Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79621 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
It sounded like a lot of words I could potentially get very wrong. That scared me. I needed something bigger. Not pricey or flashy, but a gesture he’d appreciate. I came up blank. But his car was in his driveway for the first time in a week, and this was my shot.
I didn’t have time to go into town, and everything was closed anyway.
Plus, it was winter. There were no flowers in the garden, and we weren’t really guys who did flowers, so…what?
I had nothing, but I shrugged on my coat, pausing on the sidewalk in front of my place to shove a beanie on my head when I noticed it was snowing. I glanced over at Dale’s walkway next door and spotted the shovel I used to keep the path clear for him and—boom! It hit me. An idea, not the shovel.
I immediately got to work, double-checking my efforts as I crossed the street.
Good. Very good.
With that, I marched to Bryson’s house and rang the bell. And knocked.
He opened the door, a hesitant but warm expression fixed on his handsome mug. My pulse sputtered to a stop, then soared at the sight of him, looking sophisticated and casually elegant in his usual khakis and button-down shirt. And damn it, I’d never seen a face that looked more like home.
I swallowed hard, willing my heart to stay in my chest.
“You’re here,” I stated like a moron. “Jake’s good, yeah?”
My delivery needed some refining, but Bryson didn’t seem to mind.
“Yes, he was cleared and has been playing amazing hockey. I’m still worried, but I think that’s just me.” He flashed a self-deprecating half smile and motioned for me to come inside.
“No, thanks. I mean…yes, I want to, but I made you something.” I pointed at my rental and pulled at his sleeve. “Come see.”
Bryson cocked his head curiously, stepped onto the porch, and followed me across the street. He wrapped his arms around his body to ward off the evening chill and read the message I’d carved out of snow. “I love you, Bry. ❤Smitty.”
He swiveled to face me, his mouth wide open. “You…”
“Yeah, I do. I love you.”
I shrugged my coat off when he shivered and draped it over his shoulders, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.
“I love you too,” he whispered. “Everyone in Elmwood is going to know by morning.”
“Good. I’m out, Bry. I spent the whole day coming out to the people who matter to me. My friends, my team, my mom. It’s something I wanted to do for a while. I was nervous, but I want to be honest. If this”—I motioned between us—“is something you want to stay on the DL, that’s okay. It can be ours…and Jimmy’s, but don’t worry, he won’t say anything. I’ll erase this before any busybodies start talking or—”
“No.” Bryson tugged at my T-shirt and shook his head, grinning. “There’s no need. I don’t want to hide either. I told Jake and Piper and…they knew, which is funny. I guess I’m a terrible actor. I love you. I do. So much.”
I kissed his nose. “Me too, babe.”
“But I want you to be sure you’re okay with all this. Me, my son, this town, the hockey world. There’s a lot of baggage here, Smitty. You have to be sure about me.”
I glanced up at the sky, blinking snowflakes from my eyelashes, then met his gaze again.
“I’m positive. This isn’t a fling, and you know it as well as I do. We both have baggage. Christ, I might be working through mine for the rest of my life. It feels lighter with you somehow. I came here broken and tired—and my head was filled with shit I couldn’t fix. I don’t feel that way anymore…because of you. I’m not in pain all the time and I’m—fuck, I’m happy. I love my life. I love my job and the new friends I’ve met. I love that every day feels like a new start. But most of all, I love you. And I feel like someone up there must be looking out for me, because how the fuck did someone like me meet someone like you? How do you love me?” I set my hand over his mouth and smiled. “Don’t tell me. I don’t need to know. It can be a mystery. Just let me love you back, Bry. Let me be yours.”
Bryson launched himself into my arms. “Mine. All mine.”
I held on tight and crashed my mouth over his.
Life was about taking chances, but this one was a no-brainer. Some wild twist of fate had brought us together at exactly the right time. We didn’t have a list of things we needed to check off to be happy. I knew how to navigate thin ice and rough patches. I’d done it on my own for years. But we had each other now, and that was more than enough.