by Jenni Wilder
My eyes flew to his. I had kind of forgotten about Tabitha. He was right. My bedroom door was open, and Tabitha could have walked in at any time.
“I missed you,” I said sheepishly as I sat up in bed.
“I missed you too, Princess,” he said with a smile and stood up. “Now get ready. I’ll wait downstairs.”
And that was all it took for me to scramble into my closet to retrieve the outfit Rebecca picked out.
I quickly changed clothes and put on my brown leather boots that came up almost to my knees. They had a flat chunky heel, and I liked them and thought they went well with my outfit. My sister had picked out a pair of tight skinny jeans and a lacey cream button-down top over a cream tank top. She had set out some dangly bracelets, a long looping necklace, and a pair of large stud earrings. I wanted to do something special with my hair. but since I had overslept, I simply pulled all of it to the side under and behind my ear and secured it with bobby pins, creating a messy side bun. I quickly touched up my makeup and stood back to look in the mirror. It’ll do, I thought. Especially considering I didn’t know what we were doing.
I bounded down the step and found everyone in the living room. Tabitha was playing on her tablet, and Lincoln and Rebecca were talking quietly on the sofa. They stopped immediately as I walked into the room, and Lincoln stood up.
“Jillian. You are beautiful,” Lincoln said, walking over to me.
“Thank you,” I replied, feeling the blush rise in my cheeks. It was just an old shirt and some boots. Lincoln was wearing a tight charcoal sweater that looked amazing on him and jeans that I could tell were tight enough to show off his ass. In fact, I suspected that’s what had captured Rebecca’s attention as he stood up and walked over to me.
“Ready to go? Are you hungry?” he asked, and I blinked and looked up at him trying to hide the fact that I had been staring at his body. The smirk on his face told me he knew I had been checking him out.
I smiled, trying to cover my embarrassment. “Yes and yes. What are we doing?”
“Nope—you wanted this to be a surprise,” he said stubbornly.
I smiled again and bit my lip. Despite my earlier trepidation, now that he was here, I was excited.
We donned our coats and said good-bye to Rebecca and Tabitha. “Thanks again, Rebecca,” Lincoln said as he held the front door open for me.
“I won’t wait up!” Rebecca said with a smirk, and she closed the door behind us.
I was surprised at the direction in which Lincoln was driving once we started out. The closest movie theater was in the opposite direction, and most other date-night activities would be downtown, but Lincoln was driving us away from that area. I was going to ask again what we were doing tonight, but stopped myself, figuring he wouldn’t tell me anyway. I was surprised when he pulled into the strip mall parking lot and parked the car in front of a high-end department store.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, no longer able to contain my curiosity.
“We’re buying you a coat,” Lincoln said simply and got out of the vehicle. I scrambled to undo my seat belt and get out. I met him at the front of the SUV and immediately stuttered my protest as he took my hand and began pulling me toward the store.
“Linc, you don’t have to do this,” I said, pulling back on his hand.
“I know. But I want to.” He looked down at me with concern. “Please let me.”
I sighed and knew there was no point in arguing.
Shopping with Lincoln was actually pretty quick and painless. Since it was Friday night, the store was fairly empty. The two blond female clerks recognized Lincoln immediately and fawned over him, leaving me to wander through the display racks. I quickly found the clearance rack and began looking for my size.
“What about this one?” Lincoln asked, suddenly standing next to me holding up a gorgeous coat. I reached for the price tag and my eyes bugged out. It was almost five times what I had paid for the coat Lincoln had covered in hot chocolate.
“Lincoln! That’s too much money!” I gasped.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not.”
“This is way more than I paid for the coat you ruined. If you want to replace that coat, you don’t have to pay this much.”
He sighed and lowered the coat slightly. “Jillian. I’m not buying you a new coat because I feel guilty I ruined your old one. I’m buying you a new coat because I care about you and I want you to have it.” Lincoln paused and held it up again. “Try it on?”
