Page 101 of The Love You Win

There’s no rush. We have time.

forty-six

ISLA

“What are you going to wear?” Jess asks. She and Nev lounge on my bed as I rifle through my closet. I’ve been trying to settle on an outfit for the fall festival tonight. But nothing is right. It has to be warm but cute. Maybe a little sexy.

I hold up my favorite possibility. “Maybe this?” It’s simple, but sexy. A pair of black fleece-lined leggings, an over-sized pumpkin-colored sweater with buttons along the wrists, and a black beanie. Paired with some brown leather ankle-booties and a scarf, it’s the perfect combination of functional and cute. And I know Maddox loves my ass in leggings.

“I like it.” Nevaeh nods. “You could wear that long gold necklace with it. The one with the triangular pendant.”

“Oh, yeah. That would be cute.” When neither suggests any further alterations, I head into the bathroom to change, but leave the door open so we can talk.

“So things with you two are getting serious, huh?”

“I think they are,” I tell Nev. “I’m still getting used to all the attention being with him brings, but yeah. I’m pretty serious about him.”

“Is he the one?” Jess asks.

My lips curve into a smile. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. “Yeah. I think he might be.”

“And you’ll be able to handle all that attention for the long run? Because Maddox may be on the older side for a hockey player, but he’s still got some years left in him. Not to mention whatever he does after the NHL. A lot of the guys with his level of popularity can leverage their fame for a sportscaster gig or big time endorsements.” Leave it to Jess to ask the practical business questions.

“I’m not saying it’ll always be easy, but yeah. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work. I…” Staring at myself in the mirror, I suck in a deep breath. “I love him.”

Nevaeh squeals from my bedroom. “Babes, you don’t know how happy that makes us to hear that. We were so worried that after everything Alex put you through, you’d never open yourself up to love again.”

“I wasn’t sure either,” I admit. “But Maddox is different.” The way he makes me feel… I can push through the little doubts that creep in because of my past with Alex.

“We’re really happy for you.” Jess grins at me when I stride out of the bathroom. “You deserve someone who treats you like the queen you are.” She chuckles, sharing an amused look with Nev. “We never would have guessed any of this would happen when we placed the bid on the date with him.”

“Yeah.” I laugh. “And I never thought I’d fall in love with the guy who ignored me for the first part of our date. Life is funny.” My best friends wrap me in a hug, squeezing me between them. “Now get the hell out of here. My boyfriend will be here to pick me up soon.”

“I see how it is.” Nevaeh shakes her head. “We introduce you to your soulmate and you kick us out of your life.”

“You look beautiful.” Maddox links our fingers as he steers one handed.

I blush. It doesn’t matter how many times he says it, my heart still skips a beat. “You look pretty handsome yourself. Are you going to be warm enough, though?”

Maddox wears a button-down shirt and jeans. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He looks hot as hell, but it’s chilly out. I glance at the backseat to see if he’s stashed a sweater back there.

He clears his throat. “Uh, yeah. About that.” Maddox makes a turn leading away from where the festival is being held and toward his apartment.

I laugh. “Did you forget a jacket? That’s okay. We can go get one. I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I didn’t forget a jacket.” His fingers tighten around mine. “I know we talked about going to the fall festival, but I actually thought we could do something a little different?” His gaze pings my way before returning to the road.

My stomach rolls. “Oh. Okay… Um, what were you thinking?” And why didn’t he say something sooner? What’s going on? When Maddox hesitates, my stomach twists again. It’s more violent this time.

When we stop at a red light, Maddox scratches at the five o’clock shadow covering his chin. “Well, we haven’t really gotten to spend much time alone lately, and there’s been a lot of scrutiny aimed your way. I know you don’t love the public attention, and you know I don’t either. So I thought maybe it might be better to do something at my place.”

My heart pounds so loudly, I swear I can hear it echoing in the cab of Maddox’s SUV. “You don’t think we should go out in public right now?”

His throat bobs. He’s nervous. “It’s not that I think we shouldn’t, more that I’m not sure it’s a great idea. People are still being assholes about everything, and I don’t want to give them a chance to say anything else, you know? I don’t want to give them any ammo against you.”

My stomach drops to the floor of the car.

I’ve been here before. Way too many times.

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