Page 67 of The Love Dare
His brows pinch. “What?”
Winnie shifts her face to the side as if to avoid the heat, but he won’t let her get out of this so easily. Something is holding her back and he needs to know what it is.
“What’s bothering you?” He uses his pointer finger to tilt her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “Am I moving too fast?”
“No,” she interjects quickly, genuine shock coloring her features. “No,” she repeats. “I want all of that, too. I do. I just…”
She licks her lips, hesitating.
“Is it the show?” he probes, trying to understand. “The other women here?”
She winces, as if he struck a nerve.
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he says earnestly, sweeping his fingers through her hair, arching her face up, hoping she can see the truth in his eyes. “It’s always been you, Win. It always will be. No other woman even exists in that way for me, not when I can be with you. I would never jeopardize what we could have. I would never hurt you like that.”
“I know.” She reaches up to hold his hand against her cheek. “I trust you, Ty. Completely. I’m not worried about you. I’m worried aboutme.”
He frowns, not understanding.
“It’s just—” She sighs. “I spent my whole childhood letting people get the best of me. I didn’t fight back. I hid. I was afraid all the time. I didn’t know my own power. And I thought that changed when I moved to New York and built up my own life, but then I came to this show, and it took, what, like a week for me to break down and pack my bags? A few mean words and Iwas ready to give up, to run away. I thought I was stronger than that, but I wasn’t. And who the hell knows what’s waiting for us when we get back home? The viewers could hate me. Your fans could hate me. Even if they love us together, there will be some people who don’t, who want to rip us apart, who will leave the nastiest comments and send the vilest messages. You’re a public figure. It’s just part of your job. And I want to believe none of it will matter. I want to believe I’ll be able to handle anything, but what if I can’t? I don’t trust myself, Ty. I’m not a safe bet. You might think I am, but I’m not.”
“Hey,” he soothes. “Shh. Youarestrong. You’re one of the strongest people I know. You never let them break you. You never let them change you. You never let them steal your joy. You’re incredible, Win. And I hope you understand that if it ever came to that, I would choose you. Not hockey. Not the fame. Not the money. If what you needed was for us to move to some log cabin in the middle of the woods where no one could find us, I’d figure out how to chop firewood and hunt a deer and grow some fucking potatoes or something, whatever it took to make you happy.”
“I would never ask you to give up hockey for me.”
“You wouldn’t have to ask.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know.” He brushes his thumb affectionately over her freckles. “Just like I know it would never come to that. Because I trust you, just as much as you trust me.”
Her expression warms, but a small shadow of doubt lingers in her eyes.
He hates it.
“Did something happen?” he asks, searching for an explanation.
She shakes her head. “No.”
“You’re sure?”
A sad little smile passes over her lips, totally unconvincing. “I don’t need you to save me anymore, Ty.”
“I don’t want to save you.” He takes her hand, squeezes her fingers as he holds them to his heart. “I want to fight with you.”
“There’s nothing?—”
Her eyes go wide and she breaks off. Her gaze jumps to the sky overhead. Every ounce of gloom disappears, as if a switch has been flipped, turning to pure radiance instead. A wide smile overtakes her cheeks, this one full of unadulterated joy. She fists his jacket in glee, arching into him as her chin lifts. He doesn’t want to look away.
“Ty!”
He holds off one more second, breathing in the wonder etched across her face, then looks up. Bright streaks flash across the silvery sky.
“Did you see that?” Winnie points.
He lifts his arm. “Look there!”
Spark after spark shoots through the midnight haze and disappears into the bright orange glow of a sun that refuses to disappear. It’s the most otherworldly thing he’s ever experienced. Logically, he knows they’re just rocks burning up in the atmosphere. But it feels like some sort of mystical sign, as though the stars themselves are falling to Earth. Day and night blend. Space and time cease to exist. It’s as if the very fabric of the universe is unraveling, as if the threads of fate are twisting and twining into something new—something made just for them.
