Decidedly With Love

by Stina Lindenblatt

  It was the kiss itself. None of the kisses I’d experienced over the years had ever felt the way they did with Emma.

  Had they affected her too? Damn straight they had. And no, I wasn’t saying that because I was a smug bastard who thought highly of his ability to kiss women. Something deep in my soul had told me she needed me as much as I needed her. I’d never felt that way before about anyone.

  And it fucking freaked me out.

  But you know what else freaked me out?

  The thought that I could lose her.

  Some sense was finally knocked into me while I was waiting for Emma to return to the table and I remembered her words from Napa:

  If the girl loves you, she will be willing to move with you, or you two will work something out so you’re together during the off-season. But either way, you can’t give up on love because you’re scared of losing the person like you lost your parents and your best friend.

  So what was the problem?

  She had talked to Wes a few hours ago. I hadn’t spoken to her yet, but he let me know what went down when he’d admitted the truth to her.

  And it didn’t look good for me.

  Between the omission of information about Wes owning the building and me lying to Granny, I was fucked. Big-time.

  On top of that, she believed I had given up on love. So I had to prove to her that she was wrong.

  I hadn’t given up on love—I loved her.

  I only hoped Granny and her cronies were right—that Emma loved me. And I hoped that she’d be willing to make things work between us even if I was traded at some point.

  The question was: how was I going to prove to her that I loved her?

  When girls needed advice about love, they called up their best friends. But guys didn’t do that.

  So I did the second best thing.…

  Scanning the restaurant, I spotted the four people I needed to talk to. Well, more like two. Josh and Trent kind of came as part of the package deal.

  I joined them in the quiet booth in the corner. The booth had been my idea when I’d booked the reservations. It would make it easier to talk.

  What I hadn’t counted on was it also gave Josh and Trent the opportunity to snuggle with their wife and fiancée.

  Which was the kick-in-the-balls reminder I didn’t need that I had royally screwed up with Emma. Because if I hadn’t, she would be cuddled up to my side as we checked out the menu.

  After we ordered our meal, I got right to it. “I’m in love with Emma, but I fucked up big-time and need to figure out a way to let her know that I love her. Any ideas?”

  Both Trent and Josh gave me the man’s version of a sympathetic look. The women were a different story. They exchanged glances then cracked up laughing.

  Not very reassuring.

  “What’s so funny?” I grumbled.

  “What they’re trying to say,” Josh said, “is that we’re going to make you figure it out yourself.”

  “Just like Kelsey and I made Josh figure things out on his own when it came to Holly,” Trent said. “We gave him a little nudge in the right direction. That’s all.”

  “A very little nudge,” Kelsey said, her expression giving away that she was struggling not to laugh again.

  “Hey, I could use that nudge,” I said.

  Holly shook her head. “You don’t need one. You’re well ahead of where Josh was.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek; he kissed the top of her head.

  Once upon a time I would have rolled my eyes at their little romantic gestures.

  Now, it was the necessary shove for me to realize what I needed to do to show Emma how much I loved her. After everything that had happened to her, it would take more than a grand gesture to get her to trust me in a way she had never trusted anyone before. But it would take time to win her trust, and I needed to do whatever I could to gain that time.

  Except I couldn’t do it alone.

  There was a proverb that said it took a village to raise a child.

  I might not be trying to raise a child…but I did have a village to help me win the woman I could see myself, one day, having a child with.

  37

  Emma

  Monday morning, I walked to work, going through the list of things in my head that I needed to do during the day—and happy that it didn’t include preparing to relocate the store.

  That’s right. Wes had barely stepped out of the store yesterday before I rushed after him to tell him I would be staying where I was. And it wasn’t because the lease was cheaper and because I wouldn’t have to relocate. With the way all the businesses in the building had pitched in to make Thursday’s fundraiser a success, I realized I didn’t wish to leave our little community.

  A small vase, with a white ribbon tied around it, sat in front of the store door. A couple of sprigs of lavender—the herb of love—were perched inside. There was no card saying who had sent it.

  So I did what anyone who received a mysterious bouquet would do…I turned around and scanned the street. A few pedestrians were strolling along the sidewalk while a couple of cars drove past, but that was it. Nothing to hint who had left the vase.

  Maybe I had a secret admirer.

