Page 86 of Second-Rate Superstar
“Mm-hmm.” I loved the way she devoured me with her eyes.
“Come to more games, and you might catch me like this more often,” I teased.
“Don’t tempt me.” Dakota bit her lip.
Clicking my tongue, I used my thumb to tug that lower lip free. “But that’s half the fun.”
Rolling her eyes playfully, she snuggled back into my chest. The comfort she brought to my life was powerful; I wasn’t sure I’d be able to live without it now that I had gotten a taste.
“Don’t you have a party to go to?”
“Not in the mood.”
I was slowly coming out of the fog from the evening’s earlier events, and seeing everyone again so soon would only set me back. Knowing Natalie, she’d corner me, wanting to talk about it. I needed some space and distance from our group. Dakota was more than enough.
But with the holidays fast approaching, I knew I couldn’t avoid them for long.
“Dakota?”
“Yeah?”
With hope tightening my chest, I asked, “Would you come to Minnesota with me for Christmas?”
“What?” She stepped out of my hold.
I ran a hand through my hair, damp from my post-game shower. “Normally, everyone stays close for the few days we have off, but this year, the Comets are playing the Minneapolis Freeze. Usually, Nat and the kids will travel out there when we play them because my parents are close by. So, Jaxon got the idea to go out as soon as the break starts. We get three days off,and then we can meet the rest of the team once they travel from Hartford. I’m supposed to go with them. But I don’t want to without you.”
Dakota shifted on her feet. “I don’t know. The idea of spending time with your parents? After what just happened?”
Stepping forward, I took her hands in mine. “The last thing I want is to see my dad right now, trust me. But the kids are growing up so fast. Especially the older ones, and I don’t want my issues to pull me out of the magic of the holidays with them. We can stay with Jaxon and Natalie, and do our own thing on Christmas Day when they go to dinner at my parents’ house. Please?”
Squeezing my hands, she said, “Okay.”
“Really?” I tried to curb my desperation to hear her say yes. But who was I kidding? The idea of her coming home with me would be the greatest gift I ever received.
“Yeah.” She gave me a small smile. “Let me know the flight details, and I’ll book a seat.”
If there had been any nagging doubts that her athlete-hating was a front—a way to seem less eager—they were put to rest by that single sentence. Not only did she have no clue how Jaxon Slate’s entourage traveled, but she was offering to pay her own way.
My love for her grew by the minute. Each time she opened her mouth, it only cemented that she was the one.
This might just be the best Christmas of my life—our first Christmas of many.
Chapter 20
Braxton
Holding her hand overthe center console of my car, as was my right as the boyfriend, I pulled into the parking lot of the private airstrip in Hartford on the morning of Christmas Eve. I’d pushed Dakota off all week when she hounded me about buying a plane ticket. I wasn’t sure of her financial situation—honestly, it wasn’t any of my business—but even if we weren’t flying private, there was no way in hell she was paying to accompany me home when I was the one who invited her. That’s not how this worked.
Confused, she peered through the windshield. “Where are we?”
“The airport,” I replied casually.
“This isnotthe airport.”
“Of course it is.” I gestured with my hand out the window. “See? Airplanes.”
“Braxton, this isn’t funny!” Her voice got high and squeaky, and I couldn’t help but smile at her panic.
