by Taylor Hart
Marcus whistled loudly from the kitchen. “Tricia, let’s roll.” He peeked his head in. “Hang tight, Lu. I think we do Italian tonight for our last night. You in?”
“You bet.”
Tricia and Marcus noisily left through the front door, arguing over who would be the fastest down the next run. When the door was shut, all that remained was quiet.
Forest had turned on the gaslit fireplace and put on light Christmas music. Gently, he put his hand on her head. “How are you feeling?”
His cold hand felt good on her head. “Better now.” Her eyes drifted shut, but she was very aware of this man’s presence. “But I think I’ll skip skiing, like … forever.”
He chuckled and stroked the top of her head.
“That feels so good,” she said. She was unsure about all of this, but she didn’t care enough to protest.
The song changed to “O Holy Night.” Forest hummed along, then began to sing quietly. “Fall on your knees. O hear the angel voices.”
She loved this song. Her father had loved it too, singing it loud and proud at Christmas mass.
“My singing so bad it’s making you cry?” he asked when the song ended.
Only then did she realize her cheeks were wet. She tried to sit up and found that her head was feeling mildly better, but her whole torso still hurt. “Ah.”
“Wait.” Forest adjusted the pillows, then helped her shift to more of an upright position. His arm was around her, and she smelled his aftershave. Butterflies swarmed inside of her, and the chemistry from earlier pumped up.
“My father always sang that song at Mass really loud,” she said.
Forest reached up, brushing away a piece of hair out of her face. “Your father sounds like an amazing man.”
“He was, but …” She turned to face him, suddenly wanting to tell Forest who her father really was.
“I think you’re pretty amazing, too.” He breathed her in.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t smell amazing at this moment—probably like hospital.”
“Naw,” he said, searching her eyes. “You smell amazing. Like strawberry shampoo.”
She thought of her strawberry shampoo and smiled. “Yes, it is.”
He scrunched his nose up. “I’ve been kind of obsessed with how you smell. And I’ve kinda been obsessed with kissing you all day, too.” He shrugged. “I mean, when I wasn’t afraid for your life.”
This made her laugh, but it hurt her head. “Ow.”
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I think my pride has been the most offended.”
Carefully, he reached up, tracing a line down her face.
Her skin was hyper sensitive to his touch. “Kiss me.”
Tentatively, he put his lips on hers.
She felt a prick of guilt and pulled back. “You don’t know who I am, Forest.”
He pressed his cheek to hers. “But I do, Lu. I see a woman who pushes everyone away because she’s been so hurt. A woman who doesn’t trust easily.” He laced his fingers through hers. “A woman who has a lot of the same issues I have.”
Her heart thumped.
“A woman who lets my sister braid her hair.” His lips skimmed her jawline.
“I like her braids.”
“See? Exactly.”
She sucked in little breaths, wanting to resist this man. “You’ve run the ball past my defenses, Hightower.”
His lip tugged up. “And I didn’t even know I was trying to run the ball.”
One of his hands was on her waist, bringing her closer, and the other was cupping her neck. Their lips met, and she was flying, soaring. Her hands skimmed the tops of his shoulders. He was so strong, so powerful. She remembered seeing him when she’d first come to Frisco and he’d answered the door in his swimsuit. She deepened the kiss, and he responded in kind.
“Oh!” she cried out. He’d pulled on a sensitive rib.
Reflexively, he let go. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Dang it.”
She sucked in a breath and leaned back onto the couch pillows. Her head was aching a bit more, and her whole body hurt. “No, I want to kiss you more.” She laughed, making her ribs burn with pain. “Ouch!”
“You okay?”
She found herself giggling. “Ouch.”
“Don’t laugh,” he said, settling himself next to her. “It’s hurting you.”
She drew in another long breath. “Man.”
Forest snuggled up next to her, putting his head right next to hers and putting his arm around her. “If I hurt you, tell me, and I’ll back away.”
