Page 160 of Hit Me With Your Best Shot
“Gio!” she shrieks, her voice half-laugh, half-protest. “What are you doing? You’re going to drop me!”
“Are you kidding me? You’ve seen my arms,” I boast as I shift her closer, holding her tightly against me. “This is the safest place you could be.”
What am I doing?!
“Put me down!” She laughs. “I can walk.”
“Hell no. I’m carrying my pregnant girlfriend to the car!” I holler to everyone as my skates scrape against the concrete steps, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. “You’ve had enough excitement for one night. Let me take care of you.”
Austin, on the other hand, buries her face in my neck, groaning.
“This is so embarrassing!”
“Embarrassing?” I echo, my tone teasing. “This isromantic! This is the kind of thing people write love stories about.”
“This is the kind of thing that goes viral,” she counters, though the faint smile tugging at her mouth tells me she’s not as mad as she’s pretending to be.
Austin looks pretty pleased with herself.
“So what if it does?” I say, my voice dropping to something softer, somethingfor her ears only. “Let the whole world see how much I’m falling in love with you.”
Through the commotion I don’t miss the intake of her breath, her eyes widening as the words hang between us. I see the shift in her expression, the way her defenses crumble piece by piece until all that’s left is the raw, unfiltered connection between us.
“What did you just say to me in front of all these people?”
Okay. Now I can’t tell if she’s horrified or stunned.
“Yeah!” Nova’s voice booms over the noise, entirely too amused. “What did you just say?! Say it louder!”
Nova is such a pain in the ass sometimes.
But the fans are familiar with her and the crowd around us cheers louder at her pronouncement, egging her on. I shake my head but don’t break eye contact with Austin, not even for a second.
I dip my head, brushing my lips against her temple in the briefest, gentlest kiss.
“She heard me,” I murmur softly, just for her, finally at the top of the steps.
Austin’s eyes close for a moment, her shoulders sagging as her grip on my jersey tightens.
Nova, of course, can’t let a moment this good slip away.
“Say it louder for those in the back!” she hollers, clapping her hands. “Give us what we want!”
The crowd loves her.
A woman wearing a Seattle jersey—the opposing team tonight— shouts, “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen!” at the same time another voice yells, “Kiss her!”
Austin lets out a breathy laugh, shaking her head. “Your sister is going to haunt me for the rest of my life, isn’t she?”
“I mean. You’re stuck with us both now,” I say, grinning as I tilt her chin up to meet my gaze.
Stuck?
I don’t think so.
Iwantto be with her—from the second she sat her pretty little ass on that barstool at Five Alarm and started running her mouth at me.
I knew.
