Playing It Safe
Page 20
"I heard."
Her head snapped around, surprise lighting her hazel eyes. "From Brooke? I didn't realize she had been paying attention."
"She was."
Savannah nodded then looked away, her hands still shoved into the front pocket of her sweatshirt, her gaze focused on her bare feet. God, he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms. To apologize. To beg her forgiveness and ask what he could do to make it up to her.
So why didn't he? Why was he sitting over here, not doing a damn thing?
Because his mother had been right. It was easier to just settle. To play it safe instead of taking risks. That's what he did. That's what he had done his entire life, in everything except hockey.
He didn't want to be that way anymore, didn't want to sit back as life passed him by. Didn't want to let this woman walk away, not after finally finding her.
"Savannah, what I said the other day…" He hesitated, cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to the floor. "I was out of line."
"Yeah, you were." She blew out a quick breath, the sound a little sharp. "But you were upset so…I get it."
"It doesn't matter how upset I was. It was wrong, and I'm sorry."
"I know. You told me that last night."
Yeah, he had. And she had simply said Me, too and drove away.
If she had the chance, would she do the same thing now? If she wasn't locked down here with him, would she simply climb the stairs and walk away?
He pushed off the stool, closed the distance between them in three long strides. Her head tilted back, surprise flashing in her eyes when he stopped in front of her.
"Savannah, I'm not perfect. Far from it. I've made mistakes. So many mistakes. Too damn many. But I'm trying. I'm learning." He reached out, ran a hand along her arm, across her throat, finally cupping her cheek. Her body stiffened—in surprise, maybe, or maybe something else—but she didn't pull away.
"I meant what I said, the day you went to Philly. I love you. Those weren't just words uttered in the heat of passion. And I hope to hell they mean something to you, even if it's nothing more than that you won't give up on whatever we might have going and walk away."
"Aaron—"
He shook his head, silencing her. Then he leaned forward, pressed a kiss against her forehead, and reached into the pocket of his gym shorts. She glanced down at the phone in his hand, frowning like she wasn't sure what it was.
"What's that?"
"It's my phone."
"You've had it with you this entire time?"
"Well, yeah—"
"And you're giving it to me now?"
"Yeah."
She looked up at him, her clear hazel eyes unreadable. "Why?"
"Why? I thought—I know you don't want to be stuck down here with me. I thought maybe you'd want to call Tessa to come let you out or something."
"You're giving me the phone now?" She pushed away from the sofa so fast that she knocked into him. He took one step back, then another as she moved toward him. "You're giving me the phone now? After everything you just said?"
"I'm not—I don't—" What the hell? Had he done something wrong? He glanced around, wondering what he was missing, took another step back as Savannah moved even closer, then another, not stopping until he collided with one of the stools.
"Do you want me to leave?"
Aaron hesitated, almost afraid to answer. He couldn't read the expression on Savannah's face, didn't understand why she was looking at him the way she was. He finally shook his head. "No. I don't."
She dropped her head to his chest and for a horrifying second, he thought she was crying. No, it wasn't that, because she kept dropping her head against his chest, over and over.
Not dropping…banging. And she was muttering under her breath, something that sounded like—
"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid." She finally stopped banging her head against his chest and looked up at him. Her body was wedged against his, braced between his legs as he leaned against the stool. It took every ounce of willpower not to wrap his arms around her, not to touch her.
And then, God, he didn't need to touch her because she was cupping his face in her hands, watching him with those clear hazel eyes. "Aaron, you don't tell someone you love them and then expect them to walk away."
"But—I didn't want…I wasn't sure—"
"Aaron?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you. Now shut up and kiss me."
He blinked, wondering if he was hearing things, wondering if he was hallucinating. No, he wasn't. Savannah was looking up at him, those beautiful hazel eyes filled with love.
She loved him.
He captured her mouth with his in a searing kiss, reveling in her taste. Her touch.
Her love.
Upstairs, Carol Malone pressed her ear to the door, listening as the voices faded into soft whispers before disappearing altogether. She smiled and slid the chair away from the door then quietly turned the lock.
Two young girls looked at her, their faces both excited and anxious.
"Did it work?"
"It most certainly did."
Brooke nudged Isabelle in the side. "Told you it would."
Carol placed her hands on their shoulders and led them away from the door. "Sh. Both of you. Get your coats on, and we'll go get that ice cream now."
"What about Daddy and Miss Savannah?"
"I don't think we have to worry about them for a while." Carol smiled. No, she didn't think they'd have to worry about them at all.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
"Nervous?"
Aaron glanced over at his wife, wondering again at how easy she could read him. Although, to be fair, a complete stranger would be able to see how nervous he was right now.