She put her hand over his, loving how big his hand was in comparison. “I like you here.”
“Good.” His breath tickled her ear, and she squirmed a little. “I like being here.”
“You do, now? Hmm. I like that you like it.” She smiled. It was insane to think about how things had progressed between the two of them. “I can’t believe I’ve fallen for you.”
Forest stilled. “You have?”
She pushed him away. “Oh my gosh.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Hey, I’ve fallen for you, too. And that’s a trigger for you, falling for a quarterback.”
She laughed.
“I don’t care at all about the professional boundaries. If you want to report to the judge that I’m a mess, then fine.”
She squeezed his hand. “You’re not a mess.”
“Yes, I am, but it’s okay. I’m a work in progress, like my sister says about her hair designs. But I still want to kiss you, even if I am a mess.”
Chapter 18
“I don’t think we should go for a walk,” Forest said later that afternoon as they watched Thor: The Dark World.
“I’m fine.” Lu forced herself to stand. “C’mon, let’s get on our winter gear and just walk down the boardwalk, past the ski shops and the café. Let’s breathe it all in, because we’re leaving tomorrow.” She winked at him. “I’ll even let you buy me a hot chocolate.”
Forest got to his feet and moved her hair out of her eyes, unable to believe that he’d fallen for this woman so quickly. “Oh, you’ll let me buy you stuff? That’s your bribe for getting me out of the house?”
“Yep. I’ll let you show off and be cocky.”
He’d never met a woman like Lu before. She was smart, intelligent, and prickly on the outside, and gooey on the inside. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “Okay, but no skiing.”
She laughed. “C’mon, I could do the bunny hill.”
“No way. We have to get you back to Denver in one piece, because you’re coming to the Christmas Eve game, right?”
Lu’s face fell, and she shook her head. “I don’t go to Storm Stadium.”
He hadn’t expected that answer. “What?”
“I just don’t go there.” She walked away from him and into the kitchen.
“So you stare at it every day from your office, but you won’t go there?”
She took a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. “It was a complicated thing with my father.”
“Was he like a football freak or something?”
She almost choked on her water. “Yeah. You could say that.”
Lu had been right: he didn’t know enough about her. “Hey, I can understand a girl like you hating the stadium. I mean, you’re so pretty, I’m sure the kiss cam gets put on you all the time.”
“Exactly,” she said, smiling weakly. “That’s the problem. The kiss cam.”
He grunted and pressed his lips softly against her head. “Please come to the game with Tricia and Marcus, then be my Christmas Eve date.”
She sighed. “I can’t. My sister is in town.”
He was confused. “What?”
“I didn’t want her to come. Last year at my dad’s funeral, she told me that his death was my fault, so … needless to say, we haven’t spoken.”
Suddenly, it all made sense. Until now, he hadn’t figured out why she’d been so upset while looking at
her phone when he’d first gone to her office. He snapped his fingers. “That’s why you agreed to come with us, isn’t it?”
Her face reddened.
“Oh my gosh,” he said, snickering. “You’re helping me deal with my anger issues toward my father to avoid your family.”
“It’s pathetic, right?”
“I can’t believe it. We were both blamed for a parent’s death.” He hugged her and patted her on the back. “It’s okay. I know. You could invite your sister to the game and to dinner at my place.”
“I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m in this for the long term, Lu. I can wait to learn all your secrets and to help you through them.” He winked at her. “There’s no judgment.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I hate you.”
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist the therapy speak.” He laughed and leaned down, brushing his lips to hers. “You’re pretty amazing, doctor.”
She smiled at him. “You are, too.”
Half an hour later, they were sitting at the outdoor café, near a fire pit. Lu sipped hot chocolate and wore her pink ski jacket and white hat. Her sunglasses ensured that no one could see her black eye. “This is nice,” she said.
Forest sipped his hot chocolate, too. “It is nice.”
The ski lift was right next to them, and the place was bustling with people. Both of them just people-watched for a while.
