Page 95 of Blindside Me
Drew presses a kiss to my shoulder, lingering there. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We should be okay as long as he doesn’t ask how we met.”
His laugh vibrates against my skin. “God, let him assume it’s from the interview.”
“We’ll go with that.”
“No doubt.” Drew leans back and meets my gaze. His lips flatten into a straight line. “He’ll be mad.”
“He’ll live,” I respond with forced confidence. But we both know telling him is a bomb waiting to go off.
Howell isn’t just Drew’s coach. He’s also the man who recruited and pushed him the hardest. Believed in him the most. And he’s also my only family.
This could end everything Drew’s worked for.
He must see it on my face because he pulls me close again, his arms warm and secure. “We’ll figure it out,” he murmurs against my hair.
And maybe we will.
Or maybe everything’s about to go up in flames.
But for now, just for now, we stay tangled up in the quiet, the future pressing close and dangerous on the other side of tomorrow.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Drew
Jade’s hand brushes against mine as we walk up the concrete steps to Coach’s house. It’s not an accident, not even a little. She’s close enough that I feel her heat but not quite close enough to hold on. My stomach churns, and I’m doing my best to ignore it.
Every instinct screams, yes, go for it, but my brain is waving red flags. Why would the team’s star defenseman, the guy with a real shot at the NHL risk it all for the girl next to him? It’s nuts.
But I’m nuts for this girl. And I have to believe Coach will understand.
He has to.
“You okay?” Jade asks, her blue eyes searching mine. “You look like you’re heading to your execution.”
“Just picturing Coach’s face when I tell him I’m sleeping with his niece.”
She punches my arm. “Don’t say it like that. God.”
“Sorry.” I run a hand through my hair. “Didn’t mean it like that.”
But I kind of did. Not because it’s crude. Because it’s real. Because this isn’t some slap-on-the-wrist mistake. It’s a tectonic shift.
My phone buzzes. I expect it’s Easton, wondering where I am. Instead, it’s Blake.
Blake: Amanda told me Jade’s ex texted her yesterday. DO NOT do anything stupid during the game.
My jaw tightens. Roman. Jade’s ex. The same asshole I flattened three weeks ago when he caught me with his sister. I let him get the first punch, but the memory of his smug face makes my grip tighten around my phone.
I glance at her. “Blake says Roman’s texting you.”
Her expression falters for a split second, but I catch it. “I had him blocked. He must’ve used a new number.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.” She shrugs, trying for casualness, but missing by a mile. “I blocked the new number, too.”
