Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
“Sounds good,” Boone says, but he doesn’t let me slip away so easily. He steps in and lays a kiss on my mouth. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
“Okay,” I murmur, feeling like I’m floating from that gentle kiss and promise in his tone that he’s not ever going to be far from me.
Sophie pulls me away with a tinkling laugh, shaking her head.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
She smirks, her expression slightly apologetic. “I’m sorry… it’s just… the two of you are too precious for words. I mean, everyone here on the team knows that Boone’s the guy with the heart of gold and that when he decided on someone, he was going to make all the women swoon with how he treated her. And let me just say… the way he looks at you and talks to you and hell… talks about you when you’re not around. That boy is stupid silly in love.”
I stop dead in my tracks, turning to face her, my jaw sagging open. “No, he’s not.”
“If you say so,” she replies, grinning like a fool.
“But he can’t be. We just met.”
“I fell in love with Baden in a matter of seconds. What does time have to do with it?”
I know what she’s referring to. Baden saved her from being mugged. They have a unique bond the way Boone and I do.
But love?
I have to admit, my feelings for him run incredibly deep. How could they not with everything he’s done and shown me?
“Let’s not dwell on that,” Sophie says, snapping me out of it. “Just trust me when I say it’s clear you two have something special.”
“Yeah… I actually know that,” I admit.
“Come on.” I’m tugged forward again. “Lots to do.”
I follow Sophie around the backyard and she doesn’t leave a single person out. I meet every player, and the majority are here with a plus-one. So many people, there’s no way I’ll ever remember all their names today. Maybe by the next gathering. A handful of kids run around playing. It’s such a festive family atmosphere, I have a sudden and intense longing to have Aiden with us. He would’ve geeked out over this so hard, seeing all these Titans and having other kids to play with.
For a moment, I let myself imagine what a long-term relationship with Boone could look like. Over the last few weeks, the fact that he’s a professional hockey player has never really come into play. Sure, I’ve gone to a game and some of the Titans players have been involved with Aiden, but the fame of it hasn’t really touched me. I consider how radically different my life would be if Boone and I married one day. We wouldn’t live in our old apartment above the deli but possibly in the suburbs. Aiden would be able to go to a wonderful school, and there’s no doubt in my mind that would happen not because I asked for it but because Boone would insist on it. He would treat Aiden like his own son.
And then we would have children together. I want at least three but I have no clue if Boone wants the same. I would think so. A man cannot spend as much time as he does at a children’s hospital bringing happiness to other people’s kids to not want children of his own.
I really shouldn’t be thinking like this because no matter what Sophie says about love, Boone hasn’t said it to me. All I can do is hope to maintain what we have right now and keep my fingers crossed that I’m lucky in love for the future.
Eventually, I settle down at a table with Kiera and Danica, two of the Titans women I met after that first game. Sophie leaves me in their care to continue with her hostess duties, and upon their inquiry, I catch them up on Aiden’s condition. One comforting point of connection between me and Kiera is that she’s an oncology nurse and understands better than anyone the precarious nature of Aiden’s condition and the treatment he’s receiving. While the reward of a cure is great, the risks you have to battle before reaching it are perilous.
We spend most of the time though with them prodding me about Boone and the nature of our relationship. They think the entire story is super romantic and they, in turn, fill me in on how they started dating Camden and Bain. It’s the tiniest taste of what it would be like to have girlfriends to gab with.
Two hands come down on my shoulders.
Large, strong and familiar.
I tip my head back and see Boone hovering over me. “Come on,” he says, cutting a glance at Kiera and Danica and offering them a quick wink. “I’d like some actual alone time with you.”
“Quite the romantic,” Kiera quips.