I felt unworthy of Lincoln’s care and therefor unworthy of this coat. I stared at it as Lincoln held it out for me. It was a soft pink peacoat with a sash that tied in the front. It flared out slightly at the waist and had a hood that was lined with fake white fur as well as the cuffs of the sleeves. It was gorgeous.
“Did you pick this out?” I asked Lincoln, looking up at him. He smiled and nodded. I ran my fingers through the fur lining and sighed. I took my coat off and draped it over a nearby rack. Lincoln smiled big as he held the coat up and helped me into it. I fastened the big white buttons and tied the sash and looked up at Lincoln with raised eyebrows.
“Baby, it looks great on you,” Lincoln said as he stood back and admired me, which of course caused me to blush.
I looked over and saw the salesclerks watching us with envious eyes. I walked to a mirror and admired the coat. I doubted if this coat would look bad on anyone. For as expensive as it was, it should look good on anyone.
I looked up at Lincoln and saw concern on his face and hope in his eyes. Ugh. Fine. If he wanted to spend his money on me, who was I to stop him? I nodded, and Lincoln grinned big.
“Yeah?” Lincoln asked, and I nodded again. He wrapped his arms around me, lifted me up against his chest, and kissed me deeply with joy, and I giggled against his mouth. He pulled his face back from mine while still holding me up against him and smiled big again. “Thanks, baby.”
“Thank YOU,” I replied and kissed him again.
Lincoln paid for the coat while I was still wearing it. One of the clerks removed the security card and cut the tags off while the other clerk swiped Lincoln’s card. They both attempted to flirt with him while shooting daggers at me, but Lincoln didn’t take his eyes off me.
I could hardly believe he wanted to spend this much money on me, but it really was a lovely coat, and the way Lincoln was looking at me made me feel beautiful. Lincoln thanked the clerks, and we exited the store, one of his hands carrying my old coat and his other hand firmly around mine. Once we got out into the mostly empty parking lot, I pulled my hand free of his and skipped ahead of him as he attempted to grab me. I turned to face him, walking backward.
“So you like my new coat?” I asked and struck a pose. I placed my hands on my waist and popped a hip out.
“Are you going to give me a little show?” Lincoln asked, eyeing me up and down. I turned and began walking away from him with overemphasized sway of my hips, like I was on a fashion runway.
I heard heavy footsteps approaching quickly behind me and I turned to see Lincoln running quickly toward me. I gasped when he reached me and he bent down, wrapped his arms around my thighs and hoisted me up over his shoulder. I screamed playfully while laughing as my head went upside down. Well, at least this view is nice, I thought. I now had a prime view of his backside.
“Put me down!” I cried between gasps as Lincoln started walking toward his SUV and I tried to struggle against him.
“Don’t wiggle! I’ll drop you,” he said and squeezed my legs tighter.
“You drop me and I’m not going to dinner with you!” I protested as loudly as I could.
He stopped walking, and I saw from my upside down position that we had made it to his vehicle. I felt Lincoln loosen his grip, and he lowered me down his chest until I was eye to eye with him, my legs dangling.
“That was fun,” he said with a big grin on his face. His smile was captivating, and I could not look away. I locked my arms in a circle around his neck, and his face turned serious as h
is eyes roamed over my face.
“Thank you for the coat,” I said to him quietly.
“You’re most welcome, my Princess,” he said back to me. I closed my eyes and brought my mouth to his, and we kissed softly. Our mouths moved in unison for a long moment before Lincoln pulled away and set me down. I had to grip his coat for fear of not being able to stand on my own two feet, and he kissed my forehead before helping me into his vehicle.
Chapter Eleven
I chuckled when I realized where he was taking me for dinner. He looked down at me with questioning eyes as we approached Patrick’s, the same bar we had been to on New Year’s Eve. “I didn’t realize you were a regular here,” I teased.
Lincoln chuckled. “I’m not really. But I think I’m kind of related to the owner. And they have really good burgers.”
“Kind of related?” I questioned.
