Page 69 of Playing with Temptation

“I believe you, Dad.” She accepted the handkerchief her father offered and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

He held her in his arms. “Sorry I put you and Dash in a position where you felt you had to choose between your mother and me. I should’ve handled it better.”

“Me, too,” Kendra mumbled against her dad’s chest. She missed the smell of his cologne.

He squeezed her shoulder. “I can’t make up for how I’ve hurt you in the past, but I’d like to build a relationship with you now. We’ve already lost so much time.”

Kendra found comfort in her father’s embrace. One conversation wouldn’t instantly heal the deep wounds they’d inflicted on each other. But it was a start, and she had Nate to thank for it.

CHAPTER 23

Everyone had gone home and Kai was asleep in his bed. They’d had a wonderful night, celebrating with family and a handful of his teammates. But now it was nice to have the house all to themselves.

“Thank you, Nate, for what you did today for me and my dad.” Kendra sat beside him on the sofa in the den. “We had a really good talk today, and we’re both determined to work on building our relationship.”

“That’s great, Dray.” He squeezed her hand, genuinely happy for them both.

“My dad said something tonight before he and Alita left. He said he was sorry that he was the reason I had trouble trusting people, and that he hoped I’d learn to trust the people in my life who love me. He was talking about you, wasn’t he? That’s why you arranged this.”

“Yes.” Nate threaded his fingers through hers, his throat suddenly dry. He turned his body toward hers. “Kendra, I care about you…no…” He released a deep sigh and raised his eyes to hers, his pulse racing. “I love you, and I need you in my life.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. His declaration had taken her by surprise. “We’ve been through so much these past few weeks, Nate. Experiences like that can make you extremely emotional.”

“I know.” His breathing was slow and measured. “And despite the crazy ups and downs, I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I want you and Kai in my life every day. That’s what makes me happy.”

“I care about you, Nate. I want us to be a family, too. But you need to be sure about your feelings. That you truly want to be with me, and not just because I’m Kai’s mom.”

“The way I feel about you… It isn’t just because we have a son together. It’s because you’re still that girl I fell in love with at the roller-skating rink all those years ago. The best friend I shared my feelings with when they were too raw to share with anyone else.”

He pressed a hand to her cheek and smiled. “You are the only woman I’ve ever truly loved. The woman I want to wake up to every morning. The one I want to cook dinners with. The person I want to dance to old-school jams with until I’m eighty.”

She laughed as she blinked back tears.

Nate smiled. “Being with you these past few weeks, I’ve come to realize how incomplete my life is without you. I miss my best friend, the woman I have so much history with. The woman I want to build my future with.”

“I love you, too, Nate, and I want to be with you, but I also want my career. I shouldn’t have to choose.”

“No, you shouldn’t. I was wrong to ask you to do that before. I was so busy trying to give you the life I thought you deserved that I didn’t stop to listen to what you actually wanted. I won’t make that mistake again. I promise you, I’m going to support your career, just like you’ve always supported mine.”

Kendra grinned, leaning into him. She pressed her mouth to his and gave him a slow, lingering kiss that made heat rise in his chest and his pulse race.

“One last thing.” She locked her gaze with his. “Now that we’ve laid all our cards on the table, we wipe the slate clean. No more apologies, no more guilt. I love you and I trust you to be the man that Kai and I need. One day, I hope you’ll be able to trust me, too. That I won’t walk away from you or hurt you.”

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