Page 17 of Make Your Play

He grabs the pots and skillet and looks at me with a smirk. "Hockey, duh." He lets out a chuckle. "Kidding. You're a summer girl." He starts to get everything prepped and turns around to face me. "Your favorite book series is Harry Potter. You live for holiday Hallmark movies. You're not a big fan of flip-flops, but you'll wear those over sandals. Is there anything else you'd like to quiz me on?"

I'm momentarily speechless. I don't remember ever intentionally telling him any of this, but it's like he's stored these small details about me inside his brain for safekeeping. "How do you remember all this?"

His lips part, something unreadable engulfing his eyes before his tongue darts out to wet his lips instead. His nostrils flare andhis voice drops a touch. "I pay attention, Riley." His gaze lingers and he begins to turn around to heat up the food when I blurt out the words.

"I'll do it."

He tilts his head to the side, his eyebrows scrunching together. "Do what?"

"I'll marry you." I let out a nervous breath, adjusting on the stool as his face lights up. "For your insurance."

Tension hangs heavily in the air between us and it's borderline suffocating. Under his gaze, I feel like I need to change into a t-shirt with how flushed my body feels. Nash stares at me with an intensity that sends wildfire through my veins. "Good," he says slowly with a nod. "It's the best option you have and I promise you, no one will ever have to know."

"Thank you," I half whisper, my voice getting caught in my throat as emotion engulfs me. "Not just for this, but for everything."

"You don't have to thank me."

"But I do," I explain as I lean against the counter, watching him as he turns around to dump the contents from the container into a pan. "You never judge and you never hesitate. You're always there for me, literally through everything."

He looks back at me, his gaze colliding with mine. "I'm not going anywhere," he promises, his eyes burning holes through mine. "I'll always be here."

In a different life, it could have been us… but not in this one.

CHAPTER SEVEN

NASH

Iglance down at my hands and pick at the cuticle on my left pointer finger. Doubt rolls around in my mind, a stark contrast to the anticipation in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know why I agreed to this. Actually—I do know why, but I can’t help but feel like maybe it was a mistake. This situation is bizarre. When I was growing up and imagined myself getting married, this isn’t how I pictured it at all.

“Are you okay?” Nash asks me to my left as he stops the car at a red light. We’re only three blocks away from the courthouse and the emotional part of my brain is telling me that now is my chance to make my escape. Jump out of the car and make a run for it.

I glance over at him, fixing my face as I swallow roughly and nod. “I’m fine. Just feeling a little off this morning.”

“What’s going on? Did you call your doctor?”

Shit. I picked the wrong lie to tell him this morning. Grimacing, I shake my head at him. “I didn’t mean physically. This is just… weird.”

He instantly frowns before he looks back to the road and starts to drive again. “Yeah, I know. This doesn’t have to change anything between us, Riley. It’s just a piece of paper.”

“You’re right,” I agree as the seriousness of the situation creeps deeper into my brain. Grabbing my smoothie from between us, I lift it to my lips, taking a sip. The nervousness grows within me as he pulls into the parking lot and finds a spot. I’m at the point where I’m beginning to ramble with no thought before I speak. “It doesn’t mean anything. You’re still free to date other people or do whatever it is that you want.”

As soon as I say it, I want to take it back. I don’t know why the hell I just mentioned that, but I did. And here we are.

Nash switches off the engine and slowly turns his head to look at me. “I appreciate your stamp of approval, but I’m not interested in dating anyone, Riley.”

“You're not?” I move quickly, spilling the smoothie all over my white sweater dress. “Shit.”

I need to learn to keep my damn mouth shut and watch what the hell I’m doing.

“I’m not looking to add any new people to my life,” he admits as he glances down at the berry mess all over the front of my dress. “I think I might have a shirt in the back seat.”

I stare at him for a moment, transfixed on the first sentence as I completely disregard the spilled smoothie. I don’t need to ask him to elaborate. I don’t need to travel down this road. It’s my nerves and nothing more. It has nothing to do with the way my heart skips a beat when his eyes shine back at me. It has nothing to do with the way I’m hyperaware of every part of him when he’s close to me. The way he smells, the way he laughs.

Goddammit, Riley.

“I can’t wear one of your shirts, Nash.”

“If you want to just wear that, I’m not going to judge you either.”

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