Page 98 of Home Game

“Thanks for taking a chance on me,” I told him, surprised by how much I meant it.

He looked over at me in the low glow, leaning closer toward me. “And thank you for sticking it out with me, too,” he said quietly. “We never should have ended up together, but I meant it when I said it’s one of the best things that have ever happened to me.”

I think I could love you, I thought silently as I looked into his eyes, so moved by all of this.Really love you.

Deep down, I was pretty sure I might already be on that path.

But we were just at the beginning. And I couldn’t fucking wait to see what more he would surprise me with.

I leaned in and crushed my lips to his, afraid that I’d let the three-word phrase slip out of my mouth if I didn’t shut myself up quickly.

“God, you smell so good,” I murmured against his lips. “Taste so good.”

“All for you.”

“You starting to cool down, now?”

“Yes. Gloriously,” he said. He shifted on his feet. “But I’m not ready to go back inside just yet.”

I could tell there was something on his mind, but I didn’t know what, yet. I gave him a couple of minutes, and a few times he looked like he was about to say something, but didn’t.”

“What’s cookin’ in there, Emmett?” I asked.

He met my eyes, shaking his head. “Well, I’m starting to get the urge to share one of my dad’s favorite quotes.”

“Share away,” I said. “I love everything you share from your dad.”

He smiled softly. “You do?”

“Of course,” I said. “He seemed like such a good man, and I only know one percent of what I hope to know about him one day.”

Emmett gave me a little nod. “Well, I don’t want you to think the quote necessarily haddirectapplication to us.”

I cocked my head to one side. “Why’s that?”

He bit his lip. “Well, because there are some things that I’m not sure if you’re ready for yet.”

“I’m intrigued. Let’s hear this.”

Emmett pulled in a long breath. “Fuck it. One of the things he used to love quoting, from a poet named Galway Kinnell, was something about… love.”

Oh.

Oh.

My heart did a little flip in my chest.

So that’s why Emmett was being a bit squirmy about mentioning it. Because that word was floating around in his mind, too? And because he also thought it was too soon to say it, but maybe not too soon to know it was a possibility?

“I really want to hear it now,” I said.

His eyes twinkled. “The self is the least of it. Let our scars fall in love.”

It was simple, and it was so perfect.

“Our scars,” I said softly, reaching out to squeeze Emmett’s waist.

It’s what Emmett and I had been doing without knowing it. We’d started out with our egos butting heads, always thinking about ourselves.

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