like it when you’re sad,” he admitted. “But we had a lot more good than bad.”
That was a ridiculously optimistic way of looking at it, considering how all the sadness at the end had killed off their special bond. But Georgia didn’t want to argue the point. She stretched an arm across his broad chest and sighed.
“Why are you upset, Gigi?” he asked. “Tell me so I can make it better.”
You make me ache. She didn’t say it out loud, though.Because Leo would ask why, and it wasn’t really his fault. She didn’t feel like admitting that she hadn’t recovered quite as thoroughly as she’d thought. “I’m overwhelmed,” she said instead.
“Mmh. Okay.” His big hand slid down to her back, its heel pressing reassuringly between her shoulder blades. “Just try to relax.”
A kiss landed on the top of her head. Georgia took a slow breath and let it out again. His heartbeat beneath hers was slow and steady. Leo Trevi was the source of all her stress at the moment. How odd that he could also be a source of comfort, too. She closed her eyes and let herself drift.
While she flirted with drowsiness, his fingertips continued to stroke her back. Her mind began to revisit the rink, with its crowds and lights. The white oval of ice danced in her sleepy mind. Just as she fell asleep, it almost sounded as if someone whispered, “Come back to me, Georgia.”
SEVENTEEN
FEBRUARY 10
19 DAYS BEFORE THE NHL TRADE DEADLINE
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
TOP TEAM HEADLINES:
“Brooklyn Beats Arizona on the Road. Can They Make It To the Play-offs for the First Time since the Franchise Was Reborn?”
—The Post
Leo woke up to the pleasant sound of someone else padding around his hotel room. In his sleepy cloud, he didn’t think too much about it. He knew that it was someone he loved. And that the room was still mostly dark and quiet. The soft footsteps retreated to the other room, where they mingled with the sound of water running. The muffled flush of a toilet. The sound of a toothbrush in use.