His eyes squinted, and he looked up as he tried to work out the relation. “It’s Kennedy’s husband’s sister’s husband,” he said slowly.
I thought for a moment. “So your brother-in-law’s brother-in-law?”
“Yeah, I think,” Lincoln said laughing. “Does that make sense?” he asked as we entered the bar. I nodded up at him before looking around. It was much calmer than it had been on New Year’s Eve and the night was still young, so we easily claimed a booth against the wall. A young waitress brought menus and rattled off the specials while eyeing Lincoln with interest. Lincoln ordered a beer, and I ordered a peach sunrise, and the waitress left to give us time to look at the menu. I quickly scanned it but had already decided on a burger, since that’s what Lincoln had recommended. I set my menu down and let my eyes wander around the bar, thinking about the last time I was in here.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked, looking back at Lincoln.
“Of course,” he answered, setting down his menu and grabbing my hand across the table.
“When we were here on New Year’s, why was your sister so certain we’d end up together?”
“She was drunk,” Lincoln said with a shrug.
“Okay, but Deacon kind of acted that way too when I was leaving.”
“You mean when you ran out on me,” he said, pointedly.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. When I ran out on you.”
Lincoln let go of my hand and sat back in the booth. He ran a hand across the scruff of his chin and looked at me with intense eyes. “Well, I told you I don’t have a lot of friends…” He looked uncomfortable. “That includes girlfriends.”
“But I could have been just any girl off the street. Well, really—I was any girl off the street.”
“Jillian. You were never just any girl off the street.”
“But you know what I mean,” I pressed.
“You’re saying, had I not met you, I could have picked up any random chick and brought her to the bar.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Jillian, I’ve never done that. I told you I’m not the stereotypical professional athlete.”
I picked at the corner of the menu. “But what about Mackenzie?”
“Mackenzie was a mistake,” he said and leaned closer to me. “And if you don’t stop letting her come between us, we’re going to have problems.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He thought I meant I was still holding it against him that he had been with her.
“I know what you meant. I never introduced my family or friends to Mackenzie. We went out a few times, but that was all. It never got serious enough for that. Thank God.”
“But you introduced me to them the first night we met,” I stated, confused.
“Yep,” Lincoln said, nodding. “And that’s why they knew you were special.”
“Oh.” Well, that was simple. His family and friends acted like I was special, because… I was. I bit my lip and tried to contain my growing smile.
“Gloat all you want, Princess. I knew you were special from the moment I set eyes on you,” Lincoln said with a determined look in his eyes, and my smile grew even bigger. “And I intend on letting you know every day how special you are to me.”
I couldn’t hold back and longer. I stood up in the booth, leaned across it, and kissed him sweetly.
~~~~~~~~
“All finished?” Lincoln asked me, and I nodded.
“You were right. That burger was good,” I said, wiping my mouth with my napkin. The waitress slipped the bill on the table, and I grabbed it and reached for my purse.
“Jillian, give me the bill,” Lincoln demanded and held his hand out.
I looked up at him with surprise. I shook my head and pursed my lips. “No. You just bought me a coat. I can buy you dinner,” I said as I placed a few bills on the table.
“That’s not how this is going to work, Jillian.”
“You’re going to pay for everything? That’s how it’s going to work?” I challenged him.
His face softened. “I love that you want to pay for this. But, yes, I’m going to take care of you. That’s how it’s going to work,” Lincoln said simply and stood up. He grabbed the bill from my hand and took it to the bar to pay. I sat in the booth, bewildered and overcome by Lincoln’s generosity and confidence. I was going to have to figure out how to deal with this, but I wasn’t sure how. He was so resolute. For now I filed it away to worry about later, and Lincoln returned to the booth.
“Ready to go?” he asked as I shrugged into my beautiful new coat before exiting the booth.
“Thank you for dinner… and for the coat… and for a nice evening,” I said to him as we left the bar.
“It’s not over yet, Princess.” He held the bar door open for me, and I looked up at him with surprise.
