Page 69 of The No Try Zone
Then he turns to me and props his head in his hand. Silently, he slowly traces a finger along my cheek, down my neck to my collarbone, then around a breast before moving to my hip and squeezing.
I turn.
“I…have a proposal.”
I mirror him, putting my head in my hand and waiting.
“What if we –” He stops, clears his throat and looks away. When he meets my eyes again, his expression is tender. “That was incredible.Youare incredible. What if we keep doing this?”
I stop breathing. “This?”
“Keep, ah, sleeping together. But quietly. Get a divorce later, after the season ends.” He reaches for my face, cupping my cheek as he leans forward to kiss me.
I rear back, my thoughts in an absolute riot. “What? You want this to be a secret?”
He lowers his hand. “It’s not perfect, I know. But…” he trails off, running a palm over his face. “It could work.”
“I don’t –” I start, then stop, considering. This isn’t what I want. Not even close. But itisa way for me to have him. And I need to know if Vegas really was a mistake. Because if it wasn’t, then maybe…maybe this can turn into something.
“Sam.” His eyes search mine, those golden starbursts almost hidden by the blue and green of his irises. “I’ll stop if you want me to. I’ll leave and we can pretend this didn’t happen.”
I swallow hard, my stomach roiling. “I’ll do it.”
He stills. “Really?”
Last chance.I could take all this back. Demand he do as he promised and make his life a living hell until it’s done. Or I could follow my stupid heart and give in. Let myself be loved in secret.
A coin flips in my mind’s eye, light glinting on silver as it lands. Resolved, I answer him. “Really.”
He beams, oblivious to my inner turmoil. In fact, the man seems to lose every burden he’s ever carried right in front of me. He closes the distance between us and pulls me into his arms, kissing me deeply. I breathe him in, relishing the weight of him as he surrounds me and telling myself that this is enough. Having him like this will be enough.
And later that night, when he takes me for the third time, I pretend it’s real.
Chapter26
Sam
THE SEASON OPENER dawns like nearly every other day the past two weeks: tangled in Colin’s arms, sore from whatever position he’s bent me into the night before. He’s awake, sitting in bed and scribbling on the yellow notepad that I’ve realized is almost always within arm’s reach.
He looks over and grins. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”
I accept the kiss he deposits on my forehead and pull him to me for an actual kiss. “Good morning,” I tell him. Then an icy realization hits me. “Shit. What time is it?”
He glances at the clock on his side of the bed. “Seven-thirty. Why?”
I bolt upright. “Shit. Shit! I promised Ollie I’d make him breakfast this morning.” I throw the covers off and hit the floor, searching for my clothes before remembering he peeled them off me in the living room last night.
Colin’s brow knits. “Really?”
“Really,” I shoot back, already moving downstairs to get dressed.
I’m shoving my feet into my shoes when Colin appears, a ball cap on backwards and wearing the one pair of track pants he owns along with a Granite tee.
He holds his keys up. “I’ll drive you.”
I nod. “Thanks.”
We pull up to my apartment fifteen minutes later. As he throws the SUV into Park, I undo my seatbelt and open the door.
