Dare To Love Series: Dreaming Up a Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Catherine Gayle Page B
Authors: Catherine Gayle
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fingers gently untangling the mess of my hair, and suddenly I couldn’t take a full breath. “It wasn’t a mistake,” he said. “Not as far as I’m concerned. I want to see where this takes us.”
I fought the urge to lean back against him. Stirred the sauce to busy myself.
“I’m scared, too,” Jackson said. “Of what could happen if it doesn’t work. But I think it will. I think we both love each other enough that we’ll be okay, no matter what happens between us.”
“You love me?” I whispered.
“You know I do.”
I did, but I’d never imagined he could love me the way I loved him. The way he loved me was different. It had to be. Wrapping my head around what he said was proving to be more difficult and more intense than I’d ever imagined, even though it was all I wanted and more. I was an emotional wreck. And that part was definitely not solely due to all the alcohol I’d had last night.
I’d never believed in fairy tales; I’d always believed in hard work and persistence. That was how I’d clawed my way to the top of my sport. It was how Jackson had managed to become a professional hockey player even though all the scouts had overlooked him and he hadn’t been drafted. It was how he’d gotten out of Livingston, and it was how I intended to get out, too, or at least to stay out now that I was here.
But now my life was starting to resemble a fairy tale. I only hoped it would have a Disney-esque ending instead of something along the lines of how the Grimm Brothers told their stories.
“I have to tell you something you’re not going to want to hear,” Jackson said, and I immediately tensed.
“Something bigger than telling me you love me?” My effort at keeping my tone light wasn’t very effective.
“You were quiet so long I figured you weren’t ready to hear it. So there’s something else I need to tell you.”
I sighed, bracing myself for whatever would come next. “What’s that?”
“Barnes wants to throw a party to welcome you to town. A bunch of the guys’ll be there, with their wives and girlfriends.”
“For me?” If the party was for me, I couldn’t exactly skip out on it. “How many is a bunch?”
“Probably everyone on the team except LeBlanc. Don’t kill me.”
“I won’t kill you.” I might hold a grudge, though. “Did you at least try to talk him out of it? Or talk him down to just a few of the guys on the team instead of everyone?”
“He announced it to the whole team before he said a word to me about it. It’ll be a big end-of-the-season bash, so it’s not just about you.”
“But I still have to go.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I talk about you all the time. The boys want to get to know you.”
“When is this party going to be?” I needed time to prepare myself for more socializing.
“Since we have a few days off in a row in the middle of the week, Wednesday.”
That wasn’t much time, especially considering I’d already had to suffer through the Thunder party last night with no warning. So maybe it wasn’t such a fairy-tale life after all. Damn it.
Seven
Jackson
Since Pepper was going to have to go to this party even though she would rather do anything else, I’d been fully aware there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d be able to work herself up to go to the game that night. She needed time to decompress and get her head on straight for the next round of socializing she’d have to suffer through. She loved people, but being around too many of them too often was all it took to drain the life right out of her. I understood that much about her, even if I wasn’t anywhere close to the same, so I didn’t give her a hard time about it.
She’d said she’d watch us on my big screen, so I knew she’d seen me play what was essentially the best game of my pro career, as far as I was concerned. I’d scored a power-play goal, gotten an assist on what ended up being the game-winning goal, and I’d even
I fought the urge to lean back against him. Stirred the sauce to busy myself.
“I’m scared, too,” Jackson said. “Of what could happen if it doesn’t work. But I think it will. I think we both love each other enough that we’ll be okay, no matter what happens between us.”
“You love me?” I whispered.
“You know I do.”
I did, but I’d never imagined he could love me the way I loved him. The way he loved me was different. It had to be. Wrapping my head around what he said was proving to be more difficult and more intense than I’d ever imagined, even though it was all I wanted and more. I was an emotional wreck. And that part was definitely not solely due to all the alcohol I’d had last night.
I’d never believed in fairy tales; I’d always believed in hard work and persistence. That was how I’d clawed my way to the top of my sport. It was how Jackson had managed to become a professional hockey player even though all the scouts had overlooked him and he hadn’t been drafted. It was how he’d gotten out of Livingston, and it was how I intended to get out, too, or at least to stay out now that I was here.
But now my life was starting to resemble a fairy tale. I only hoped it would have a Disney-esque ending instead of something along the lines of how the Grimm Brothers told their stories.
“I have to tell you something you’re not going to want to hear,” Jackson said, and I immediately tensed.
“Something bigger than telling me you love me?” My effort at keeping my tone light wasn’t very effective.
“You were quiet so long I figured you weren’t ready to hear it. So there’s something else I need to tell you.”
I sighed, bracing myself for whatever would come next. “What’s that?”
“Barnes wants to throw a party to welcome you to town. A bunch of the guys’ll be there, with their wives and girlfriends.”
“For me?” If the party was for me, I couldn’t exactly skip out on it. “How many is a bunch?”
“Probably everyone on the team except LeBlanc. Don’t kill me.”
“I won’t kill you.” I might hold a grudge, though. “Did you at least try to talk him out of it? Or talk him down to just a few of the guys on the team instead of everyone?”
“He announced it to the whole team before he said a word to me about it. It’ll be a big end-of-the-season bash, so it’s not just about you.”
“But I still have to go.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I talk about you all the time. The boys want to get to know you.”
“When is this party going to be?” I needed time to prepare myself for more socializing.
“Since we have a few days off in a row in the middle of the week, Wednesday.”
That wasn’t much time, especially considering I’d already had to suffer through the Thunder party last night with no warning. So maybe it wasn’t such a fairy-tale life after all. Damn it.
Seven
Jackson
Since Pepper was going to have to go to this party even though she would rather do anything else, I’d been fully aware there wasn’t a chance in hell she’d be able to work herself up to go to the game that night. She needed time to decompress and get her head on straight for the next round of socializing she’d have to suffer through. She loved people, but being around too many of them too often was all it took to drain the life right out of her. I understood that much about her, even if I wasn’t anywhere close to the same, so I didn’t give her a hard time about it.
She’d said she’d watch us on my big screen, so I knew she’d seen me play what was essentially the best game of my pro career, as far as I was concerned. I’d scored a power-play goal, gotten an assist on what ended up being the game-winning goal, and I’d even
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