“Tucker,” she breathes. “I need to tell you something.”
“No, you don’t.” I silence her by sweeping my tongue into her mouth, making her forget whatever she was about to say.
She presses her chest to mine and curls her fingers around my biceps. We get lost in the moment, instantly forgetting about the fact we’re standing in her father’s kitchen, in his shithole house. I feel her fear shaking through her and want to take away her pain with each kiss. I never thought I could care about anyone as much as I do Sam. And it scares me. This time, she’s the one who could break me. We could break each other.
Our kiss ends with Jim screaming for someone named Savannah. “Savannah, is that you?” he yells from the living room.
Sam stills in my arms, closing her eyes as she lets out the breath of air she was holding. “He does this every time. He gets so drunk he thinks my mom is still alive.” A tear slides down her cheek, and as it does, I wipe it away with my thumb.
“I’m here, Sam.” I kiss the spot on her cheek where the tear once was, making my way down to her jaw, planting soft kisses everywhere. “I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re too good to be true,” Sam whispers, her eyes open and wet with tears. “Sometimes, I think I’ll blink, and you’ll be gone. It freaks me out that I’m starting to need you, Tucker.”
“I need you, too, Sam, and not for the selfish reasons you might think.”
She smiles, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. “I was so afraid to bring you here, but now I’m happy I did. Thank you, Tucker.”
I plant a quick kiss on her lips. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”
She smiles against my lips. “Best decision I’ve ever made.”
Just like that, I know without a doubt that I’m in love with Sam. I still have no idea how it happened. She took me by surprise. But I’m glad she did because I couldn’t imagine spending another second of my life without her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sam
My nipples are like daggers from the chill in the rink. Rubbing my hands together, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get warm.
“Is this your first time here?” Bex, Preston Parker’s girlfriend, asks me.
“Yes,” I say, my teeth chattering.
Bex laughs. “I can tell.” She lifts the scarf on the bench between us and offers it to me. “Here, this should help.”
She’s pretty and blonde, built like an athlete, and close to six feet tall. Bex is relaxed, far too comfortable wearing only a Strick U hockey sweatshirt and jeans. On her other side, her friend, Taylor, looks as though she’s never spent a winter in the city. With two layers of clothing beneath her coat and a scarf wrapped around her mouth, she sits with her gloved hands in her pockets rocking back and forth from the cold.
Bex follows my line of sight. “Taylor is from California. She’s still not used to the cold.”
“She must stay indoors all winter long then.”
“I try,” Taylor mutters through the fabric covering her mouth. “But Bex makes me endure every single game.”
“Please.” Bex chuckles. “You’re here to watch Drake play not to keep me company.”
“Maybe a little bit of both,” Taylor admits, keeping her eyes on the guys playing hockey in front of us. “Drake looks good in his uniform.”
Jemma, Trent’s pregnant girlfriend, taps my thigh to gain my attention. “Trent told me about your first date with Tucker. He really pulled out all the stops, huh?”
It’s kind of awkward having this conversation with Jemma. She had sex with my boyfriend, though apparently not on purpose. Still, it’s a little strange to sit next to one of his former lovers. Being part of his world hasn’t been easy. Tucker is so over-the-top, larger than life, and I’m still trying to figure out how I fit in with everyone.
“Tucker really shocked me,” I admit to Jemma. “I had no idea he could be so romantic.”
Jemma moves her hand to her stomach and smiles as if she’s in pain.
I lean in closer and ask, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She closes her eyes for a second and then opens them again. “I get these weird pains sometimes. Probably just gas or something.”
Bex leans over me to talk to Jemma. “You need me to go get Doc?”
I assume she’s talking about the team doctor. Bex knows everyone in the building from the people who scanned our tickets to the team staff.
Jemma laughs, rubbing her growing belly. “He’s an orthopedic surgeon. I don’t know how much he could do for me. I’m sure it’s nothing. Trent damn near loses his mind any time I have even the slightest discomfort, but there’s nothing comfortable about being pregnant.”