Page 46 of Icing on Top

Her spoon paused mid-air as a hopeful smile crept onto her lips. “Does that mean she’s going to be around more?”

I pressed my lips together to tamper my own grin, all my fears and the doubts that had been rolling around in my head last night disappearing like the fog chased away by the sun.

“Yes. We’d get to see her outside of practice and games. She can come over to our house to hang out or we may go out to do something. All three of us.”

Now she was glowing, her grin almost too big for her little face. She leapt out of her chair and came racing around the island to tackle me in a hug. I barely managed to keep both of us upright. God, she was getting big.

She gave me a tight squeeze before letting out a sigh, her body sinking further into mine.

“I’m so happy you and Coach Zo like each other,” she murmured dreamily.

I ruffled her messy bed hair. “Me, too, Tot.”

Chapter 19

Zoe

Miah had been unusually quiet ever since he’d entered my apartment. At first, I was concerned that all the colors and knick-knacks were overwhelming, but then he’d wandered over to my bookshelf and commented on how cute my ceramic bear statue was. The man had good taste, at least.

“Is everything okay?”

He jumped as if I’d spooked him. “Huh? Yeah. Um...”

He ran his hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck, his large chest expanding further as he sucked in a deep breath. He looked more stressed than I’d ever seen him—and I’d seen the man pace anxiously during a Puffins game on several occasions.

“Miah.” I stepped forward and carefully reached for his hand.

He blew out the breath he’d been holding. “Sorry. Hi.”

I simply raised my brows, allowing him to open up to me when—or if—he felt ready to. He looked down at our hands as he took my other one and interlaced our fingers.

“Sorry, I’m very much out of practice. I haven’t had to ask this since I was a teenager, and it’s somehow just as stressful now as it was then.”

A spark of hope lit up in my chest, but I tried not to get too carried away. He could be asking me anything at all, but based on the context clues…

“Willyoubemygirlfriend?” The words rushed out of him in one fell swoop, and he cringed two seconds later. “That sounds so lame out loud.”

I bit my lip to keep my giggles in, but it was really hard not to find him and this situation so terribly endearing. Instead, I gave his hands a gentle squeeze and urged him to look at me.

“It’s not lame,” I promised. “And the answer is yes.”

He stared at me as if I’d spoken another language, my words not sinking in.

“Yes?”

Now I did laugh. A happy laugh that turned that spark inside of me into a roaring bonfire. “Yes, Miah. One hundred percent, yes.”

Within the span of a heartbeat, he’d dropped my hands, cupped my cheeks, and kissed me so deeply, I literally gasped. Miah had a knack for catching me on my heels, but I always caught back up. My fingers curled into the fabric of his hoodie, and I held tight as I kissed him back just as fervently.

A scrum broke out in my head as various thoughts and feelings fought for the spotlight. Of course, there was an immense feeling of elation; getting to spend time with Miah was the highlight of every week. My guards easily came down around him, and I felt more like the Zoe in college, who was excited about life and hopeful for the future. I hadn’t known that girl for a long time, and it was good to have her back.

Along with that, though, came the fear that I’d slip back into the version of myself I’d been after my accident. Something would trigger that reflex of mine to shut down and close people out, and I’d ultimately hurt Miah. And Charlie. After all, I hadn’t been in a relationship since college. Did I even know how to be in a healthy one?

Miah pulled away just enough to look me in the eyes, his thumb stroking tenderly across my cheek and then back to rest at the corner of my lips.

“Where’d you go?” he asked softly.

“You’re not the only one who’s out of practice.” I gave his hoodie a light tug. “What if I don’t know how to be good at this?”