Page 72 of Exes and Oh Hell No

I already own her.

She just hasn’t accepted it yet.

Not that it matters.

The long game is the only game I play.

And when I finally take her, she won’t just surrender.

She’ll beg.

26

HARPER

The noose is tightening around my neck, making it harder for me to breathe.

As much as I’d like to pretend this is all an act, too many times I’ve slipped today.

It’s so easy being around Ford.

A decade apart is no match for the history we have together.

And discovering new things about each other has thrown me for a loop.

The first time it happened, I didn’t even realize I dropped the carefully orchestrated act.

Ford was shirtless, standing on the small ladder, working on the edges of the ceiling.

I teased him that he really seemed to know what he was doing, which was surprising for a rich hockey player.

He laughed and hit me with a shocking revelation.

He volunteers at the city community center, doing a wide variety of things.

Painting, fixing broken faucets, unclogging toilets, and helping kids train for sports.

Not just hockey, although that’s his area of expertise.

He’s recruited friends from other sports, such as football, soccer, gymnastics, track, basketball, and baseball, to help teach the kids drills.

My heart fucking melted.

I asked questions, forgetting I was supposed to be working.

The animated way he talked about the kids he works with, the respect he has for them and vice versa, was evident in every tale he wove.

His huge heart was on display when one of the parents didn’t show up to pick up their kid.

Ford went out of his way to find out what happened, keeping the boy safe with him until he got ahold of the mother, who had an accident at work and had been in the ER getting stitches.

Ford drove her son there, then took them home.

Then he picked up Connor and had him drive the woman’s car back to her house.

I know Ford has a big heart.

At least, he always did when we were kids and in college.

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