Chapter 25 #2
“Shit! I’m so bad at this. Because I’ve never tried,” he rushed to add.
“But with you, I want to try. I want to be that guy who supports you, no matter what you choose to do. If you want to work as a PT or a barista or a lawyer, I’m your biggest fan.
If you want to sit around all day eating bonbons, I’m good with that too. I just want you in my life. Always.”
She sniffled. “What about hockey and distractions?”
“I want distractions. And they’re not distractions.
They’re what I want in my life. See, I found something more important than hockey, and that’s you.
Us. A home for us and this guy. Girl.” He lifted his arm, and the kitten protested the jostling.
“And I want you to get that dog you’ve always wanted.
“Angie, I need you more than I need hockey. Can you forgive twenty-year-old me and give us a chance to start fresh? New town, new house, new … everything? I’m scared shitless of these changes, but I’m more scared of losing you.
If you’re with me on this ride, I know it’s gonna work out, no matter what.
You keep my life sane, Ange. You make me whole.
I want things I’ve never wanted before, and that includes getting us a house and having you fill it. I want to give you everything.”
Tears brimmed in her gorgeous blue eyes, and he felt a fist close around his heart.
“I’ll tell Herb to make it a one-year contract, even a two-way, if you don’t want to move.
A one-year contract means I’m away nine, ten months tops.
And we can see each other during those months I’m gone, catch a few days together here and there.
Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen.”
A tear rimmed and spilled down her cheek. She placed her hand over his heart. “That’s one heck of a soft, gooey center you’ve been hiding.”
“You must bring it out in me.” He cradled the side of her face in his free hand. “There’s no going back, and there’s nobody else for me. I’m in love with you, Angie.”
If the warmth inside Angie’s chest hadn’t reached every nook and cranny, Sam’s final words finished the job.
“You want me to move to Carolina with you?”
“Absolutely, yes. Fly back with me. I leave at nine tonight on the red-eye.”
She gaped at him. “You mean you just flew out here for the day?”
“No, I told you. I came to get you. That’s the whole reason for my trip.”
“But you must have so much to do back there!”
He glanced around the room as if contemplating. “I do, but bringing you back with me is the most important thing on my plate right now.” His fingertips stroked the side of her face, his touch featherlight. “What do you say, Ange?”
Angie was a planner. She laid out her life in six- and twelve-month chunks. Leaving with Sam right now would be the most irresponsible, reckless thing she’d ever done. Impetuousness was not her.
And this was Sam.
The man who’d already walked away once.
She shook her head, even as her chest tightened. “You don’t get to blow back into my life and ask me to leave everything behind.”
Panic sparked in his eyes, and he pulled in an extended breath.
When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
“I know I don’t deserve a yes from you after what I did.
But I’m not that guy anymore—and I’m not asking you to blindly trust in just what I’m saying here.
I’m asking you to come with me and see what I want to build … with you.”
No job. No plan. No guarantees. Just him.
She was officially lost in a mental asteroid field, and she stared at him while she fought to find her bearings.
His eyes locked on hers, hope and apprehension warring in their navy depths.
Tears strangled her voice. “Sam, you had me at the bear spray.”
Those navy blues lit up. “So you’ll go with me? Tonight?”
She nodded, her tears flowing freely. “Yes, I’ll go with you. Someone has to make sure you pick a place with the right setup for pets.”
He laughed as he pulled her against him. “So I had you at bear spray, huh? Is that because I gave you a way to get rid of me?”
She curled into his solid warmth. “No, but that’s not a bad idea. Think I’ll sleep with it under my pillow.”
He parked his chin on her crown. “Not when I’m in bed with you. And FYI, I plan on being in bed with you every night.”
“Except when you’re on the road.”
“Who knows? Maybe even then sometimes. And if I am away, I’ll feel better knowing you’re keeping it handy.” He held her at arm’s length. “You’re mine to protect now, Angelina Rossi.”
“I love you, Sam Durbin.” Her heart was wide open again, the shields melted away. There would be no turning back for her either.
