Page 87 of Goalie and the Girl Next Door
She looks at me, and for a second, I think I’ve gone too far.
But then she smiles.
It starts in the corner of her mouth and rises slowly, a sunrise that takes its time because it knows you’re watching. Her eyes catch the light, and they glint with something I can’t name but want very badly to understand.
“I have an idea,” she says.
CHAPTER 31
MARCY
Ican’t remember the last time I felt this at ease with someone. Comfortable, yes, but also…
Safe.
This night isn’t what I expected. It’s so much better. He’s funny and charming, sure. But he listens like I’m someone worth knowing.
I keep waiting for the spell to break. For him to make a comment that pulls me back into the version of myself I’ve worked so hard to become. Buttoned up, tightly scheduled, predictable.
But he doesn’t. He just keeps on being sincere. Every time I inch closer, emotionally, I brace for impact and then… nothing. I never would have imagined a first date could be liberating.
Maybe that’s why I’m acting so boldly.
“I need your help with a puzzle,” I say, voice steadier than it has any right to be.
Clément blinks, then leans in slightly, expression suddenly grave. “A puzzle. Right. Emotional, interpersonal, orexistential?”
I pause. “Sorry?”
“I’m excellent with conundrums. We’ll need a whiteboard, some string, at least three different colored markers, ideally scented—and absolute honesty.”
“It’s a jigsaw puzzle. Cardboard. Two thousand pieces. Mountains at sunset.”
He freezes. “Oh.” His mouth twitches like he’s trying to decide if I’m serious.
“I hope you’ll help me with it,” I add, “but if you have to go…”
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
I lead him toward the cabins, the night air cool and sweet. My boots crunch softly on the gravel, and I hear him follow close behind. By the time I push open the door to my cabin, the fluttering inside me hits full swirl.
“I’ll just…” I crouch down, pulling the puzzle keeper from beneath the futon. “It’s, um, right here.”
I unroll the green mat across the floor, revealing several painstakingly completed clusters of color. The sky, part of a pine forest, a bear’s left ear.
Clément crouches beside me, peering down. “You weren’t kidding.”
“I never joke about puzzles.”
“I see that now.” He studies the image on the box of snowy peaks, pine trees, clouds just beginning to pink with sunset. “This could take hours.”
“It could,” I say, my voice breezy while my stomach does a tight little loop. “You can leave anytime.”
“Do you want me to leave?” He looks at me with the same longing that I feel, too.
I don’t even try to pretend. “No.”
Clément smiles sweetly and lowers himself to the floorbeside me, crossing his legs. “Alors, where do we begin?” He picks up a piece with gentle precision, eyes scanning the mat.