Last night, Forest had fallen asleep thinking about the redhead. He’d dreamed about her, but the dream had turned into panic as he’d chased her down the mountain, trying to stop her from going too fast. Only this time, she’d fallen off a cliff. He tried to shake the memory.
“You okay, quarterback?”
He took a gulp of the hot chocolate, then hissed when it burned his mouth. “Dang it.”
Lu chuckled. She scooped a bit of fresh snow off the rail and dumped it into her cup. “Want some?” she asked.
He yanked off his lid, letting her add some snow to his cup as well. “Thanks.” Unable to stop himself, he leaned into her, brushing his lips to hers.
“Hmm,” she hummed.
“It sounds funny when you do that.”
She grabbed his coat and yanked him back toward her. “Come back. You taste like chocolate.”
He didn’t argue, opting to kiss her again.
She shook her head. “I cannot believe you guys are the bearded Santas.”
“Hey,” he said, warning her. “You are one too now.”
“I could get used to that.”
He was so happy to have this woman in his life. “I’m glad you have taken a liking to superhero movies, ’cause I’m just sayin’ … this wouldn’t have worked out if you were a hater.”
“You guys are fanatics.”
“Is that your professional opinion?”
“Oh, you suddenly want my professional opinion?”
He laughed and kissed her again.
“Hmm,” she said, giggling.
“Lu?” a man’s voice called. “Lu, is that you?”
They broke apart, and Forest looked around. A guy was standing right next to their table, holding his own drink. Forest instantly recognized him—the overly polished guy from the Instagram pictures Marcus had pulled up.
“Jeffrey?” Lu said, sounding shocked.
“Wow.” Jeffrey chuckled, and it sounded forced. He came closer, glancing at Forest. “Oh, wow, is that Forest Hightower?”
All of Forest’s walls straightened back into place. “What’s up?” he said dryly. He wouldn’t pretend he cared about the man, but he didn’t want to make this hard on Lu.
Lu didn’t react for a moment, and Forest witnessed her walls come up as well. “Jeffrey,” she said coolly, putting clinical distance in her voice. “What brings you to Frisco? I didn’t know you skied.”
But Jeffrey was still gawking over Forest. “Dude, that last game was killer, man. I just …” He ran a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t believe it when you threw that Hail Mary pass! The looks on all of the LA Wave players’ faces.”
Since throttling the guy wasn’t an option, Forest gave him a humorless smile. “Thanks.”
It was obvious that Jeffrey wanted to engage him more, but the guy was sleazy and he picked up on Forest’s reticence quickly. He turned back to Lu. “So, you two are seeing each other?”
“Jeffrey!” A ponytail-bobbing, skintight-suit-wearing blonde dashed to his side. “I couldn’t see you, and I was lonely.” She purred and pressed up against him, puckering lips that were heavy with lipstick.
“Ha. Liz, it’s Lu and Forest.”
The woman’s mouth fell open for a second; then she shut it and cuddled into Jeffrey. “Oh, hey, Lu.”
Lu flashed Forest a fake, sweet smile. “Forest, meet Liz, my old personal trainer.”
Forest nodded curtly at the woman.
Liz’s mouth fell open as she turned to Forest. “Oh my gosh, you’re Forest Hightower.”
“Yep.”
“He likes the name Cap,” Lu said. She wasn’t looking at them; her eyes on Forest’s, glinting mischievously.
Forest smiled at her. “Oh yeah, I prefer Cap.”
Jeffrey let out an off-key laugh. “O-kay. Well, I guess we’ll leave you guys to it. Nice meeting you, and good to see you, Lu.”
“Bye, Jeffrey.”
Jeffrey paused, then turned back. “Wait, I got it. I bet you’re giving him some counseling for the punch he gave the old man, right?”
Quiet tension settled over the conversation. Forest sucked in air through his teeth.
