Page 161 of Miami Ice

Oh, and it’s one of the 12,721 reasons why I love him.

Soon Beckham appears, looking hot as hell in black suit trousers and a white dress shirt. I pop off the end of the bed and move in front of him as he’s buttoning his shirt. “I think I’d like to help you in this endeavor,” I quip, taking over.

He groans. “You make me want to run the risk of being late today, Cupcake. Because now I want you to get me out of this shirt.”

“Oh no. That Beckham has stayed in Denver. Miami Beckham is early.”

I finish buttoning and he captures my hands with his. “That Beckham was the worst version of myself. With you, I’ve found the best version.”

Then his mouth captures mine for a kiss.

Mmm. I love his kisses.

I love him.

I move back and smile up at him. “I might have helped you find this version of yourself, but it was always there. Righthere,” I say, putting my fingertips over his heart. “I couldn’t have helped you find something that didn’t exist.”

His eyes grow liquid. “Your belief in me means everything. I never want to let you down, Georgie.”

“You won’t,” I say simply. “Now go get your tie. I don’t want you to ruin your streak of being early.”

His mouth crooks up into a smile. “No, I don’t want to ruin that, either. Coach is pleased with me, but one slipup will send everyone questioning me and if my good behavior has been a temporary act and it was just a matter of time before the real Beckham showed up.”

He drops a kiss onto my forehead before going into the closet and retrieving a platinum tie and black suit jacket. Beckham tosses the jacket onto the bed, and I watch as he loops the tie around his shirt collar and knots it.

“You look so gorgeous in a suit.”

“Wait until you see how I look out of it later tonight,” he teases.

I chuckle at that, and he picks up his jacket and drapes it over his arm. “All right, I should go,” he says. “I’ll see you at the game.”

He leans over and kisses my cheek.

“Oh, Beckham?” I say as he pauses in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve washed yourfavoritetumbler and put it next to the coffee maker. So you can bring it as your accessory for when they shoot arrivals tonight.”

Beckham narrows his eyes at me, and I smile wickedly at him. “The pink tumbler with nutcrackers all over it,” he says flatly.

“Of course!”

He rolls his eyes. “Only for you, Cupcake.”

My heart is full. I bought that tumbler for Beckham as a joke, but he has taken it to every home game this month, and it’s gotten loads of comments on social media.

Basically, the girlies love him for it.

“Have a good game. See you later,” I say.

He grins and walks out of the room, with Minnie eagerly following behind him.

I putter around the bedroom a little bit, reviewing my purchases and answering some texts on my phone. I hear the garage door open and close, so I know Beckham is gone.

Okay. Time to get these gingerbread ornaments up in the kitchen, make myself a hot chocolate, snag a couple of cookies, and watch some wonderfully cheesy Christmas romance movie for a couple of hours.

I retrieve the box of ornaments and my phone from the bed and make my way to the stairs. I get about halfway down when my slipper slides off the step, throwing me completely off balance. I drop the ornaments and my phone and grab wildly for the banister, but all I get is a handful of the Christmas garland I’ve wrapped around it, which rips off in my hand. I scream as I try to right myself, but I can’t, and I fall down the stairs. Oh my God. Oh my God.Bang!My head smashes hard into the side wall, and I swear I see stars.Thud!Then I feel a sharp pain in my ribs.Thud!I roll over the ornaments and hear glass crush underneath me.Thud!Pain sears through my back as I continue to roll. My God, my neck! Why does my neck burn like this? I’m spiraling down the stairs, fighting to take a breath through the pain that is tearing through my body.

---