Chapter 46
forty-six
. . .
Aidan
After the last hellish hour of consoling Sinclair and talking him off the metaphorical ledge, all I wanted was to see Ceci.
And now she’s here.
In my arms.
Looking beautiful.
How the fuck did I get so lucky?
When the need for air threatens to overtake me, I finally pull back.
The woman standing with her and Colt huffs. She sounds like a horse. Or maybe a donkey.
I raise my eyebrows as I turn my attention to her. “Hi. I’m Aidan. You’re Hilary, right?”
I know her name. I’ve heard plenty of bitching from both Ceci and Hailey over her power tripping and general unpleasantness.
“Heidi,” the woman snaps. She looks me up and down, disdain clear on her face. “I’m the foundation president.”
She doesn’t offer her hand for a shake, so I don’t either. If this woman is determined to be rude to the people I love, I’ll be rude right back. Let her come after me for the slight. She’ll have to admit what a raging cunt she is too.
“Oh, Hailey’s mentioned you.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re friends with Hailey?”
We’ve met at least three times over the years my sister’s been involved with the board. Maybe four. As the foundation president, she should definitely know who I am. And at the very least, she knows Ceci and I are together. It shouldn’t be this hard to put it together.
So this is a power trip. She’s determined to prove something. What that is, I’m uncertain, but I won’t play her game.
“She’s my sister. I’m the captain of the Grizzlies. What do you do again?”
She practically shakes with fury. “I’m—”
I turn back to Ceci, cutting her off. “Would you like to dance?”
My girl beams at me. “I’d love to.”
“Excuse us.” Reaching for her hand, I clasp it in mine and tug her away.
I’m not surprised when Colt falls into step behind us.
“That was brilliant,” he crows. “I’ve never seen someone shut her down before.”
“I don’t care how important she thinks she is. She’s nobody to me.” I shrug. “You guys do good work, but charity means nothing when you’re looking down your nose at those less fortunate.”
Ceci stops in her tracks. “Holy fuck, I love you.”
My heart seizes. “Uh, what?”
She gulps, looking over my shoulder. “Would you give us a moment?”
Colt’s hand lands on my shoulder, squeezing once. “Just one. Don’t leave me alone at this thing.”
He walks off, and I turn back to Ceci, taking both of her hands in mine.
“Did you mean it?”
She won’t look at me.
I slip a finger under her chin, waiting until she raises her eyes.
“Annie. Did you mean it?”
“I love you,” she whispers. “I do.”
My heart threatens to beat out of my chest. For a second, I can’t hear anything except the rush of blood in my ears and the shaky little breath she lets out between us. She peers up at me like she’s waiting for me to break her heart, and it nearly shatters mine instead.
“I love you too,” I murmur.
And then I pull her into my arms. With the help of her heels, she fits perfectly against me, all lithe muscles and soft curves.
Her smoky caramel-bourbon perfume tickles my nose, settling my heart rate into a steady thump, thump, thump.
She presses her face to my neck, her warm breath on my skin as familiar now as breathing.
Right there, in the middle of the crowded ballroom teeming with my teammates and perfect strangers, we cling to one another. The outside world fades away, and for this one magnificent moment, we are infinite.
“I’m crazy about you, Annie,” I murmur. “Every fucking day, all I want is to come home to you. To spend time with you, even if it’s in separate rooms.”
“There’s a lot of that in our future,” she says.
“Separate rooms?” I tease.
She shakes her head. “Coming home to each other.”
“Move in with me,” I blurt. “Make it official.”
She opens her mouth to object.
“You hate your house, and I have the space. We can convert one of the guest rooms into an office so you don’t have to keep working at the kitchen table in the middle of the night. Please, Ceci. Move in with me.”
Her hand curves over the back of my neck, claiming me. Owning me.
It turns out, I like being claimed. I like being owned. By her, that is.
“Okay,” she murmurs, a smile on her berry-painted lips. “I’ll move in with you.”
“Tomorrow.”
She giggles, her chocolate-brown eyes bright with happiness. “Tomorrow.”
Ducking my head, I capture her lips with mine, trying to convey how happy this makes me. I’m giddy at the thought of waking up beside her every morning, coming home to her every night.
I never thought something like this would happen for me. Even after meeting Ceci, I never thought this dream could come true. I didn’t know I wanted this dream until she waltzed into my life and turned everything upside down.
“Can we leave now?” I murmur against her lips.
Ceci grins at me, her thumb covering the pulse point in my neck. She steadies me, maybe without even realizing she’s doing it.
“We just got here. We have to work.”
I sigh heavily. “If we have to.”
“These people paid thousands of dollars to see you,” she says, smoothing her free hand over my lapel. “It’s only a few hours. Then we get to go home.”
“Together?”
“Yeah, Wish. Together.”
And then I seal that promise with another kiss.
All too soon, heavy footsteps sound behind me.
“All right, that’s enough,” Colt booms. “Break it up. We’ve got donors to meet.”
By the skin of my teeth, I hold back my groan. The last thing I want is for any of the kind people who spent thousands of dollars on their tickets to hear me complain.
I’m not complaining. I would simply rather spend my time wrapped up in Ceci than putting on a polite, professional face for strangers who only want to brag about meeting a famous hockey player.
“How’s Sinclair?” Ceci asks, her hand slipping into mine.
By the time I got to him, he was doing better. But that’s not saying much.
“Not great,” I finally tell her. “I’m worried.”
“I know, baby,” she murmurs, running a hand through my hair. Like she can’t resist touching me even for a second. “Just keep supporting him.”
I’m trying my best. Though that might not be enough for him anymore.