“There’s more?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
Lincoln smiled and nodded but didn’t reveal what was coming. I wrapped my arm around his, and we walked to his SUV. Once we were situated in the vehicle, Lincoln started it up and drove no more than four blocks before turning into a parking ramp and entering a code for the gate. I looked at him with confusion, and he laughed. He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it as he circled around and pulled his vehicle into a reserved parking stall.
“What are we doing?” I asked as soon as he killed the engine.
“Do you know who’s playing at the arena tonight?” he asked, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.
I shook my head. “There’s a concert tonight?” Lincoln nodded with a smirk. “Are we going?” I asked with excitement. Lincoln nodded again, his smile growing bigger. “Lincoln! Tell me!” I demanded with a laugh.
“Brit Ambush,” Lincoln finally said, and I gasped. Brit was huge right now. The current pop princess was all over the airwaves and the tabloids. She was currently rumored to be hooking up with the lead singer of a new band she had worked with. “And Crime Ghosts are opening for her,” Lincoln added.
My hand flew to cover my mouth as I gasped again. I tried to contain my scream of excitement as I undid my seatbelt and launched myself over the center console and into Lincoln’s arms. He laughed as he caught me, and I hugged him tight. Crime Ghosts was a very new band, but thanks to their collaboration with Brit and the rumors surrounding their lead singer, they had quickly landed on the music radar and on the radio. I had heard their stuff though, and knew their success wasn’t just a blip cause by media frenzy. They were good.
I sat back in my seat and held my hands over my mouth. I was in awe of Lincoln right now. This was utterly awesome. “I can’t believe you got tickets for this! This is going to be fantastic!” I couldn't stop from grinning widely.
“Okay, I have to admit—players get tickets to all the events here. It’s one of our perks,” he said sheepishly.
“Oh I don’t care! I’m just excited to see this!” I squealed. I couldn’t contain my excitement.
Lincoln laughed. “Well, all right. Let’s get going!”
Lincoln’s Player’s Pass let us into all areas of the Arena I would normally not be
allowed to go. He held my hand and pulled me through the hallways of the backstage area. I was pretty sure I saw the now-famous lead singer of Crime Ghosts talking intimately with a pretty blond who was not Brit. Hmm… maybe the tabloids were wrong.
We ended our long walk at a suite on the club level. This suite seemed to be reserved for Lincoln's teammates and others associated with the Blackhawks. There was a large group of people of all ages milling around, chatting before the concert started. Several of them shouted greetings at Lincoln as we walked inside, and I saw Deacon was one of them. He immediately walked over to us. A leggy blonde with a short skirt and a skimpy shirt that accentuated her large chest skipped after him.
“Hey guys!” he said to us before slapping Lincoln on the back and giving me a proper, yet slightly awkward, hug. He grabbed the blonde’s hand and pulled her forward. “This is Daisy. Daisy, this is Lincoln and Jillian.”
Daisy giggled and waved her fingers at us, but her eyes lusted at Lincoln. I smiled at her in return, but insecurity flooded through me. She was an ideal beauty, nothing I could ever be compared to.
Deacon wrapped his arm around Daisy’s waist and pulled her closer to him. “Daisy’s an underwear model,” he said proudly with a wicked grin, and Daisy giggled again. Of course she is, I thought as I looked down, feeling incredibly inadequate.
Lincoln put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. “Jillian’s researching cell growth at GenChem laboratories,” he said smugly.
Deacon gave me a reassuring smile, but the look on his date’s face was anything but friendly. “That sounds… fun,” Daisy said with a condescending tone. All eyes looked to me, and I felt my face flush. What the hell? I thought as I cringed internally.
“Hey, I didn’t invite you here to be a bitch to my friends,” Deacon told his date. The change in Daisy was instantly visible. She went from bitch to sexy kitten in less than two seconds.
“Sorry, baby,” she purred to Deacon as she ran a finger over her plump glossy bottom lip and pushed her boobs against him. I wanted to puke.
