Page 56 of Faking It with my Hockey Crush

“Non ne hai bisogno. La tua straordinaria bellezza parla per te.”

“What did you just say?”

He grins. “Exactly what I said the last time.”

I roll my eyes. “Right. Something about your dad killing you if you didn’t pick some of the language up.”

His eyes widen. “Hey, you have a great memory.” Then he looks at me for a long second, his eyes softening and darkening until they’re nearly black. “But that’s not what I said.” His voice is now deep and dreamy, and it makes me catch my breath.

“No?” I breathe, my pulse rising at the way he’s looking at me.

“No.” He shakes his head. “I told you that you didn’t need to speak Italian. That your extraordinary beauty speaks for you.”

I can feel the heat traveling from my neck all the way up to my cheeks as his intense gaze pins me in place. While I’m outwardly still, my heart is thumping against the bones of my ribcage, and the pulse in my neck throbs.

He leans forward and closes the gap between us, his hands clasping my cheeks as his lips brush across mine in the softest, tenderest kiss I’ve ever felt in my life. Every cell in my body tingles, my stomach clenches, and as he pulls away, I’m left completely breathless.

“Wow, Emma,” Ryan breathes, his voice so guttural it sounds like it’s coming from his chest.

While he gazes at me, unabashedly open with his feelings pouring from his soft eyes, I feel a little embarrassed, if not uncomfortable, under his intense gaze.

“It’s getting late,” I say, my voice barely audible as I slide sideways off the sofa.

Ryan looks worried. “I went too far, didn’t I?”

“No. It’s not that,” I say quickly. “I just… It’s just… everything is a bit fast. That’s all. I need some time.”

“Okay,” he says, his voice now several octaves higher and shrouded with doubt.

“Ryan. You did nothing wrong.”

“Okay,” he says, sounding exactly the same as he did three seconds before.

Moving across the room while he stays standing beside the sofa, I finally get to the library door. “I’m going to head to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” he says again.

I laugh then because he sounds like he’s stuck on repeat, and a second later, I’ve slipped out of the library, and I’m hurrying off to my bedroom.

It’s actually not that late, and as soon as I’ve climbed into bed, I reach for my phone. Five minutes later, Debs, Sharon, and I are on a FaceTime call.

“What’s happened?” Debs demands. “You said this was an emergency meeting. Are you guys getting divorced already?”

“Are you?” Sharon nearly shrieks, her face a picture of horror.

“You’ve got to give it more time,” Debs says. “All this is going to be new for you, Emma, but you’ve got to give it a chance.”

“If I could get a chance to speak,” I say, quickly jutting in and scowling playfully at the screen.

“Oh. Yes. Sorry,” Sharon giggles.

Debs lifts a hand and looks apologetic.

“Thank you,” I say dramatically. “No, we’re not getting a divorce, and actually, this meeting is an emergency for exactly the opposite reason.”

“He asked you out?” Sharon squeals, throwing herself back on her bed. “I knew it. I knew he would.”

While Sharon’s having a seizure, Debs grins knowingly at me. “Told you, chick. You never know where these adventures might lead.”

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