Page 71 of Sven

“Just him being a total asshole to you. I’m sorry if I’m out of line, but you didn’t deserve any of that,” she said, gesturing to the house. “You know that, right?”

Sven closed his arms and kept his eyes on the floor.

“I mean it,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder, choosing to completely ignore the zip of desire that shot through her at the feel of his bicep.

“He was just trying to help,” Sven said quietly.

Natalie cocked her head, taking him in. She wanted to yellYou don’t really believe that do you?andThat is all about hisego and nothing to do with you. But that wasn’t her place, and this didn’t quite seem like the time, so she bit her tongue.

“Is he always that intense?” she asked quietly.

Her hand was still resting on his arm. She couldn’t bring herself to break the contact and rubbed her thumb back and forth on his arm, unconsciously letting Sven know she was here.

“Yeah,” he said as he moved back to sit on the couch. “That was a bit more intense than normal because I have been dodging his calls.”

“You’ve been dodging his calls?”

He turned away as a stormy expression covered his face, and he nodded. Natalie didn’t like the look one bit. She loved his smiles and his cocky smirks. This was dark and dejected, and she would do just about anything to wipe it off.

“I don’t know... It’s like ever since I found out about Winnie it had changed some of the way I think about it.”

She sat next to him and put an encouraging hand on his knee. Maybe she was crossing the line she had just stated last night needed to be put in place, but all she could think about was comforting him.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” he said, turning to face her. His knee rested against her thigh, and she tried her hardest to ignore the shivers this contact sent through her entire body. “It’s like the moment I found out I was a father, my world shifted. Yes, hockey is still my focus and my job, but it doesn’t revolve around me anymore. It all revolves around her. I don’t know if that makes sense.”

“It makes complete sense. That’s how it should be.”

“Yeah... well, I’m kind of realizing that. I mean, I always knew my dad was an ass, but now that I have Winnie ... I don’t know how to explain it. She’s just a baby. But it’s like I would never put that pressure on her. All I want is for her to be happyand never hurt. I know I can’t do that, but it is at the core of what I want... It’s not like that with him.”

He dropped his head in his hands, resting on his knees. Without even thinking about it, she started rubbing his back.

“I guess I always thought that’s what it was like being a dad... but now, I know different. I can’t help but wonder what I did wrong. What was wrong with me?”

His voice broke on the last question, and before she knew what she was doing, she was pulling him into a hug as he cried on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him. Her heart broke for him. Certain things about his cockiness and his pride made more sense. She had not been giving him enough credit. He had no right being as well adjusted as he was. The fact that he had instantly stepped in to take care of Winnie with the male role model he had was a miracle.

After a moment, she pulled away from him. His stubble was rough under her hand as she cupped his face. “There is nothing wrong with you,” she said firmly. She held his gaze because she needed him to believe her. “You are a wonderful father and person despite him. He is the one that is missing out on the amazing person you are.”

25

Sven

Sven couldn’t bring himself to look away from her pleading blue eyes. He wanted to believe what she was saying, but something about him had always felt deeply unlovable. He was valuable because he was good at hockey, but even there, he could be better. He made everyone laugh and have a good time because if they saw this, no one would stay around. There was something broken about him and unlovable, so he only ever fooled around with women ... but Natalie was telling him something else.

Natalie was telling him he was good. He needed to believe that. Without thinking it through, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. The feel of her lips on his felt right, but this wasn’t right.

He pulled back. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

When he finally took her in, her eyes were closed and her lips slightly parted. Fuck. All he wanted to do was kiss her again. When she opened her eyes, they were soft and dreamy, and hewanted to hold her close. But she had set boundaries, and he had just bulldozed them.

“It’s okay,” she said, reminding him of the time he had overheard her dreaming about it.

This put them in an awkward place of sitting so close to Natalie. Their legs were touching, and tears were still in his eyes, but his dick was hard.

He was a fucking mess. No good for anyone. But if he could be good for anyone, he would try and be good for Natalie. Natalie and Winnie.

He closed his eyes, took a breath, and flinched at the feel of Natalie’s soft hands on his cheeks. When he opened his eyes, she was gazing at him with a look he couldn’t quite read. But she had made it clear last night where they stood.

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