He wasn't the only one who was nervous. Brooke and Isabelle sat across from them in the hallway. Brooke's legs were curled under her in a way that made Aaron's knee wince in pain just looking at her. She was doing her best to look calm, like she didn't have a worry in the world—it wouldn't be cool for a fifteen-year-old to act otherwise. But Aaron saw the way her foot kept wiggling, and the way she kept twisting her fingers together when she thought nobody was looking.
Isabelle was kneeling, bouncing up and down as she stared at the timer on her phone. She was nervous and excited, and not afraid to let everyone know it. She looked up, blew the hair from her eyes, and gave everyone an update.
"One more minute."
Savannah made a soft little noise in the back of her throat, not quite a whimper, not quite a sigh. Even she looked nervous, her face a little pale despite the color high on her cheeks. He squeezed her hand then pressed a kiss against her temple.
"You okay?"
She nodded. "I will be. Soon."
He brushed another kiss against her temple, ignoring the groan from Brooke and Isabelle. This was just a formality anyway. He already knew what the result was going to be, had known for a few weeks.
And so did Savannah.
"Okay, time's up." Isabelle jumped to her feet then froze. "Who's going to get it?"
Nobody moved, which struck him as oddly funny. He started laughing, choked it back when three identical expressions of indignation were leveled at him. He pushed to his feet, ignoring the pull in his knee, and moved toward the closed door. "I'll get it."
"But no peeking, Dad."
"I won't peek."
"Seriously, Dad, no peeking. That's cheating."
"He won't peek." Savannah looked up at him, a gentle smile on her face. No, he wouldn't peek. He didn't need to.
He went into the bathroom, grabbed the test stick off the counter, and walked out with it behind his back. Brooke and Isabelle jumped to their feet, excitement dancing in their eyes.
"Well? What does it say?"
"I don't know, you told me not to look."
"Then let us see!"
Brooke nudged Isabelle to the side, trying to look behind his back. "Come on, Dad, let us see."
"Guess we kind of have to, don't we?"
"Guys!" Isabelle drew the word out into three long syllables, sounding just like her sister had at that age. "This isn't fair. Stop teasing, let us see."
"On the count of three."
Brooke and Isabelle leaned closer, counting along with Savannah.
"One…two…"
"Three!" Aaron held the stick out. A second later, two excited screams filled the hallway, shattering his eardrums as Brooke and Isabelle grabbed each other and started jumping up and down.
"We're having a baby! We're having a baby!"
Aaron laughed then pulled Savannah into a hug and twirled her around. She grabbed onto his shoulders, her mouth clamping shut as she shook her head. He quickly put her down, his arms still around her, ready to carry her to the bathroom if she needed it. She shook her head again, smiled, and leaned against him.
"You peeked."
"No, I didn't."
"You already knew?"
He pressed his hand against the flat of her stomach and smiled. "Yeah. For a couple of weeks, the same as you."
Savannah closed her hand over his, her fingers trembling. "Are you okay with it?"
"I'm better than okay. I'm ecstatic."
"Not scared?"
"Scared? Me?" He kissed her, hard, then leaned back. "I'm beyond scared. I'm terrified. And I've never been happier."
Savannah laughed and reached up to cup his cheek with one hand. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He kissed her again, long and deep, slow and warm.
Safe in the knowledge that he'd never have to worry about life passing him by again, not when he had his family with him.
Not when he had Savannah by his side.
###
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CROSSING THE LINE
The Baltimore Banners Book 1
Amber "AJ" Johnson is a freelance writer who has one chance of winning her dream-job as a full-time staffer: capture an interview with the very private goalie of Baltimore's hockey team, Alec Kolchak. But he's the one man who tries her patience, even as he brings to life a quiet passion she doesn't want to admit exists.
Alec has no desire to be interviewed--he never has, never will. But he finds himself a reluctant admirer of AJ's determination to get what she wants...and he certainly never counted on his attraction to her. In a fit of frustration, he accepts AJ's bet: if she can score just one goal on him in a practice shoot-out, he would not only agree to the interview, he would let her have full access to him for a month, 24/7.
It's a bet neither one of them wants to lose...and a bet neither one can afford to win. But when it comes time to take the shot, can either one of them cross the line?
Turn the page for an exciting peek at CROSSING THE LINE, available now.
"Oh my God, what have I done?" AJ muttered the phrase under her breath for the hundredth time. She wanted to rub her chest but she couldn't reach it under the thick pads now covering her. She wanted to go home and curl up in a dark corner and forget about the whole thing.
Me and my bright ideas.
"Are you going to be okay?"
AJ snapped her head up and looked at Ian. The poor guy had been given the job of helping her get dressed in the pads, and she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Between her nervousness and the threat of an impending migraine, she was too preoccupied to muster much sympathy for anyone else right now.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She took a deep breath and stood, wobbling for only a second on the skates. This was not how she had imagined the bet going. When she cooked up the stupid idea, she had figured on having a few days to at least practice.
