Page 55 of The Long Game

I sigh. I really need to get back to work, so no matter how pissed off I am that he bought my dream home without a single word to let me know, I need to let this go for now.

"Okay, fine. But I really need to know where we’re going to eat. ‘Dress comfortable’ is not good enough for dinner attire instructions. I can rule out formal black tie, but I need to know if I can wear heels or not."

He hesitates to say anything more.

"For the love of God, give me something to go on. Are we foraging for our food? Dumpster diving? Any of those tips would be better than what you’re giving me. Do I need to recite Dr. Suess to find out the whereabouts of our dinner plans?"

He laughs and the smile that stretches across his face is the same one I remember as a kid. Back when he first started staying at our house. Before he realized he was a god among men and could have any girl he wanted. It’s a smile with zero pomp and circumstance.

"Green Eggs and Ham. That was my favorite book your mom used to read. I remember how she stopped reading Luca and I goodnight stories when we started fifth grade. She said we needed to start reading ourselves, but we’d sneak into your room and lay at the foot of your massive four post queen size bed when she came in to read to you. I remember it had a white lacy scalloped canopy draped over the top, and I thought, as a kid, that the princess of England probably had a bed just like that."

I had forgotten about that. For a solid year, the boys would come into my room at night to listen to my mom read bedtime stories.

At first, they started out by trying to make as little noise as possible so my mom wouldn’t notice them. As if you could miss two large ten-year-old adolescents taking up the entire bottom of my bed. But being the troublemakers they were, within a few weeks, they were putting in requests for books they wanted my mom to read.

Even at ten-years-old, Tucker requested Green Eggs and Ham over almost any other book. Those days were my favorite.

It reminds me that our history is vast, and I should try harder to make us friends again, just like Tucker wants.

"I convinced Luca we should sneak in for story time. Sheila attempted to shoo us away but it was always half-hearted. I convinced your brother under false pretenses. What I really wanted to do was to feel that soft white comforter your mom bought for the bed. I wanted to know what a princess’s bed felt like." He laughs. "But after your mom let us get away with it the first night, we kept coming back every night.

"I’ve never forgotten. After all these years, you’re still my home, Lexi." He reaches out, his fingers brushing gently over my ear, tucking a few strands behind it. The touch ignites more butterflies low in my belly.

The moment has me caught up and I almost reach for him. I almost place my hand on his heart to feel it beat. But I don’t. I clench my hands by my side and hope the feeling passes soon.

"I need to get back to work. I’ll see you at my house tomorrow?"

He said "friends" though, didn’t he? I would have to wait until dinner on Thursday to see where this was headed.

"Yeah, and dress as comfortable as you want. We’ll be climbing some stairs and I’m ordering in."

"Oh God, you’re ordering in? Remember how I said no Tucker- Evans-Lad-…"

He cuts me off "It’s not, I swear. You’ll see."

"Okay. But I’m warning you, Evans. Don’t let me down."

"Don’t worry, I won’t let you go," he says with a smile.

"I said ‘down’."

He nods. "I know what you said," he tells me with an air of determination and confidence.

And then he shoves his hands in his pockets and turns around, heading back towards the cafe.

I know that look. That look gets drafted as a first-round pick; that look wins Super Bowl championships; that look buys million-dollar homes that aren’t even for sale.

That look was for me.

I’m in trouble.

Just like the day he showed up at the lake house.

Chapter Sixteen

Present Day

Lexi

---