Chapter 19 #2
Finally, she turned a smirk on him. “Does that mean that the moment you’re not around me and your sanity returns, you’ll say, ‘Oh no! What have I done?’”
“I’ve given that a lot of thought these last few days. Not a chance.”
“But … I don’t understand.”
She wasn’t saying no, and he latched on to that glimmer of hope like a drowning man.
“I’ve barely slept since we left each other at the airport.
I was trying to come up with ways I could have a starter role and you.
” He shrugged, a deceptively casual gesture that bled off some of his anxiousness.
“I came to the conclusion I couldn’t have both.
As a backup, I have a shot at the starting role.
But there’s no shot at you if I move to Russia, and having you means more to me than being the number one. ”
Agonizing moments stretched between them.
She looked down at the unfinished flower arrangement. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I have a few suggestions.”
She raised her gaze to his once more. “What about my job? I just submitted an article and a dozen applications.”
“Don’t copywriters have the freedom to write from anywhere?”
“Well, yes, sometimes. But …”
“If you need to travel, we’ll figure it out. Phoenix is central to a lot of destinations.”
She tugged on the hem of her Colorado Blizzard sweatshirt.
He pointed at her top. “Is that new?”
“I, um, just bought it yesterday, and um … well, I couldn’t buy a Philadelphia Forge sweatshirt with you leaving and all.” She dropped her voice. “It made me feel closer to you.”
God, he loved her!
Before he could tell her so, she said, “If I move, what do I do about my apartment?”
“Baby, I told you before that money isn’t a problem.
I’ll cover your lease, and I’ll support you, whether you want to write or not.
What is a problem—for me—is being without you.
I’m nuts with you, but it’s a good kind of nuts, and I like it.
A helluva lot. Without you, I’m a homicidal kind of nuts.
You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?
” Wow. What a sales pitch. Seriously, he needed a personal trainer for this shit.
The BF, Anna, whose beady-eyed attention he’d felt bouncing between them during this entire exchange, piped up. “Lexi, since Josh is offering to pay for it, why not keep this place through the end of your lease? That gives you plenty of time to decide whether you two are good for the long haul.”
Why the hell was this woman jumping into their private discussion? Probably because nothing in this tiny apartment was private. And honestly, it sounded like she might be on his side. He couldn’t find any flaw in her logic, and he needed all the help he could get.
Lexi narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “Anna, maybe it’s time for you to leave?”
Anna jabbed a thumb at her chest. “I don’t think so. I’m the voice of reason over here, and if you two have a chance of getting together, I’m it.”
Josh dropped his voice in the absurd hope Anna wouldn’t eavesdrop. “Baby, what she’s saying makes total sense.”
Lexi’s green eyes flashed. “But I don’t want your charity!”
“It’s not charity.”
“Then what do you call it?”
“It’s … Maybe it is charity. My charity. I have my own damn selfish reasons. I really love the idea of knowing you’re waiting for me in a house we pick out together.”
Judging by her bewildered expression, he had blown her mind. “A h-house?”
He tossed his hand in the air. “An apartment, a condo, a fucking houseboat. I don’t care, as long as it’s someplace where we both live under the same roof. I want to know you’re there.”
“On a houseboat. In Phoenix.” She pressed her lips together to muffle a laugh, but a small snort escaped. Yeah, he sounded utterly ridiculous, but at least she’d recovered her sense of humor. Maybe her mind wasn’t totally blown after all.
He took her hands in his. “I want to know you’re sleeping in my bed, that you’re in the stands when we play home games, that you’ll be at the team bus to meet me after a long road trip. Or not. I just want you there. Baby, I love you, and I want you with me.”
Furrows that had formed between her brows deepened. “And I love you …”
The “but” hung between them.
“Shit. I’m screwing this up royally, aren’t I?” Pulling in a breath, he hit a mental reset button. “I should have asked what you want. See? Selfish.”
“May I?” Anna nosing in again. He wheeled toward her and braced himself. “Josh, you don’t strike me as selfish. You sound like a man who knows what he wants, and what he wants is Lexi. Plain and simple.”
One side of his mouth hitched. “Wow. You said that so much better than I did.”
“Because I’m able to use logic, and you’re coming from the emotional side of the equation. Your stakes are much higher than mine. I’m not in deep like you are.” She winked at him, then crossed her arms and cocked her head at her best friend. “Ball’s in your court, girlfriend.”