Well, not really. If she was honest with herself, she never even imagined that Alec would agree to it. But if he had, then she would have had a few days to practice.
So much for her imagination.
She took another deep breath then followed Ian from the locker room. It didn't take too long for her gait to even out and she muttered a thankful prayer. She only hoped that she didn't sprawl face-first as soon as she stepped on the ice.
Her right hand clenched around the stick, getting used to the feel of it, getting used to the fit of the bulky glove—which was too big to begin with. This would have been so much easier if all she had to do was put on a pair of skates. She had never considered the possibility of having to put all the gear on, right down to the helmet that was a heavy weight bearing down on her head.
She really needed to do something with her imagination and its lack of thinking things all the way through.
AJ took another deep breath when they finally reached the ice. She reached out to open the door but was stopped by Ian.
"Listen, AJ, I'm not even going to pretend I know what's going on or why you think you can do this, but I'll give you some advice. Shoot fast and low, and aim for the five and two holes—those are Alec's weak spots. The five hole is—"
"Between the legs, I know." AJ winced at the sharpness of her voice. Ian was only trying to help her. He had no reason to realize she knew anything about ice hockey, and not just because she liked to write about it. She offered him a smile to take the bite from her words then slammed the butt of the stick down against the door latch so it would swing open. Two steps later and she was standing on a solid sheet of thick ice.
AJ breathed deeply several times then slowly made her way to the other side of the rink, where Alec was nonchalantly leaning against the top post of the net talking to Nathan. They both watched as she skated up to them and came to a smooth stop. Alec's face was expressionless as he studied her, and she wondered what thoughts were going through his mind. Probably nothing she really wanted to know.
Nathan nodded at her, offering a small smile. She had to give the guy some credit for not laughing in her face when she asked his opinion on her idea. "Well, at least it looks like you've been on skates before. That's a plus."
AJ didn't say anything, just absently nodded in his direction. The carefree attitude she had been aiming for was destroyed by the helmet sliding down over her forehead. She pushed it back on her head then glanced at the five pucks lined neatly on the goal line. All she had to do was get one of them across. Just one.
She didn't have a chance.
She pushed the pessimistic thought to the back of her mind. "So, do I get a chance to warm up or take a practice shot?"
Alec sized her up then briskly shook his head. "No."
AJ swallowed and glanced at the pucks, then back at Alec. "Alrighty then. A man of few words. That's what I like about you, Kolchak." AJ though he might have cracked a smile behind his mask but she couldn't be sure. She sighed and leaned on her stick, trying to look casual and hoping it didn't slip out from under her and send her sprawling. "So, what are the rules?"
"Simple. You get five chances to shoot. If you score, you win. If you don't, I win." Alec swept the pucks to the side with the blade of his stick so Nathan could pick them up. She followed the moves with her eyes and tried to ignore the pounding in her chest.
She had so much riding on this. Something told her that Alec was dead serious about being left alone if she lost. It had been a stupid idea, and she wondered if she would have had better luck at trying to wear him down the old-fashion
ed way.
She studied his posture and decided probably not. He had been mostly patient with her up to this point, but even she knew he would have reached his limit soon.
"All or nothing, then. Fair enough. So, are you ready?"
AJ didn't hear his response but thought it was probably something sarcastic. She sighed then turned to follow Nathan to the center line, her heart beating too fast as her feet glided across the ice. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to readjust the bulk of the pads, and watched as Nathan lined the pucks up.
He finished then straightened and faced her, an unreadable expression on his face. He finally grinned and shook his head.
"I have no idea if you know what you're doing or not, but good luck. You're going to need it."
"Gee, thanks."
Nathan walked across the ice to the bench and leaned against the outer boards, joining a few of the other players gathered there. AJ wished they were gone, that they had something better to do than stand around and watch her make a fool of herself.
Well, she had brought it on herself.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, pushing everything from her mind except what she was about to do. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was on the first puck. Heavy, solid...nothing more than a slab of black rubber...
Okay, so she wasn't going to have any luck becoming one with the puck. Stupid idea. AJ had never understood that whole Zen thing anyway.
She swallowed and began skating in small circles, testing her ankles as she turned first one way then another, testing the stick as she swept it back and forth across the ice in front of her. Not too bad. Maybe she hadn't forgotten—
"Sometime today would be nice!"
AJ winced at the sarcasm in Alec's voice and wished she had some kind of comeback for him. Instead she mumbled to herself and got into position behind the first puck. She didn't even look up to see if he was ready. Didn't ask if it was okay to start, she just pushed off hard and skated, the stick out in front of her.