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Together, we walk toward the water, and the moment she takes her first bite of The Mac, shedoesmoan, causing my dick to stir in my pants. Christ.
“Holy shit. I will never doubt you again, Hudson Rome. This is actually freaking incredible. Oh god, it’s so… cheesy. So. Good.”
I chuckle, my chest shaking with my laughter, “Told you. I stumbled across it a few years ago after a night out with the guys, and I had my doubts, but it was love at first bite.”
“I can see why.” She takes another massive bite, and I smile. I love that she’s not one of those girls who’s afraid to eat around a man. This girl clearly doesn’t give a shit, and I couldn’t be more attracted to her confidence.
I’ll never understand why women feel the need to hide what they eat or how much. We all eat, and trust me, the last thing I’m thinking about is the amount of food Caroline is eating. All I’m thinking about are those sweet moans of pleasure coming from her lips, regardless of how off-limits she is to me.
“So, what’s it like being a famous hockey player?” she asks as we walk, her eyes finding mine in the dim light of the streetlamps. “Being in the public eye twenty-four seven?”
“Hockey’s always been my life. It’s the one thing that always made sense. And the fans, the notoriety, the tabloids… all of that just comes with it. It’s something that I’ve learned to deal with over time, but it’s not necessarily something I love. I hate gossip sites, and I hate that I have to duck into a building to escape a camera sometimes.” I shrug, taking my last bite before finishing. “But my fans? They’re the best fans in the entire world. Their dedication and loyalty never fails to surprise me. It’s my favorite thing about playing professionally—besides the sport, obviously.”
“I can tell how much you love it. That’s inspiring to me. I mean, honestly, I’m kind of winging it eighty percent of the time.” She laughs, her blonde hair falling around her face before she tucks it behind her ear.
“You’re young—you have a while to figure shit out. It doesn’t have to be something that happens overnight. Trust me, lately, I feel kind of…” I trail off, unsure of how to explain the way that I’ve been feeling without sounding like a gigantic pussy.
“You can talk to me, Rome.” Her shoulder bumps against my side, and she smiles. So fucking sweet that it makes my chest ache, further accentuating how fucked I am when it comes to Caroline Evans. “Your secrets are safe with me.”
“I feel like I’m kind of just drifting along. I’m thirty-three, and I’ve played hockey since I was a kid, and I dunno, lately, I just feel like somewhere along the way, I lost sight of me. Who am I without hockey?”
We stop at a bench that faces the river and toss our stuff into a nearby trash can before taking a seat. She sits so close that I can smell the alluring scent of her perfume and feel the heat of her body.
Too fucking close.
“I think you can feel that way no matter what age you are, Hudson,” she says softly, turning to face me. “Life is messy that way. Just when you think you’ve got everything figured out, it tilts on its axis, and you’re left to sort out the mess that’s left behind.”
Wise words from a girl who’s still learning all about what life has to offer.
“Sometimes, it takes a shift for us to realize that it wasn’t really working before, and it’s a wake-up call to change what no longer makes us happy. Life’s too short to be anything but happy, no matter what happiness means to you.” Her gaze drifts out toward the river. “Kind of how I found myself here… in Chicago and not Seattle.”
“Things with your dad?”
It’s a subject she’s hinted at but never elaborated on, and I haven’t felt like it’s my place to ask before.
She nods, rolling her lips between her teeth, like she wants to talk about it, but it’s heavy. I get it.
“He moved to Chicago when I was twelve after my parents divorced, and our relationship was strained for a really long time. He, uh, had some health scares earlier in the year, and we both decided to let the past remain just that… the past. It’s just that we’re, like, caught in this weird limbo of remembering who we used to be while trying to learn who each other isnow. I’m working really hard to let go of my hurt so I can rebuild my relationship with him.” Her words are soft. Careful. Emotion hangs on to each syllable.
“Not sure there’s a rule book for that one, Bubblegum, but something tells me that the two of you will figure it out. He loves you, and you clearly love him, too, since you moved across the country to be closer to him.” I lean back and drape my arm over the back of the bench. My fingers brush along her arm as I do, and her eyes meet mine.
“Thank you… Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about your family? Are your parents still together?” she asks.
“Very. They gross me out on the daily. I’m a grown-ass man, and my parents are basically like two teenagers who can’t keep their hands off each other.” I shudder at the thought. I love that they’re happy—truly, I do. But I do not need to see my parents making out. “I’ve got a younger sister. Her name’s Hailey, and we’re really close. We all have dinner together at least once a month, less when I’m on the road, but we make it a point to spend time together. It can be hard because I’m on the road at least six months out of the year.”
She leans back against the bench and rubs her arms as if she’s trying to warm them up, so I shrug my jacket off and drape the fabric over her shoulders. The night air is unusually cool, with a steady breeze from being this close to the water.
“Thank you,” she says, her smile so bright and blinding. “I bet I would love your family. Especially your sister. If she’s anything like you.”
“Too much like me. We butted heads a lot growing up, and I had to beat the shit out of way too many guys for looking at her.”
Caroline tosses her head back and laughs, her shoulders shaking with my jacket draped around her, swallowing her small frame. I shouldn’t love how good she looks in something that’s mine. “I can actually see you pummeling all of those poor kids who just wanted to date your sister. That seems like such a Hudson thing. You’re intense.”
I shrug. “She’s my baby sister. It was my job to protect her. And it’s the goalie in me, I think. I protect what’s mine. I’m a concrete wall—shit’s not getting past me.” I want to sayexcept you, but I can’t. Because I can’t have her, no matter how badly I want her.
At the mention of Hailey, I realize that while she’s my baby sister, she’sstillolder than Caroline.
“I think that’s incredible, you know. That you’re the pillar of strength for your family and friends. I think you’re an incredible guy, Hudson, even though I hardly know you.”
