Page 54 of Slapshot Summer
She’d gone for the cheapest of the cheap, which had indeed landed her in the dreaded middle seat.“But—”
He placed his index finger on her lips.“Don’t argue.Just say, ‘Thank you, Mr.Smartass.’”
“But the money … I’ll pay you back.”
“No, you won’t.Money is not a problem for me, Lexi.But I am running out of chances to do nice things for you, so let me have this.Please?”
The final piece of her heart disintegrated.
She hugged his neck and kissed him on the mouth.“Thank you, you wonderful man,” she whispered.Tears that had been hovering behind her eyes all morning broke free and spilled down her cheeks.
He rested his forehead against hers.“I wish I could do more for you.”He swiped her tears away with his thumbs and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
They sat staring into each other’s eyes for long minutes, until the gate agent announced zone one was boarding.
Josh pecked her lips.“That’s you, baby.Time to go.”
“Oh.”She’d never been in zone one before, and she wasn’t ready—not ready to board, not ready to leave Josh.“Do Ihaveto board now?”
“No, you can wait until they’ve called the last zone.”
She did, dragging out the agony of good-bye but savoring his cedar scent, the feel of his strong body beneath her hands, his taste when he kissed her.These needed to last her.
Finally, the gate agent called the last zone; the boarding area was nearly empty.
“Now youdohave to go, sweetheart, or you’ll slow down the departure and piss everyone off.”His humor fell flat.He gave her a wistful half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes.In fact, the light in them seemed to extinguish.
He cradled her face in his hands, and she covered them with her own.“Lexi, would you …”
She pulled in a breath, waiting for the rest of it.
He shook his head.“What I meant to say was I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Their mouths crashed together just as the gate agent made the final call.
As the plane pulled away from the gate, Lexi got one last look at Josh standing at the window watching her go.He held up his hand.
She placed her own on the window and whispered, “Good-bye, Josh.”
“Mac,Ineedafavor from you.”
Josh paced the concourse, waiting for his flight.He had called his best friend and former teammate, Mac McPherson, who now backstopped for the Colorado Blizzard.Now that they were done with the obligatory chatter and catching up, Josh filled him in on the offer he’d received from the KHL and got down to the real reason for his call.Yeah, he was always glad to talk to Mac, though maybe a little too distracted to give his friend’s news his full attention this time.
“Sure, Wild Man.Whatever you need.”
Josh gritted his teeth at the worn nickname.“There’s this girl—her name is Lexi Campbell.She lives in Denver, and I want you to keep an eye on her for me.”
“Whoa, whoa!Don’t tell me the Wild Man’s wings have finally been clipped.”
“Look, asshole, I’m just worried about her.”Josh couldn’t pinpoint exactlywhyhe was worried.Lexi was a grown, independent woman who could take care of herself.Maybe his worry had more to do with losing her to someone else smart enough to recognize how special she was.If she hadn’t wasted her time on that idiot fiancé of hers, some other guy would have snapped her up long ago.She would not stay single for long.
“Sure, sure.You’re worried about her.I get it.”
Josh was sure he could hear Mac whispering to his fiancée, Mia, that “Wild Man” had finally been tamed, and Josh wanted to reach through the phone and wipe the smug from Mac’s voice.Truth be told, Josh wasn’t surewhatLexi was to him.While they’d waited at her gate, he’d nearly asked her to move to Russia with him, for Christ’s sake!It would have been an outrageous proposition—three years of her life for a maybe-washed-up goalie with no clue where he was headed.Who did that after only one week?Sure, he’d gotten toknow herwell, but a week wasn’t nearly enough time to build the kind of foundation that made a sacrifice like that reasonable.He’d never evenconsideredasking a woman to move in with him—let alone halfway across the world.Then again, there were a lotof things he’d never done—or thought of doing—before Lexi.What made her so different?
Because you fell in love with her, dumbass.You know it, and Mac knows it because he’s been there.