Calculations seemed to stream through Lexi’s green eyes.
Josh squeezed her hands, still resting in his.
“Come to Phoenix with me, Lexi. If I sign with the team, I’ll be under contract, but they won’t need me right away.
I’ll have most of the rest of the summer off.
We can travel. I want to introduce you to my family.
I’ll even take you back to the Sapphire Hotel for our one-month anniversary in twenty days. Our six-month at the holidays. Our—”
She placed gentle fingers on his lips. “Tell me this: If I say yes, you sign with Arizona. If I say no, then you sign with the KHL.”
He nodded.
“Josh, I’m scared—”
“So am I, baby. Let’s be scared together.” He kissed her fingertips.
They slid from his mouth. “No, let me finish. I’m scared, but I don’t want to be. Something tells me I’d be an idiot to let you walk away, and I’m done being an idiot.”
He rested his hands on her hips. “You’re no idiot, Lexi. Well, unless that’s the only argument that will get you to say yes, and then I’m on board with that narrative.”
She tapped his pec. “That’s dishonest.”
“Isn’t it, though? You better believe I’ll do whatever it takes, baby girl.” He leaned in and hovered his lips beside her ear. “I want you, Lexi, and not just in my bed. Say yes. Please.” He drew back and stopped breathing.
Lexi opened her sweet mouth, and he was sure it was poised to say yes when rustling caught their attention.
“Anna! I’m so sorry we forgot about you,” Lexi exclaimed.
Josh released Lexi to help her BF, but Anna held up her hand to stop him.
She had hoisted herself upright and stooped to pick up a purse from the coffee table.
“That’s a good thing. Means your focus was where it should be, and that’s on each other.
Now that this Hallmark movie has concluded with its requisite happy ending, I’m going home to my happy ending.
Please do me the courtesy of waiting until I’m out the door before you maul each other. ”
She waddled to the front door, opened it, and gave Lexi a smile filled with warmth.
“I think you found yourself a good one.” Then she shifted her gaze to Josh.
The smile dropped, and a warning glare hardened her gaze, sending a shiver through him.
“And if he’s not, I’ll kick his ass.” Her face transformed back to the bright smile. “Nice meeting you, Josh.”
“Uh, nice meeting you too, Anna.” When she closed the door, he stared down at Lexi. “She’s fucking scary.”
“She wasn’t serious.”
“I’m hoping she was. I like knowing someone like Anna has your back.”
Lexi slid her hands up his chest. “Do you know what happens at the end of a Hallmark movie?” Her gorgeous green eyes brightened with a mischievous gleam he loved.
“Please tell me someone tears off someone else’s clothes.”
She batted him playfully. “No! But they do kiss.” Fisting his jacket, she pushed up on tiptoe, lifted her face, and angled it in invitation. “I love you, Josh.” Her lids dropped to half-mast.
Joy broke free in his chest. He wove his fingers through her silky strands. “You do realize this isn’t actually an ending, right?”
“I do,” she murmured, “as long as you realize it’s the beginning.”
“I do.”
“Now shut up and kiss me so someone can tear off someone else’s clothes.”
He gave her a wicked smile right before he lowered his mouth to hers. “I love it when you take charge.”
THE END
WANT MORE OF JOSH and Lexi? Find out what happens a year later by downloading the free Bonus Epilogue!
SO WHO THE HECK is Mac McPherson, besides Josh’s best friend? Here’s a hint and an excerpt from No Touch Zone, Book 6 in The Playmakers Series? hockey romances:
MAC IS A SINGLE dad uprooting his children, and Mia’s struggling under the weight of her own chaos. Neither has happily-ever-after in their sights, but Fate has a funny way of rearranging expectations.
CHAPTER 1
Mac Attack
DANA MCPHERSON POPPED A handful of bar nuts into his mouth and winked at the bartender.
He nearly fell off his stool when she winked back.
Somewhere inside, his teenage self pumped a fist. Yessss!
Mac is back. When she followed the wink up with a sly grin, though, he wasn’t quite sure what to do—unlike his younger self.
Back then, the brash exuberance of a nineteen-year-old would have propelled him onward, unfazed, confident that if he bombed out with this girl, he could make it with another one.
Ah, to be nineteen and stupid again. Now, nine years later, the swagger and optimism of youth had been replaced by one too many doses of reality, yet a little flame of hope still flickered that he could revive that earlier version of himself.