Page 182 of Risking the Pucking Defense

“I know this is out of your comfort zone, but I need you to trust me.”

“I do,” I whisper.

“I’ve set all this up. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Okay,” I say, although it doesn’t stop my head from racing. “What should I wear?”

“Just something comfortable. I’ve got everything else under control.”

I nod, feeling utterly lost.

I don’t realize that I’m no longer looking at the screen until Hayden says my name, dragging my eyes back to him.

“You deserve good surprises and for people to put you first.”

Emotion crawls up my throat. He’s right, I know he is. But a lifetime of never experiencing either has made me a little jaded.

“Oh no, no. Baby, please don’t cry.”

I take a deep breath and fight the burn behind my eyes. “I’m not.”

“Sure,” he laughs.

“Go make yourself a coffee, get dressed, and all will be revealed. Just remember that you deserve the world, and I’m not capable of giving you that, so I went for the next best thing.”

“Next best would be you.” The words tumble free without permission, and I panic, but then his face lights up, a wide smile spreading across his mouth.

“Baby, if I could have come back early for you, I would have. I’ll be home before you know it, promise.”

Home.

I’m pretty sure that being with Hayden, no matter where we are, is the only time in my life I’ve ever truly felt at home.

I smile at him.

“Promise you’ll be a good girl for me today?”

I smirk. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

He laughs. “You’d better get ready. Message me when you’ve been collected.”

Excitement mixes with the nerves rioting in my stomach.

“Okay. You need to go back to sleep.”

“Yeah, I really do,” he says, yawning. “I’ll talk to you later.”

I say goodbye and then let my hands fall into my lap as my head continues to spin.

“What have you done, Hayden Monroe?”

I do as I’m told—I make myself a coffee and then set about getting ready for my day that apparently isn’t going to look anything like I’d planned.

Exactly an hour later, my apartment buzzer goes off, and when I answer it, a very familiar voice spills from the speaker.

“Good morning, I have a taxi for Miss Caldwell.”

A laugh bursts out of me. Of course, Hayden entangled Bea in his plans.