Page 74 of Scoring Grey

“Do you want to be with me?”

“Of course I do,” I answer without hesitation.

“Then you know what you want.” He taps his thumb on the table and then rubs the stubble on his jaw. “Do we have a future together?”

“Yes,” I answer emphatically, claiming his hand in mine.

“Then you have a plan.” His fingers lace through mine before his amber pools sparkle with hope. “Did you fall in love with me the day we met?”

My eyes soften, and my chest tightens. I haven’t told him I love him. Though I know I do, my heart and every ounce of my soul know he’s my other half. However, once I say it, I can’t take it back, not that I’d ever want to keep those words from him. He deserves to hear them, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to piece myself back together if I lose him. It’s selfish and stupid and why I say, “Yes.”

“Then we are the same.”

“Cal—”

My heart is racing as his mouth covers mine before I can offer apologies. All it takes is one swipe of his whiskey tongue to erase whatever nonsense I was holding onto. His hand slides around my waist, igniting a fire that never entirely goes out. “Come on, we’re going home.”

“But they haven’t brought us our food yet.”

His big hand grips my hip. “What I’m hungry for isn’t on the menu.”

21

ELOISE

“Oh my God, it’s so loud in here that my body feels like it’s vibrating.”

“That’s because it is!” I yell over the crowd.

“Tell me again why we’re not in the box,” Dash yells as the Kings skate onto the ice.

“Because I want a front-row seat when my man sees me wearing his jersey and no hat for the first time since high school.”

Last night at dinner, I told him I’d step into the light for him. I’ve been coming to his games for the past few weeks, but I’ve been coming incognito, wearing a hat and no team gear, never sitting in the same spot. The week following our lunch at the Bronson Estate, the press cornered Cal about the picture of him and Blair on the airplane, and he told them the photo was taken out of context and that he was indeed seeing someone, but that it was not Blair Wyndham. I wish I could have seen Blair’s face when that broadcast aired. I bet she stomped her foot like a petulant child before screaming. She’s been surprisingly quiet, almost too quiet. If it were not for Cal’s PI following her, I’d be worried. I’m not convinced she isn’t still scheming, but at least I know where she is. Like now, for example, she’s in the skybox, another reason there was no way in hell I was using my pass to get in. Fuck that. I don’t want any drama tonight. I’m here to support Cal and tell the world he’s mine. Ever since his “I’m seeing someone” sound bite aired, the paparazzi have been hunting for her.

“How long do you think it will take him to spot you?”

“More than ten, less than twenty since the lights are going crazy.”

“That fast, huh?”

“He doesn’t need to see me. He’ll feel me.” It’s how he was always able to find me when I thought I was getting away with giving him the slip at school. It’s been there since we met, this inexplicable force, the type you only read about in fairy tales, writing our destiny and sealing our fates. I may not be sure what tomorrow holds, but I’m sure I was always meant to be his.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dash practically spits his beer when he sees the moment Cal finds me amongst the crowd. He’s wearing his helmet, and from this distance, I can barely see his eyes, and the lighting is totally working against me. Damn. “What’s with the look? Why do you look like you just drank flat beer?”

“I wanted to see his face when he saw me wearing his jersey. This is a big deal, or at least for me it is.” I wave my hand up at the lights. “Now I can’t even tell if he noticed.”

“Oh, he noticed,” Dash says as he nods to the ice. I turn back just in time to see Cal skating up to the glass.

I can’t help the goofy smile that takes over my face. He reaches the glass and puts his glove up, and I close the distance, taking the two steps it requires to meet him there and do the same. The stadium gets impossibly louder as the realization of what he’s doing and who I am to him sets in. Out of my peripheral, I can see camera lights flashing, and the crowd roars excitedly. They’re getting their story, but I only care about the one I see reflected in the golden-brown orbs before me. The flecks of gold in his gaze catch in the light, and I see his elation. Last night, I told him I loved him, but now I’m telling the world.

“You realize Adler’s at home, and he probably just witnessed every bit of that, right?”

My eyebrows tug together. Dash knows we’ve been in contact with Adler and he knows why I’m here and what Cal and I are trying to accomplish.

He sees my confusion. “You just announced to the world that you’re his girl, and you’re sitting in the first row at second round finals. The kid is going to be jealous. That’s his dad out there. He’s going to want to be here for him too.”

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to do this first. I’m going to bring him up after the gala this weekend. This could be Cal’s only shot getting this close to a cup. I want Adler to experience it, and I know Cal does, too.”

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