Page 40 of Defensive Zone

Sliding my feet into my boots, I attempt to wrap the scarf around my neck one-handed before giving up. I toss it aside and tug on my hat. Carter rolls his eyes and gives me an adoring smile before he helps me into my coat, making sure my cast doesn’t get stuck in the sleeve. I follow him toward the door as he puts on his own coat and picks up my car keys from the bowl where I keep them on the kitchen island.

“So, where are we going?” I ask as we head out into the hall.

“It’s a surprise.” He wiggles his eyebrows, smirking.

We ride the elevator down to the parking garage, and when he takes my hand and laces our fingers together, my heart has never felt so full.

“You know I don’t like surprises,” I groan.

“Tough shit, you’re getting one. I thought it would be good for you to get a change of scenery, especially with the headaches finally giving you a break.”

He steps in front of me and curls his other hand around the side of my neck. I lean into his warm touch.

“I thought we could get some lunch, maybe look at a shop or two. Maybe stop by the bakery.”

My interest spikes up. “For donuts?”

“Yeah.” He nods, a soft smile on his face. “For donuts.”

Carter takes us to our favorite hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant for lunch, and once we’re full of delicious homemade pasta and more side dishes than Coach Harris would prefer me to eat during the season, we get back in the car. I narrow my eyes as Water Tower Place comes into view.

He’s wearing a goofy grin when I turn to him.

“What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see,” he sings.

He parks the car in the underground parking garage, and once we’re in the elevator, he hits the button for the second floor. He’s shifting on his feet excitedly, which only causes my suspicions to rise.

“What are you playing at?”

“Nothing,” he says coyly.

I narrow my eyes and pull on his hand until he’s pressed up against me. Leaning in, I nuzzle my nose up the thick column of his neck, then nip his lobe with my teeth. His low moan goes straight to my cock, and I make a mental note to do that again when we’re naked.

“Tell me,” I whisper.

“No.”

The doors open, and he smacks a quick kiss on my lips before leading me toward the LEGO store.

“Carter…” I warn.

The sheer amount of love shining in his eyes hits me square in the chest.

“Look, you have some time on your hands.” He looks down at my cast and grimaces. “Okay,hand. You can’t start physio yet, and you’re still on screen downtime, so I thought you could use something else to keep your brain busy.”

I’m trying to process his words when he leads me over to the Star Wars section, then crouches down. My jaw drops as he pulls a large box from the shelf.

Licking my dry lips, my voice goes an octave higher when I ask, “You’re buying me the Millennium Falcon?”

“Damn right, I am. I thought maybe we could build it together. There’s over seven thousand five hundred pieces in here, which should keep us busy for a while.”

I blink at him, completely speechless.

“I read online that you can buy these LED light kits too,” he rambles, shifting nervously on his feet when I still haven’t said anything. “I called up the store before we left to make sure they had plenty of stock, but if there’s a different set you want instead…”

I love youis on the tip of my tongue. We might have said those three little words easily before, but he’ll know it has a whole other meaning now.

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