I truly believed Garrett was the son my dad never had and always wanted.
“Of course I’m watching you. Wish you were still here, though, but it seems like a good fit. Guys good?”
“Yeah.” Garrett cleared his throat and then swiped his mouth over his with a napkin. “Almost all of them are great. They treated me as one of their own as soon as I got there, which was good. Doesn’t always work that way and with their goalie injured and them not going to their back-up permanently, that can be tricky. But so far, there’s only been one or two guys I don’t really like. Most of them have made me feel right at home.”
“Happy you have that. Change can be hard.” He tore off a chunk of his garlic bread and waved it back and forth between Garrett and me. “Speaking of, what’s the plan for you two?”
“Dan—” Mom started.
“Simple question.”
Ah. So the understanding Dad shtick was just that. A ruse to lure us into comfort. This was the protective dad Garrett had been so worried about. Probably why when I glanced at him, he was looking at me like he had a gun to his head, stunned into silence.
“I’ll be there for two weeks.” I took a sip of my water, eyeing my mom’s wineglass. If there was ever a time I could use a drink, this was it. “I want to get a feel for the area, call some obstetricians or midwives to see if I can get in for consults. Shawna’s already said I can work remotely as often as I need. So…” I shrugged and flashed a nervous smile to Garrett. We hadn’t actually talked about this part, but he’d definitely indicated he’d be okay with it. “After that, I figure I’ll come back, pack, get this place ready to sell, and then… move.”
“Move?” Garrett asked, and the one word sounded like it’d been dragged over gravel it was so rough.
“I mean, yeah.” I shrugged, settled my hands in my lap and wiped them down my thighs. “I figured, well, that’d be best. For all of us.”
Garrett speared me with a look that ignited my core. Told me all in a look exactly how much he’d show me he wanted that if we were more settled, if my parents weren’t in the room.
Based on the look on my mom’s face as she rolled her lips together and flashed me wide, amused eyes, she totally read exactly what Garrett wasn’t saying.
“That’s good,” she said, and picked at her salad. “That’s wonderful for you two. A baby should have both his parents nearby.”
“Let us know what you need help with,” Dad said, and took a bite of food.
That was it. Plans made. Parent approved.
And Garrett? He was still looking at me like there was no one else in the room—no, in the universe.
I was jostled softly and opened my eyes.
“Hey,” I whispered, blinking to clear away the haze of sleep.
Garrett was leaning over me, one arm beneath my shoulders, moving me to sitting. “It’s late, and your parents are taking off.”
“Oh.” Oh. I must have passed out while the guys were watching TV. “I’m so sorry,” I said, jumping off the couch. The quick move made the room spin and Garrett held me until I was steady.
“It’s okay,” my mom said in that soft, compassionate voice of hers and wrapped me in a hug. Softer this time. Tears sparked my eyes. Other than my few years in England, I’d never gone more than a week or two without seeing my parents.
“Call us when you’re there. Let me know how things are going but most of all, take care of yourself and my grandbaby, okay?” She leaned back and pressed her hand to my cheek. “I love you, Lizzie-Lou. Be safe.” She leaned in and squeezed me again, and whispered, “He loves you. You love him. Everything else will work itself out.”
“Thanks.”
My dad’s goodbyes were similar, minus the tears in his eyes, and then his hand brushed against my stomach. I wasn’t convinced I was showing, but my stomach bloated at night. Mostly I looked like I ate way too much LaVallerta. Which really, not a problem.
“Pictures. Keep us updated on everything, right?”
“I will.” I nodded, and he went blurry through my tears.
Garrett stepped up beside me and shook his hand. Surprise widened his eyes as my dad took that handshake and yanked him forward into a man hug. “Take care of her.”
“Always,” he promised, his gaze sliding to me.
The seriousness in those dark brown eyes of his warmed me from the tips of my toes straight to my scalp.
He would.
Garrett would take care of me.
We walked my parents to the door, waited while they tugged on coats and slid into shoes and then there was another quick round of hugs, more tears, and a few exasperated looks from the men. Once they were gone, Garrett wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me tight to him.
“You’ll be good.”
“I know.”
“You’re planning on moving to Vegas.”
He said it like I hadn’t already mentioned it. Like I hadn’t already talked about my plans to start my own business out there, even before I knew about the baby.
Maybe hearing me say it to my parents made it more of a reality.
“Yeah. Of course that’s what I wanted.”
His head dipped and his lips pressed to my forehead as he wrapped me in a hug. It wasn’t exactly the reaction I hoped for, or what his look said he wanted to do earlier. “I want that too. Always want you with me.”
He let me go when I thought he’d push for more, turning out the lights as he guided us down the hall.
He stopped at his bedroom and opened his door. He wanted slow. I could give him that if he needed it, but he needed to know that wasn’t what I needed.
I settled my hand on his chest. Now was the time. To tell him everything I thought, everything I felt and hadn’t had the courage to say.
He loved me.
Because of that, I needed to swallow my own fear and be honest with him. “That night… the last time we were together?”
His eyes closed and his head fell forward, pressing his forehead against mine. “You don’t have to—”
I didn’t need to. I wanted to tell him all the things I’d held back. There was no reason for any of it, not anymore.
“I should have said it back. I should have told you I loved you.”
He blinked. “Lizzie—”
“You don’t have to say anything. But I want you to know that. I get why you want to go slow and I get why you don’t trust me, but I was willing to move to Vegas because I loved you and had made my choice, Garrett. There are no regrets here.”
Before he opened his eyes, his hands were at my cheeks, thumbs skimming the apples of them.
My body burned with arousal at that first, seductive touch.
“I—”
“I don’t need to hear anymore,” he murmured, and then fused his mouth to mine.
10
Garrett
This was not the slow I intended.
Slow didn’t exist in the realm when I knew what she felt like, what she tasted like.
And hearing those words? How in the hell would I ever remove my mouth from hers when all I wanted to do was slip my tongue down the column of her throat, to her breasts, teasing her nipples with nips of my teeth and licks of my tongue, drawing a trail to her navel and beyond?