Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Trying to convince myself this is real,” he says quietly.
I kiss him, pulling him close and breathing him in. His vanilla-spiced scent that’s all Lennon fills my nostrils, and I can’t believe this is real myself.
“I promise this is real,” I whisper.
He pulls back again, and his stoic face makes me think he’s going to say another joke, but when his voice comes out quiet and unsure, I know he’s being serious. “I know what I want from you.”
“What?”
“Happiness.”
I huff a loud breath of relief. “That’s the easiest thing you could’ve asked for.”
“But it’s sometimes the hardest.”
Truth. “All you have to know is I’m going to make it my life’s work to make sure you’re happy.”
“After hockey, maybe.”
I shake my head. “No. You put me before your career, and until I met you, I never understood why or how someone could do that for someone else. With you, I get it. It makes more sense than anything I’ve ever experienced before, and I can’t even explain it. I thought hockey was everything. All the rest was just extras. And while hockey is still a major chunk of my life, you’ve become my priority.”
“Are you sure?” Lennon’s still uncertain, and I don’t know how to take that away.
I try to come up with something that’s an easy way to explain us, but what comes out is a jumbly mess. “Think of me like a cake. Hockey is the base—the plain sponge that’s the core element. You’re the icing—the best part. The reason you eat the cake to begin with.”
“I don’t know whether to be turned on or hungry.”
I know he’s deflecting with humor again because it’s hard for his inner teen to believe anything I’m saying is true.
I sigh. “One day.”
He smiles up at me. “One day?”
“One day, you won’t question it. Even if it takes twenty years for you to realize what we have is real, I’ll continue to prove it.”
“I love you. So fucking much.”
“I love you too … Clark.”
He punches me in the arm, but he’s gonna have to get used to his new name. Especially if he’s going to be part of the Strömberg clan.
When it’s the right time, I’ll make that happen. Without a doubt, I know he’s the one for me. The hockey player and the sports journalist making a life together … yeah, I’ll make it happen.