Page 107 of Miami Ice

Beckham snorts. “For sure. Minnie never saw a girl back at my place in Denver.”

Ooh, this is interesting. I roll over so I’m on top of his chest, facing him. “Stop it.”

“No, I won’t stop it. If I hooked up, it was at her place or a hotel room. I never wanted to bring a woman back to my house.”

Inside, I practically do a full-blown Irish jig at this news, but I decide to play cool.

“Well, you’re in a hotel room now, should I be alarmed?” I ask playfully.

He then takes his thumb and traces it over my lower lip. “NO. You will be at my house as soon as Sofia and Aaron head back to Atlanta, and then you’ll be in my house when I move to the new one.”

Then he replaces his thumb with a sweet, lingering kiss.

I could practically sigh aloud in sheer happiness.

“I want you to know something,” Beckham says, his deep, dark eyes becoming serious. “I’ve never felt this way before.”

I find myself growing emotional from his heartfelt words. My throat goes a bit thick, and I have to clear it before I can speak.

“That makes me so happy,” I say, my voice going hoarse as I brush my fingertips across his cheekbone. “Because I feel the same way about you. Everything is different. Everything. And it’s all because of the man you are.”

Beckham is quiet, his eyes locking with mine as my words wash over him. I can feel his heartbeat pick up again, and I know it’s because of what I’ve said.

“When you say things like this, I want to drop down on my knees and thank God you ran into Sofia. That she was in her hockey BookTok era, and you somehow didn’t call the police but listened to her. You came here that night and you agreed to help me. And allowed yourself to trust your heart to me.”

Now I’m blinking back tears.

“I don’t see how I deserve you,” he says, his voice thick.

“You deserve me,” I say, “by being the man you are now.”

Beckham’s mouth finds mine, and suddenly I hear “Daylight” by Taylor in my head.

I find myself smiling against his full lips.

And it’s golden.

* * *

“So quick review, Cupcake. Your dad is Greg, his girlfriend is Tasha, her sister who she hates is Kaitlyn, her husband is Drew, and they have two teenagers named Larissa and Daniel. Tasha’s parents are Lana and Keith. Your paternal grandparents are off on a cruise to the Bahamas. And their dog, Blue, is horribly trained and will try to steal food off the table, have I got it right?”

I smile at Beckham as he pulls up in front of my dad’s condo in Coral Gables. We have arrived for our first official Thanksgiving function today, and that is brunch with my dad, his girlfriend, and her family.

Beckham left this past Saturday and played Sunday and Tuesday on the road before coming back home in the early hours on Wednesday morning. While he was gone, we did Connectivity Video Connect every night, and obviously he listened carefully to everything I told him about my family in preparation for today and recorded it in his brain.

Because it matters to him,I think, a warm feeling coursing through me.

“You have everything correct,” I say happily.

He turns off the engine and exhales. I watch as he rakes a hand through his hair, and I swear he looks anxious. “I’ve never been the kind of guy you take home to meet the family,” he says quietly.

“You never let anyone get close enough to you to bring you home in the first place,“ I point out. “Who you were in the past doesn’t matter now. It doesn’t matter to Miami, who brought you here and onto their team. And who you were in Denvercertainly doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is the man you are now. Remember that.”

“I don’t think you’ll let me forget it.”

“No, I won’t,” I promise. Then I give him a reassuring smile. “Are you ready?”

Before he can even answer, my phone buzzes in my hand, and I see it’s a text from Ella. I know she’s here because we’ve pulled up right behind Jordan’s car. Curious, I tap open her text:

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