After securing the rest of the kittens, they emerged from the cat house. Nearly the entire shelter crew greeted them with hoots and claps.
Dora clasped her hands together. “I have a feeling we’ll be losing our best volunteer, but I couldn’t be happier.” She leaned in and gave Angie a fierce hug. “You deserve this.”
“I promise to keep up my work wherever we end up.”
“And they’ll be lucky to have you.”
Sam’s brows hit his hairline. “That reminds me. We still have an event to do for the shelter.”
Dora patted his arm reassuringly. “The Blizzard’s PR person—Serena—has been in touch, and everything’s arranged.
We hope you can both make it, but if you can’t, I think we’ll get along just fine without you.
I guess a lot of the players are animal lovers, and we have more volunteers than we need.
Should be a very successful event, thanks to you. ”
Sam gave Angie a look overflowing with love and pride. “Thank Angie. She’s the one who’s devoted herself to the cause all these years. I just tagged along at the end.”
Back at Angie’s house, she packed her bag while Sam sprawled on the bed, watching her. “You don’t have to pack much. I can always take you shopping.”
She glanced at his grinning face. “Is your new contract so huge you’re the big spender now?”
“I don’t know yet, but it should be a bump.”
“Enough to take care of your dad and Joe?”
“I don’t know if it’ll be that much.”
She paused her folding. “Sam, I’ll get a job and help you with those bills.”
His body jerked with surprise. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I’d like to help any way I can. I know how important taking care of them is to you, so it’s important to me too.”
“Why did I not take you with me six years ago?”
“Because we were both too immature. It worked out better this way, don’t you think?”
“If you say so. I still feel like we missed out on a lot.”
“It is what it is. So you’re feeling good about this new opportunity?”
“Now that you’re coming with me, it’s taken some of the edge off, so I guess I am. They seem to want me, and that feels nice.”
“Understandable that they do.”
“Is it?”
“It is. You’re a darn good player, Sam, and it sounds like they want to build around you.”
“Kinda does, huh?” His grin widened, and her heart nearly detonated with joy for him.
She reached into her lingerie drawer, and he flicked a finger at her. “Bring that sheer white thing you wore that night.”
“Are we going to have time for ‘sheer white things’?”
Now his grin turned salacious. “We’ll make time.” His expression shifted again, looking serious this time. “Tell me what went down at the clinic.”
“Apparently, I was not the employee they were looking for.”
“They can’t fire you for that!”
“They didn’t. I was trying to keep it light.” As Angie completed packing, she filled Sam in on the details.
Sam snorted. “Sounds like Attila the Bun set you up.”
“That’s the strangest thing of all. Celia seemed to be on my side. She said she knew about us all along, and that she didn’t say anything. Didn’t think it was an issue.”
Sam’s eyes popped. “How would she know?”
“Oh gee, let me see. Might she have seen you grab my ass or kiss my neck a time or fifty?”
“Nah, I was sneaky. Okay. There’s a possibility.”
Angie burst out with a laugh. “A possibility?”
Sam sprang from the bed, captured her in his arms, and tossed her onto the mattress beneath him. “At least I wasn’t doing this.” He kissed a sensitive spot below her ear and moved down her neck.
“Sam, stop! We have to get ready to go.”
“I only need five minutes. We have plenty of time.” He kissed her, his tongue delving and exploring, while his hands moved over her body. She surrendered to him, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him close.
Oh, how she had missed him!
It didn’t take long before they were both naked and she was under him.
He paused to look down at her, his eyes smoky, his fingers tangling in her hair.
“I love you so much, Angie.” He pushed inside her, repeating “I love you” with every thrust, his gruff timbre kindling a delicious friction in her ears that matched the friction between her legs.
The well of emotions and the sensations arrowed straight to her core.
They climbed the peak quickly and came in an explosion of stars and fireworks. She never wanted to come down from the stratosphere, and her heart rejoiced when she realized this was her future.