Page 66 of The Love Dare
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She fixes her glasses and wraps her arms around his neck with an impish grin. “You know, in my fantasies, you weren’t such a smart-ass.”
“That’s funny,” he murmurs into her hair. “Because most of mine involved putting your very smart mouth to very good use.”
Pink overtakes her cheeks in the most adorable way. She squirms, her thighs rubbing together, letting him know that image affects her the same way it does him, arousal surging. But unfortunately, tonight is not the night to give in to temptation. He sinks into an Adirondack chair, keeping her draped chastely across his chest. He’s not so stupid to believe there aren’t at least three cameras on them right now, and who knows how many eyes, waiting to catch them in the act and blast it out to millions of people. Besides, this is enough, sitting out here, limbs entwined as a cool breeze blows off the lake, looking out at an endless peach horizon.
It’s everything.
“When is it supposed to start?” she asks, snuggling closer.
“I don’t know.” He shakes his head, wrapping his arms more tightly around her and resting his chin on the crown of her head.
“Do you think it actually will?”
He laughs softly. “You’re picking up on that vibe, too?”
“We all just so happen to hear about a meteor shower after you return from a group date with eight other women, and I’m not supposed to think it’s a setup?”
“Do you care?”
“If everyone sees?”
“Yeah.”
“Ty.” She pauses to look up at him, her gaze sparkling with humor. “I am a petty, petty woman. If I could grab a Sharpie and writedibsacross your forehead right now, I would.”
“Did you hear that?” he shouts, angling his head back toward the pink windows of the hotel behind them. “She called dibs! Show’s over! Winnie won?—”
“Stop,” she hastily whispers, slapping a hand over his mouth with laughter bubbling on her lips. “You’re so ridiculous.”
“Maybe that should be my next tattoo.” He slashes his pointer finger and thumb across his forehead. “Dibs. Right here in your handwriting for the whole world to see.”
“What if I said yes? Go do that right now, please.”
“I would.” He shrugs. She rolls her eyes. “What?” he presses. “I would. I’m not kidding. If you wanted me to, if that’s what it took to make you believe me, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Besides, you’re the one who’d have to spend the rest of her life looking at it every day, not me.”
“Ty.” She glances away, hiding.
He lowers his head, lips brushing the outer shell of her ear. “I’m not embarrassed to talk about forever with you.”
She swallows and looks tentatively up at him. “You think about that?”
“All the time.”
“What do you see?”
“You in Los Angeles with me. You in my house. You in my pool, naked this time.”
An airy laugh escapes her lips.
“I’m not joking, Win.”
Her brows twitch. “What exactly are you saying?”
“You should move in with me.” She inhales sharply, and he rushes to keep going before she can say no, his heart thundering in his chest. “After the show wraps, and we don’t have to hide anything anymore, you should come to LA. You can set up an office in one of the guest bedrooms. I want to wake up to your face, and I want to dream of you in my bed when I’m on the road.I want you rinkside at my home games, wearing my jersey. I want everything with you. I’m a greedy asshole. What can I say?”
She doesn’t crack a smile at the joke. She just stares, studying his eyes, as if trying to find some hidden message beneath his honest plea.