  I sniffed the flowers and smiled. No one had ever given me flowers before.

  Late Tuesday afternoon, I stepped out of my office for a few minutes to cover for Lisa while she went on her break.

  An oversized envelope with my name on it was sitting on the counter. I opened it to find a folded parchment resembling the Marauders Map from Harry Potter. But instead of a drawing of Hogwarts, the building on the front was the one where I worked, including the courtyard in the middle. I laughed at the footsteps drawn on the map. From the looks of it, Hannah was with Wes in his office. No idea what that was about.

  Liam, Kelsey, Trent, Holly, and Josh were in The Unicorn.

  Fanny and her cohorts were standing by the counter of my store—no doubt having some of my cookies.

  I was standing in the middle of my fountain.

  And Travis was right behind me.

  Even though I knew he wasn’t there—because I wasn’t standing in the fountain—I spun around.

  Nope, just as I thought.

  Grinning, I sent him a text: Thank you for the map. I love it.

  It didn’t mean anything other than he still wished to be friends. The only problem was I wasn’t sure I could be friends.

  Not now.

  Not until I was over him.

  Wednesday morning, I opened my apartment door, ready to go to work, and discovered a small gift bag hanging from the doorknob.

  I removed it and opened the bag. Inside was a key chain. But it wasn’t the key attached to it that got me excited. It was what was on the gift that had me gasping softly. Under the clear dome was the picture of a glowing, almost ghost-like doe and the word “Always.”

  It was based on one of my favorite quotes from the final Harry Potter book.

  Like with the flowers on Monday, there was nothing to indicate who it was from, but it didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

  It also didn’t take a genius to guess the reason behind it.

  I know your grandmother told you I’m not used to getting gifts, I told Travis via text, but that doesn’t mean you have to send me any.

  Then I sent him another one. I’m a big girl now, not a kid. You can stop sending them.

  Please stop. Because each time you leave one, it breaks my heart some more.

  He replied a minute later as I was switching my keys to the new key chain. Because as much as I wanted him to quit sending me gifts, that didn’t mean I was tossing this one.

  Travis: I’m happy to send you gifts. You deserve every single one.

  Me: How about we leave that for the man who falls in love with me?

  He didn’t respond to my text.

  The next morning there were no more gifts.

  Nor were there any in the afternoon.

  I kept telling myself that wa
s a good thing.

  Eventually my heart would finally believe it was true.

  Hopefully.

  Possibly.

  Maybe.

  38

  Emma

  “I can’t believe how many people are here,” I said to Hannah, surveying the audience of the sold-out show. Ninety-five percent were women.

  Over two hundred horny women—if their catcalls were anything to go by.

  And that was before they even saw the hockey players, who were backstage with Holly, preparing to go on.

  I hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Travis. Just as I was about to check on him and the other players earlier, Fanny told me there was an emergency she needed my help with.

  The emergency? She needed me to open a jar of pickles she had smuggled in.

  And then when I tried to go backstage, Holly told me it was off-limits to everyone except for her and the dancers.

  Had I even seen Travis since he crashed my date?

  No—he had been too busy preparing for tonight. So other than the occasional text, I hadn’t heard from him. And the last one I received was yesterday when I told him he could stop sending me gifts.

  But that was okay. My heart needed to start getting used to the idea of not seeing him anymore. After tonight, I would go cold turkey.

  “I didn’t doubt it for a second,” Hannah said. “Who doesn’t love to support a fundraiser for a worthy cause?”

  I laughed. “You mean who doesn’t want to see nine hot hockey players take off most of their clothes?”

  She barked a laugh. “That too.”

  Was the staff at the youth center happy about how well things were going with the event?

  Why don’t you ask them? They were sitting at the table next to the one with eight silver and gold helium balloons floating above the guest of Honor’s seat. Today was Fanny’s eightieth birthday.

  Fanny, Abigail, and Hazel weren’t the only ones at the table. Several other eighty-year-old women were also helping her celebrate her big day.

  And in case you were wondering who was guilty for the loudest catcalls—look no further than their table.

  I glanced at the bar where Liam and Wes were sitting, beers in hand.

  “There’s a smorgasbord of horny women in this room,” Hannah said, her gaze also directed at the bar, “and those two are sitting over there. Alone.” She shook her head as if trying to fathom why they weren’t attempting to score with some of the women.

