AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shrugged. “Your hands were dry. You needed the lotion anyway.”
“Why didn’t you heal my fingers when they broke?”
“I’m bad with bones. I’m more of a soft-tissue gal. The best I could do was to bring down the swelling.”
“Well, you must have done something because the trainers were shocked at how quickly they healed.” He kissed her cheek. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“You’re very welcome,” she breathed as his eyes darkened, but then he blinked and leaned away.
“What else, soft-tissue girl?” Please don’t let that be my superhero name; sweet bean is bad enough.
“Animals. I can talk to them.”
“Like Dr. Doolittle?”
“It’s not as great as it sounds, especially when you live with a cat.”
“Oh yeah? What has George said about me?”
“You might want to sleep with one eye open.” Lucas paled, and Maggie patted his leg. “Don’t worry. He’ll come around. He liked you before.”
“Before?”
“Before you broke my heart.” Maggie stared at her hands, wishing she could pull back her confession. She’d been so excited about their date, but she’d promised herself to play it cool. Let Lucas make the first move. He was the one who’d bolted, not her. But she was so unbalanced. She couldn’t get a read on him. Hot, then cold. On, then off. One minute teasing her like a buddy and the next touching her lips as he fed her.
“I didn’t mean to. I freaked, Maggie. I was in the middle of telling you I loved you and you stopped me. I thought you were rejecting me. I couldn’t make sense of anything until it was too late. But then Penny stepped into it, and we had the away games.”
He leaned back and Maggie knew his question before the stupid words passed his lips. “You can’t mess with our games, can you?” She leveled him with a glare as the temperature of the room dropped. “Just checking,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. She sank into him, like a boat sliding into its slip. “I guess this explains why you avoid the barn at Thistlestone.”
“Mostly. But some of it is my fault. I’m not very good at blocking their voices, but I’ll get better. Don’t worry.”
“You don’t need to get better on my account.” He kissed her temple.
“But I do”—she swallowed, forcing her heart to calm and her breathing to slow—“I love you, Lucas, and I want to be with you at Thistlestone, but I can’t do that if I listen to everyone’s complaints about Big Red.”
“Got it. Nobody loves the chickens.” She felt his deep inhale. “But I love you, Maggie. Just give me a chance and be patient with me. I can get my head around this. I promise you.” Maggie nodded her head and caressed his cheek. He’d shaved, but his cheek was still scratchy, and she felt the current run through her again. Through them, based on the look in his eyes. “Say it again,” he ordered, gently brushing his lips against hers before she whispered those three magical words against his.
Once. Twice, and by the third kiss, she reclined on the pillow. His large body covered hers and his warm hand slipped under her sweater. “Hmm, nice,” he murmured, tracing the edge of the lace as his hand slipped to her back. Maggie arched to grant him access and her arm collided with the whiskey bottle.
“Crap!” She bolted upright and untangled herself from him. Maggie tossed the paper napkins on the dark, fragrant puddle and set the bottle upright. Lucas grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into him.
“Leave it. I’ve got it covered,” he said, kissing her from her collar to her ear and slipping his hand back where it belonged.
“What? You paid for rental and a damage deposit?” Maggie teased, not caring about the deal he’d made with Mrs. Kahn, but she didn’t want to ruin her carpet. Rumor had it she was barely scraping by. Maggie squirmed in his arms. “I have to fix this.”
Lucas groaned and dropped his head on her shoulder. He shifted, reached into the basket next to them, and held an envelope in front of her. “Merry Christmas,” he said, sounding like an irritated elf. Maggie took the thick envelope and opened the flap. She scanned the first few pages and looked back at him with wide eyes.
“You bought this place?”
“I bought the option to buy this place, but it’s up to you if we do. Here, look.” He handed his phone to her, and she swiped through the pictures of different bakery ideas for this space.
“How? Where? Why?” she asked, as she nervously moved back to the first picture.
“Believe it or not, we’ve got a teammate who is a graphic artist with some drafting skills. Cal and I described the space to him and what you needed, and he came up with the ideas. I thought maybe if you saw it, you wouldn’t be scared by it.”
“You should have asked me.” I would have said lots of natural elements and a chandelier, because I like sparkly things.
“I didn’t buy it and I am asking you. Nothing bad will happen if you say no or if you want to think about it. However long it takes. You get to decide, Maggie. We only need to give Jane thirty days’ notice.”
