Page 84 of Second Down Darling

I close the door behind me, set the baby monitor on the bedside table, and slide in behind her. Of course, my ass hangs off the edge because the mattress is so narrow. “Scootover.”

“I’m on the edge,” she whispers. “I’m about to falloff.”

For some reason, I feel like we’re talking about more than just the bed.Me too, baby. Let’s do thistogether.

There’s one way to fixthis.

“This is like that scene at the end ofTitanic,” I grumble before I scoop her on top of me so she straddles mystomach.

“Jake, I don’tthink—”

“Shut up, and come here.” I hug her to my chest until she relaxes. “I’m not letting you go this time, cupcake. I know you’re scared and freaked out and want to hide from me until you get a handle on everything, but like I told you on the phone, we’re a team, and we’ll figure this out together. No more running. Not fromme.”

She nods and clings to my shirt. Her shoulders shake as her tears drip along myneck.

It kills me she’s soupset.

“Don’t cry, baby. Everything will be okay. We have each other now. You don’t have to deal with the fallout from your sister’s shows by yourselfanymore.”

Charlie’s family never gave her any support. She’s always had to do everything by herself. That endsnow.

I run my hand over her back and shoulders. Through her hair. Down her neck. She smells so good, I want to drown in herscent.

“Did you know I noticed you the first day of our freshman year of high school?” I murmur in her ear. “I walked into Mr. Romano’s class, and when I saw you sitting in the back corner, there was a stream of light shining in through the window. Swear to God, I froze. You looked like an angel with all that blonde hair and your shy smile.” I kiss her forehead. “You and I were meant to be, but I was just too young and stupid to know it at thetime.”

She sniffles again. “You’re not just sayingthat?”

“Fuck no. I meant it when I said you absolutely caught my attention back then. One hundred percent. You’re beautiful, Charlie.” And if it takes me the rest of my life to prove this to her, so beit.

Charlotte doesn’t understand that she’s the full package. Sure, my ex looks nice on the outside, but once you got past that shiny exterior, there was no substance to the woman. She reminds me of those facades at Universal Studios where they make the movies. All these pretty storefronts with no actual building attached. Just emptyspace.

Charlie sits up, and her tear-streaked face shoots an arrow straight through my chest. “What did Coach saytoday?”

Definitely can’t tell her everything that happened in that meeting. At least not right now when she’s soupset.

I reach up and dry her soft cheeks with my thumbs as I cradle her face. “That we should hold off on commenting aboutThe Hot Houseuntil the end of the season because he doesn’t want the team to getdistracted.”

“That makessense.”

“It pisses me off. I hate that you’re getting dragged through themud.”

The resigned look on her face kills me. “I’m used toit.”

I swallow. “Listen, I can still release a statement. It might piss off Coach, and that will suck, but I can’t stomach the idea of people getting the wrong impression ofyou.”

She shakes her head and leans down, clinging to me like a koala bear. “Thank you. It means the world to me that you’re willing to make that sacrifice, but I don’t want you to jeopardize the good thing you have here. Coach Santos has gone out on a limb for you. Finish the season. We’ll make the best of it. Like you said, we can do thistogether.”

I hold her to me as it hits me like a fucking bolt of lightning. The realization makes my heart pound. “Charlotte, I need you to know something.” I take a deep breath. “I loveyou.”

At first, she’s quiet. “Youdo?”

I turn my head to look her in the eye and brush her hair out of her beautiful face. “Of course. You’re the most incredible woman I know. Beautiful inside and out. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know.” I graze my lips against hers. “I love you. I think I’ve always loved you in one way or another. But this, where we’re at now, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else. Justyou.”

Her eyes well again, but the smile on her lips as she says those sweet words back is one I’ll never forget. “I love you, too,Jake.”

She trails her fingers through my hair as she kisses me, and for the first time in my life, my future is clear. I love my family. Football. My team. But the woman in my arms gives everything else meaning. If I can wife her up someday, I’ll die a happyman.

When we kiss, our tongues move against each other in a slow, sensual slide that has me instantly rock hard, which Charlotte figures out when she scootsdown.

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