Page 50 of Accidentally Joining His Cult

Not my boyfriend.We’re not dating. He doesn’t do relationships. This is just a fling while I have his attention.I repeat the statements over and over in my head, trying to ground myself as my heart soars at his answer.

Maybe he’d agree to come to Linna for theentirehockey offseason. Viktor seemed okay with the idea when I suggested we show him around headquarters. It’s not a long-term solution, but the summer together would be better than nothing.

Beck grabs my suitcase—not my boyfriend, not my boyfriend—and we take the elevator straight down to a parking garage. I’ve never been a car guy, but the shiny black one we get into looks pretty fancy. It only fits the two of us, with a huge touchscreen display in the front, and it’s really loud as Beck guides it out onto the busy streets of the city.

Beck rests his right hand on my thigh, squeezing it, and I place my hand on top of his. We sit in comfortable silence, and I’m soaking in the moment while we’re still in the same place and can casually touch each other. We pull up to park right in front of a coffee shop, and I look at Beck with a raised brow. “This isn’t O’Hare.”

“You don’t need to be at the airport for at least another hour and a half, we have time for coffee. Or are you that eager to leave me?” he teases as he pays for the parking.

“Definitely not.” I wish I didn’t have to leave so soon, but Viktor scheduled a meeting this evening, and I’m hoping to talk to him more about Beck coming for the summer.

That is, if Beck wants to.

“Would you, maybe, want to come stay with me when the hockey season ends?” I ask as we walk in, sounding far less confident than I’d like to be. I’m nervous to even ask, afraid he’ll brush off the suggestion, or worse, tell me it’s been fun while it lasted, but he actually drove me himself today for privacy while he ends things.

He turns to face me with a hopeful smile as we get in line, which I take as a good sign as he considers his answer.

“I’m not sure how long I can realistically be gone. I’ll definitely need to be here the week of the draft,” he trails off, and I can’t seem to stand still, my leg bouncing as I wait for him to finish.

“But I think I could get away for a while, especially after that,” he says, reaching out for my hand and giving it a squeeze. I grip it tighter, lacing our fingers together so we’re properly holding hands.

“So, is that a yes?” I can’t keep the excitement out of my tone, and he chuckles.

“Yes, I’d love to,” he admits with a smirk, and I feel like I could run a marathon with all the excitement now coursing through my veins.

“Oh my god, I can’t wait! I’ll talk to Viktor tonight about getting you approved as a temporary visitor, and I can show you around headquarters and the town!” He gives me a slightly confused look at that, but I’m rambling now and can’t seem to slow down as my excitement grows. “Oh, you can meet Nick and all of my other friends, and you’ll love how pretty it is! We can go hiking and kayaking. It’ll be the best summer!”

He looks amused, and it’s our turn to order, so we step up and both ask for plain black coffees. Beck insists on paying, and we move to the pickup counter.

“Wait, is this where we first met?” I ask as I finally look around the coffee shop.

“Uh, yeah. I thought it would be nice to come back here, together this time.” He looks down, shifting his weight like he’s nervous. He tries to pull his hand away, but I tighten my grip. “Now I’m wondering if that was weird and maybe we should pretend like it’s just about wanting coffee…” he trails off when he looks back at my giant smile.

“Oh my god, Beck! Is this a sentimental date?” I tease, loving the idea that the man currently glaring at me as he clearly tries to suppress a smile, wanted to take me back to where it all began. He might not want a relationship, but I think he’d make a pretty great boyfriend.Again, that’s not what he is, even if this is totally a date.

“Don’t make it weirder,” he grumbles with a laugh as they call out our names. We grab our drinks and find a place to sit, still holding hands across the table like neither of us is ready to break the connection.

“So is this our second date, or did last night count?” I ask, continuing to tease him.

“Last night probably counted,” he admits, rolling his eyes before he relaxes into a more serious expression. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about meeting everyone. I was just so excited to have you at a game, I didn’t even think to offer a different seating arrangement.”

“It was perfect!” I insist. “They’re truly spectacular, Beck. It was such an honor to meet the people who are important to you.”

I spend some time gushing about how much fun I had yesterday and how incredible it was to meet his family and friends as we drink our coffees. His eyes soften as I talk about them, and I feel guilty for asking him to leave them all for so long. But I try not to dwell on that and think about how lucky I am that he’s choosing to spend the summer with me. My chest feels ready to burst with how special it makes me feel.

This important, amazing, sweet man wants to not only spend his free time with me, but he’s putting in a lot of effort and going out of his way to do so.

I’ve always wanted to feel important to someone in that way. My parents were so busy in their lives and careers that I never had that growing up. Whenever I imagined my future partner, I’d fantasize about them making our relationship a priority. I’d think about how amazing it would be to find someone who just wanted to spend time together and made it happen.

Sure, in the past, I’d always pictured a woman, but that’s only because I didn’t think of expanding my options. Now, when picturing a future, I desperately want that person to be Beck. I just need to figure out if that’s something he could want, too.

I think I’d do anything at this point to make that happen.But now isn’t the time for that conversation.

We reluctantly leave when our drinks are empty, and I ask Beck more about his brothers on our drive to the airport. Now that I’ve met them all, I want to know even more about his family, his childhood stories, what their relationships are like now, and if he thinks they liked me.

When we arrive, I expect Beck to pull up to the departure drop-off lane, but he surprises me and heads into the short-term parking garage. He insists on carrying my bag for me and walking me all the way inside. I only have a carry-on and checked in online, so I can head right to security, but we both linger near the line’s entrance.

“Thank you for coming,” he says softly. “I had a really great time having you there with all of my people. I’m glad they got to meet you, even if it meant I had to share you for a few hours.” I didn’t think it was possible, but I swear his cheeks darken. This broody man is actually blushing.Because of me.

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