Page 145 of The Overtime Kiss

That evening, we drop our bags off in Tyler’s suite at The Luxe Hotel on Fifth Avenue with a decadent view of Central Park. He booked it for all of us, and I have an adjoining roombecause…appearances. We don’t want to confuse the kids, after all.

After they brush their teeth, I hustle them to the street to catch the town car Tyler ordered for us to take us to his game against the tough New York team.

The city is a blur of holiday lights and bustling sidewalks full of last-minute shoppers, but all I can think about is how this doesn’t feel like just a work trip.

It feels like a…

I stop myself from thinking the wordsfamily vacationtoo much. This is just…all of us hanging out.

No need for labels.

And when I think of how close I was to sayingI dojust a little while ago, but for an accidental voice message, this uncertainty is a good thing.

It has to be.

We reach the arena, where the energy for the last game before Christmas is electric. The crowd is rowdy since New York fans always bring their A-game when it comes to support.

But so do I. I’m bedazzled, after all, in my number forty-four jersey.

And when the sexiest, most caring man I know flies onto the ice, he turns to our side of the rink and makes a heart gesture for the kids.

Then his eyes travel to me.

And stay there.

My breath catches. My chest flutters.

I still don’t know what to do with all of these feelings. Especially since I keep wondering what it’s going to be like later tonight when we’re in the same hotel suite, him and the kids and me.

The answer?

It’s hard. Really hard.

Especially since I’m here all alone in my hotel bed, reading, and wishing—in this moment—that things were more clear.

At least in my head. I wish I knew what I wanted. What I’m ready for. What I can handle. I just don't know yet. So much has changed in my life in the last several months.

Am I even ready for…anything more?

I turn off the lights, willing myself to sleep.

Then comes the knock on the adjoining door.

37

SOMETHING ELSE TOO

Tyler

It’s been too long.

The need to touch her is like a heavy weight on my chest. Like claws in my heart.

I’ve already put the kids to bed in the suite I’m sharing with them—that wasn’t hard. They were zonked after a late hockey game, yawning on the car ride back. Once in their jammies, they both collapsed into the big bed in their room, crashing fast and hard with me only reading a few sentences fromThe Peppermint Patrol—Luna’s pick, and Parker didn’t even protest.

With the lights out, I paced around the suite like a caged animal, shoveling a hand through my hair until I couldn’t wait any longer to see Sabrina. Now, just five minutes later, I’m here, slipping away from them because I have to act.

I’ve got to touch her.

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