Page 39 of Home for the Holidays

I have no idea how I’m going to make this work. I don’t want him to be a rebound; he deserves better than that.

I do know I’m going to give it my all. He deserves that, too.

A throat clears, and I pull back to see an older guy in a suit staring disapprovingly at us. He’s maybe early forties with a touch of gray in his beard. He’s hot, in an objective way.

But he can’t compare to my guy.

“Lewis,” he says. He nods at me. “Hi.”

“McKittrick.” Jake’s voice is gravelly and deep. “What do you want?”

To my surprise, McKittrick’s poker face falls into a massive shit-eating grin. “Congrats. Not the time or the place, dude. Congratulations either way.”

My face heats. I almost forgot we were at this party. I definitely forgot we were in public.

Jake hugs me against his chest. “Thanks. Now leave us alone.”

McKittrick laughs. “Yeah, no. It’s time to sit down for dinner.”

Peering around him, I do notice people starting to take their seats.

“I’m Jason,” he says, offering me a hand.

“Rachel,” I introduce.

“McKittrick is our captain. He’s basically our team dad,” Jake says. He cocks his head. “Do women call you Daddy?”

“Fuck you,” McKittrick says with a grin. He turns to me. “Can I escort you to the table?”

Jake’s booming laugh echoes in my ear. “Not a chance.”

Taking our seats at one of the tables, we’re surrounded by Sven and Vanessa, MacGregor and Hailey, and McKittrick and Logan, who didn’t bring dates. I’m introduced to Henry, the other half of the goaltending tandem, and Jenkins, a second-year player that Jake’s mentioned briefly as a bit of a wildcard.

These are his people. His family. He’s including me, bringing me into his life.

Jake’s arm is wrapped around my shoulders as Coach Turner and ownership give speeches. He releases me only when it’s time to eat our meals.

After, when the tables are cleared, we move to the dance floor. He’s not shy about pulling me into his arms, holding me close even through the fast-paced, upbeat songs. We’re attracting some attention. He doesn’t let it bother him, so I don’t, either.

Reaching for him, I cup his cheek. Jake looks down at me with such earnestness in his eyes, it brings tears to mine.

“Hey. What’s going on?” He wipes his thumb beneath my eye.

“We’re doing this.” I still can’t believe it. “We’re really doing this.”

He leans down and brushes a soft kiss against my lips. “Yeah. We’re doing this.”

Except after a few hours, I’m starting to flag. Parties like this are fun in theory, but after a little while, I just get so overwhelmed all I want to do is curl into the fetal position in my bed.

Jake can keep going all night. That’s one of the perks of being twenty-six, I guess. When I was twenty-six, I was knee-deep in doctoral research, so I didn’t have much time for partying.

We truly live such different lifestyles. I still can’t believe he’s interested in anything to do with me.

But when he looks at me and suggests we head out… I don’t want to go anywhere without him.

Snow falls more heavily on our drive home. What should take twenty minutes is closer to forty-five. Roads are cordoned off and traffic is heavier than usual for midnight. I’m very glad all I have to do is mark some exams before my two weeks off.

“Looks like a storm is coming,” Jake says as he pulls into the parking garage. “Do you want me to drive you to campus tomorrow?”