Page 33 of The Merriest Christmas

It was what I'd wanted to hear for so long.

What my heart needed to hear.

And yet, I didn't know what to say.

"It's okay," I said finally."That was a long time ago."

"You were wrong too."

I frowned at that.

"I never got tired of you," he said, shaking his head."How could you even think that?You're brilliant."

"I know," I said.

Seaver smiled."And I wasn't with a ton of girls."

"Yeah, right."

"I wasn't."

I frowned."Even before you left, everyone said you were a player."

"People talk.Doesn't mean it's true."

"According to Dex, all hockey players are like that, and you were always running off to see some girl."

He narrowed his gaze."Sounds right."

"Apparently, you'd tell the guys you couldn't hang out because you had to go see someone," I said then swallowed."I tried not to let it bother me."

"Emilia, are you serious?"

I shrugged, but he stared at me steadily.

"It was you," he said.

"What?"

"All those times, it was you I was going to see."

"But the names," I said, "there were a lot of different girls."

He shook his head."I made up a different name every time, so they wouldn't suspect us.But it was always you.Only you."

My heart flooded with warmth, and I could barely repress a smile.

"Oh."

"And the media like to paint me as some big manwhore, but it's not true."

"It's not?"

"How could it be when I was still hung up on you?"

As his hands moved into my hair, I felt drugged, like every word that left his mouth was getting me higher and higher.

"I only agreed to keep us a secret because that's what you wanted.You didn't want to upset anyone.I had no trouble telling Dex or your brothers."

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