Page 140 of The Pucking Wrong Rookie

Logan didn’t say anything. Not at first.

Instead, he shifted closer, pulling me into his chest. His embrace was warm, solid, comforting…safe.

He finally grabbed my chin, tilting it up so I was forced to look into his soft, green gaze. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Red,” he said, his thumb stroking my cheek.

I leaned into his palm, my lip quivering as he continued to hold my eyes.

He leaned forward and brushed a heartbreakingly sweet kiss across my lips.

“Doesn’t make a difference to me,” he told me. The fierceness and sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.

I studied him, trying to find the lie.

But it didn’t seem to exist.

“You actually mean that,” I whispered, my voice and my chest and mysoulfull of wonder.

“I don’t need kids to have a life with you, Sloane. I just needyou.”

He pressed another soft kiss on my face, this time on my forehead, and then let me bury my head once again on his chest.

“I love you.”

The words burst out of me, soft and shaky.

But it wasn’t those words that had me terrified. It was that I realized then I was finally ready…to tell Everett I was done.

Somehow, Logan had gotten what he was after.

My heart.

Logan stiffened slightly, and then his arms tightened around me like a vise, pulling me closer, like he never wanted to let me go. I could feel his heartbeat against my cheek, steady and strong, a contrast to the wild rhythm of my own pulse.

“Sloane, I love you so much,” he said roughly, his body shaking as he held me. “You’re everything to me, baby.”

We stayed there in the quiet.

And unlike in the past when I would normally be thinking of the million reasons why Ishouldn’tbe with him, for the first time…I couldn’t think of any.

CHAPTER37

SLOANE

Iwalked into the group home, pushing the thoughts of my upcoming conversation with Everett out of my mind so I could focus on Rome. Scanning the room, I spotted him in his usual corner with a stack of crayons and coloring books. His tiny body was hunched over, focused on whatever masterpiece he was working on.

“Hey, Rome,” I said, smiling as I approached. He looked up, his big brown eyes lighting up when he saw me. That little flicker of joy was all I needed to make the rest of the world disappear.

“Hi, Sloane,” he said softly, barely more than a whisper, but he smiled as he slid over to make room for me on the floor beside him. The fact that he’d immediately spoken to me was a huge step, and I was still a little in shock as I sank to the floor next to him. He’d been that way since he’d met Logan, seeming to be warmer with me every time I came.

“Whatcha drawing today?” I asked.

“Hockey stuff,” Rome replied as I sat down, grabbing a crayon.

“Oh.” My eyes widened when I saw he had a whole stack of hockey-themed coloring books. Those were new. The center must have gotten some new donations. Logan was going to get a big kick out of it next time he was able to come in with me.

We colored in silence for a while, and the tension in my shoulders slowly eased at the familiar routine.

After a few minutes, I noticed Rome glance up at me, then quickly back down, like he was thinking about something.

---