Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105697 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
She laughs. “I know. But this needed to be hand-delivered. With a kiss.”
I pop my skate guards on the blades and step off the ice just in time for her to hand me an envelope with my name on it.
“What’s this?” I ask, starting to open it.
She places her hand on mine. “Wait. Don’t open it in front of me.”
“Why?” Shit. My stomach drops. Is this a break—
“It’ll be embarrassing.”
“For whom?” I ask, holding it on my palm like it’s a hot potato.
She grins. “Me.”
My hackles lower. My curiosity is piqued, but I would never want to embarrass her—even if I’m dying to know what was so important that she drove all this way to hand deliver an envelope just to turn right back around to drive back again.
“I really gotta go,” she says, frowning. “It was so . . .” She sighs, but this time, a smile spreads like it’s staying put. “It was good to see you. You look great. Sexy on that ice.”
“You’re beautiful, as always.” Her hair is pulled back, and she’s wearing a T-shirt and jeans that fit just right. Damn, she looks good. “You sure you can’t stay? I can be outta here in five minutes if I skip the shower.”
She reaches up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss against my lips. “I can’t. I love you, though.”
“I love you, too, so much.”
Her cheeks flush before she kisses me again. Then she turns to leave, picking up pace the further she gets away from me.
“Summer?” I call out.
“I’m really probably getting towed,” she says over her shoulder. “Call me when you get into your car. I have a long drive, and we can chat on my way back to the Cove.” She turns a corner and is gone.
What the hell just happened here?
I get to the empty locker room to remove my skates and stretch. My muscles are tight, but the envelope Summer gave me is too enticing to ignore.
Dear Daniel,
You were right.
You make me feel safe
. . . Our home.
It will be our place together, where we can raise Roman and maybe our own children.
. . . You’re not here.
You are my home. You are my everything.
XOXO,
Summer
My heart pounds as my eyes bounce through her words once more before they settle inside my brain. This means . . .
“Fuck!”
CHAPTER 34
SUMMER
“Oh, thank God,” I say, panting as Fall’s car comes into view. It’s still there.
I stop, planting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. I’m no runner, but I did my best running impersonation all the way from the arena for fear that the car would be gone before I made it back. It didn’t hurt anything that running got me farther away from Daniel, making it that much harder to turn around.
The sky is dark too soon for the hour, with gray clouds hovering above, threatening rain. At least I’m in my sneakers if it starts to pour. I shove off my knees and start down the sidewalk again as a bolt of thunder strikes in the distance.
I pick up my pace as even darker clouds roll in. A woman walks toward me with a concerned look on her face. I give her a small smile as I grow closer, wondering if I should say hello or nod kindly as I pass. I don’t know the etiquette in New York.
“You should run,” she says as the distance between us diminishes.
Huh? “It’s not raining yet.”
“A man is chasing you. Run!”
What? A man chasing me? My heart leaps as my feet falter, and I look over my shoulder and find Daniel blasting toward me still in his Breakaways uniform.
“Summer!” he shouts.
“Daniel? What are you doing?” I ask, coming to a full stop. I glance back at the car to make sure it hasn’t been towed.
The lady marches by, muttering something under her breath.
He covers the distance twice as fast as I did. At least he has the decency to gasp for breath as he takes me in his arms. “You can’t leave—”
“I have to,” I say, taking in the way his eyes scrunch at the sides as he peers down at me. “I don’t want to. But Fall needs her car for—”
“No. I mean, you can’t leave before I tell you . . .”
“Tell me what, Daniel?”
He licks his lips as rain begins to sprinkle from the sky like glitter. He searches my eyes, looking for something that I can’t exactly name. I stare back at him, trying not to lose myself in his beautiful browns like I usually do.
I snuggle in closer. “Not that I mind being in your arms this long, but what do you want to tell me?”
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. The wind picks up, and so does the rain. It pelts the top of our heads and splashes into little puddles at our feet. We should be running for cover. No, I should be in the car and driving away. But he ran after me for a reason, and rain and deadlines aren’t keeping me from finding out why.