Jeffrey nodded smugly. “That makes sense. I mean, you counseled Cameron when everything happened, and of course Cam would come to you—he loved Pete, and you guys will always have that connection.”
Pete? Pete Chaos? Forest’s mind was whirling. Did Lu know Pete somehow?
Lu stood. “Goodbye, Jeffrey.” She put her hand out to Forest. “Should we go?”
Forest mumbled something in the affirmative. His mind was racing, partly because he wanted to belt the guy next to the table, and partly because he wanted to demand answers from Lu. “Okay.” He stood and took her hand.
Jeffrey guffawed. “I guess trading up for the Storm’s starting quarterback would have made the old man proud. Lord knows I could never make him proud. The arrogant snob.”
Lu dropped Forest’s hand and closed the gap between her and Jeffrey. “What did you say about my father?”
Her father? Father? Pete Chaos was Lu’s father?
Jeffrey’s nostrils flared. “I said you finally made the old man proud.” His eyes turned cold as he added, “Someday Hightower isn’t going to be a starter, though. And I bet old Pete will be turning in his grave seeing you with some Joe Schmo.”
Even though Forest had been blindsided by the play, he had always been one to recover quickly. He stepped in the man’s space. “You’d better back it up, boy!”
Lu pushed Forest out of the way. “Jeffrey!” She stood nose to nose with him.
Forest didn’t look at Lu. He was ready to push the guy down if he did something to her.
Jeffrey’s eyes met hers. “What, Lu? Don’t you know about triggers?”
She slapped him. Jeffrey stumbled back, his eyes wide with rage. Liz squeaked and darted behind Jeffrey.
“Don’t you ever talk about my father again,” Lu growled. “My biggest regret is that he knew you were a fake cheater from the moment he met you, and when he tried to warn me, I didn’t listen. I’m sorry I ever fell for you.” She turned on her heel, pushing past Forest.
“Come back here!” Jeffrey yelled out. “I could sue you!”
Forest wasn’t sure if he should stay and deal with this jerk or follow Lu. He opted for the latter. His mind spun a million miles per second as he caught up to her. “Lu.”
She kept walking, dodging in and out of people. When they reached their rental house, she rushed inside without speaking to him.
Forest doggedly ch
ased her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he blurted.
Chapter 19
Lu tore off her coat and hung it on the hook, trying to remain calm. She kicked off her boots and rushed into the kitchen, trying to steady her breathing.
“Lu,” Forest demanded, stomping after her without removing his coat or boots. The look on his face was half dumbfounded, half anger.
She grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. “I … it’s complicated.”
Forest moved to the other side of the kitchen island that faced her. “Yeah, and I think we’ve been doing complicated for a while now.”
Lu took a sip of the water, and her hand started to shake. All the angst and pain and depression of the past few months rushed in like a flood, threatening to drown her. She dropped the glass into the sink, and it shattered. She cursed and moved to reach in.
Forest yanked off his glove and put his hand over hers. “Stop.”
She stared up at him, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe I slapped him.”
“Forget him.”
But everything was crashing down around her. “I was so horrible to my father.” She cringed, and when she looked into Forest’s eyes, it felt like facing a firing squad. “I was the apple of my father’s eye. I spent countless hours at Storm Stadium. I …” She looked down at her hands. “I have known Cameron Cruz for almost fifteen years. He played for the Storm for twelve and then bought the team from my father.”
Forest raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this.”
She rushed on. “When I left for college, I told my father I resented how much time he spent with the Storm. We got into a huge fight. Then, when I graduated, my father made amends and told me if I would come home to Denver, he would sell the team.”
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t just tell me.”
She put her hand up to silence him. “For a time, we became close again. We had lunch once a week and dinner once a week. Even though he didn’t own the Storm any longer, he was still a part of it, and that didn’t bother me. But he was different. He was able to focus on other things besides the Storm. When I met Jeffrey and began dating him, my father hated him. And he was very vocal about it.”
