Page 24 of My Fair Player

“Did you tell them what you noticed, how they could have done better?” she prompted, stepping in the house and pausing once more before looking at him… and saw his shy smile. “Liam?”

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m starving,” she whispered as he took her hand, walking her back to the kitchen where he’d set a table for the two of them. There were two tapers flickering, casting a warm glow on a pizza box that sat there, waiting.

“It’s not much, but I thought we could have dinner together.”

“I’m touched,” she admitted, unwilling to let him make light of this as he pulled out her chair. Sitting down, she immediately bumped her shoe into something and paused, leaning to look under the table. “What’s that thing?”

“A foot massager,” he replied, sitting down opposite of her like it was nothing. “You’ve mentioned that your feet hurt you, and I didn’t figure you wanted me to rub them, so I got you a foot massager. Kick off your heels and try it out.”

“Oh my gosh,” she breathed, both stunned and slightly alarmed at his words.Why would he think that she didn’t want him to rub her feet?She had never had anyone offer to rub her feet or thought of her comfort before – and was floored. Kicking off her heels, she slipped her feet into the unit and pressed the button on the remote sitting beside her fork.

“Okay… that’s nice,” she whispered, still marveling at this – and pressed another button. “Oh my gosh, that’s…oh maaaannnn,”she breathed deeply, closing her eyes as the rollers began to knead the underside of her foot while something squeezed and pushed on the top. “That is the thing dreams aremadeof…” and sighed in sheer delight as Liam chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m not that good of a foot masseuse, but I’d give it a shot if you ever felt comfortable at having me help you.”

“Done,” she whispered, leaning her head back against the chair. “That thing is my new best friend.”

“I was hoping that was me?”

“It’s you, then the foot massager, then maybe my pillow… but you hold first place definitely.”

“I’ll take it,” he chuckled, and she heard his chair move, not even bothering to open an eye as she sat there enveloped in a cloud of relief starting at her feet.

“Why have I not purchased one of these things before?” she whispered, unmoving, and then heard a noise, cracking open an eye. Liam was standing there beside her chair, putting a slice of pizza on her plate.

Without thinking or overanalyzing it, she touched his upper arm and met his hesitant eyes. “You are the best,” she said gratefully, not bothering to hide it. “You said you’d treat me like a queen, and you are really doing it. I truly appreciate everything you’ve done since the moment we said ‘I do,’ Liam.”

“I said I would give this my all,” he replied softly, his eyes searching his. “I’m trying to keep my word to you.”

“I know you are – and I see it.”

Time seemed to stand still between them. She could smell the tomato, the melted cheese, and the baked crust. The rollers were kneading her feet, and she felt almost languid – but mixing that with what was starting to take hold within her soul, took everything to another level.

He was looking at her differently, and she felt things changing between them. It was no longer a matter of two scared people circling each other warily but reaching out to see what this was. Her hand moved slowly from his arm, stretching to touch his cheek, and she heard his intake of breath. Her thumb slowly caressed his jaw as she just held his gaze, marveling at this man before her.

“Ashley,” he breathed, saying her name almost reverently – and then turned slightly to kiss her palm, closing his eyes and nodding before he looked at her once more. “Eat your dinner while it’s hot, honey.”

She smiled tiredly at the endearment, realizing it was the first time he’d said something like that to her – and she loved it. Nodding, her hand dropped slowly as she looked at him.

“You too…honey,” she whispered, testing it on her tongue and seeing his shy smile as he moved to pick up a slice of pizza for himself. It might not be huge strides, but those baby steps were definitely in the right direction.

9

LIAM

Oh man,Liam felt jittery and keenly aware of Ashley as she boarded the plane in front of him, heading toward their second game of the season. It didn’t go unnoticed that as a flight attendant, the last thing she probably wanted to do was go on a trip with him to a hockey game – yet she was here – for him, and it was doing all sorts of things to his heart.

Don’t stare at her butt…

Don’t stare…

Oh man, I am absolutely staring – she’s so beautiful and curvy in all the right ways!

He was falling for Ashley and knew he was going to get his heart trampled on in the end. Ninety days. They had agreed to a short time frame – but he really wanted to pitch that whole suggestion right out of the plane without a parachute. None of this felt anything remotely like what he’d once had with Nadine, and he realized that thought of ‘being in love’ had never once crossed his mind… but withAshley?

It was always there – in every heartbeat.

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