  “They’re here to support Travis and Josh, not to get laid.”

  Hannah shrugged.

  “Why? Are you thinking about getting laid by a certain dark-haired male?” I gave a small nod toward Wes.

  She snorted. “He isn’t my type.”

  Nor was Tony apparently. That relationship didn’t go beyond the one date. Hannah never told me what happened, but I got the impression the decision to remain friends was mutual.

  My phone pinged with a message from Holly. Okay. They’re ready.

  My heart rate picked up. Not because I was about to see nine oiled up hockey players shaking their asses onstage. And it wasn’t because I was seeing Travis for the first time in five days. All right—that might have had something to do with it. The increased heart rate and sweaty palms were mostly because I was the one introducing the show and thanking everyone for coming.

  I showed Hannah the text.

  She grinned. “Good luck.”

  From me to Holly: Thanks. Here we go. Showtime! I released a long slow breath and walked onstage to the thundering applause.

  “Hi, everyone,” I said into the mic, and waited a moment for the audience to settle down enough to hear me. “And thank you for coming to tonight’s show.” That was met by another round of applause—and women bouncing in their seats, eager for the show to begin. “On behalf of the Bell Youth Center, thank you for your support of the fundraiser and the kids that they help every day. So far with the ticket sales alone, we have raised almost ten thousand dollars. This will go to help the center’s programs that assist high-risk kids, giving them a chance to live to their full potential.” The cheers and whistles from the audience made me smile.

  “The silent auction will be open until nine p.m.,” I said once the cheering had quieted a notch, “and then we’ll announce the winners.” I paused to let that sink in. “And now the moment you’ve been waiting for. How about we give a big welcome to the men of the San Francisco Rock?”

  If I thought the cheers from before had been loud, that was nothing compared to now. And the men hadn’t even stepped onstage yet.

  The pub lights dimmed, the spotlights kicked on, and the music started playing. A beat later, nine hot men—wearing dark gray suits, white shirts, and different colored ties—strolled onto the stage, moving in time to the music. I was positive the polar bears in the Arctic could hear the applause.

  The wives of the five married players were laughing and cheering as loudly as everyone else. And when their husbands blew them kisses, I swear half the women in the room swooned.

  The men started strutting around the stage, teasing the women, thrusting their hips. And sex-on-a-hockey-stick, those pants fit their asses just right.

  All those hours of training had paid off. Watching them, you wouldn’t know they weren’t professional dancers. Holly had truly been a miracle worker. Although from the way the women responded, it wouldn’t have made a difference if the players were only stumbling about on the stage. Their presence in those suits was enough to cause spontaneous orgasms.

  Without meaning to, I ran the tip of my tongue along my lower lip at the sight of Travis. If I had to be honest, he was the hottest one up there. All right—I might be slightly biased. Especially since I knew exactly what was under his suit…something the other women in the crowd wouldn’t witness tonight.

  At least I hoped no one would witness what was under his briefs. My stomach churned at the thought of one of these women getting to do just that. I pushed it aside. Travis wasn’t mine and I had no say as to what he did or whom he went out with.

  Repeating that in my head a few times, I cheered the guys on, rivaling Fanny and her friends when it came to the noise.

  The men slowly removed their jackets while seducing the women with their eyes. I whistled my appreciation—as did quite a few other women. Without missing a beat, the players flung their jackets to the back of the stage.

  Next off came the ties, while the men continued to move in near perfect synchronization. The single guys tossed them into the crowd—with the exception of Travis. The five married players strutted to their wives. I was too busy watching what they were doing that I didn’t notice Travis had crossed the stage to where I was standing at the side.

  He jumped down in front of me, causing me to startle. Then he looped the tie around my neck and slid the silky fabric from side-to-side. His hips also moved the same way in time to the music. It was all very sensual and my girlie parts got hopeful.

  “There’s something in my left pant pocket for you,” he said, loud enough for me to hear over the music and appreciative audience—but not loud enough for said audience to also hear him.

  At his nod, I reached in and removed a piece of paper. This, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by the nearby women. As Travis hopped back onstage, they hooted and hollered—some no doubt believing I’d taken the moment to cop a feel.

  My gaze shot to Holly, who was grinning at me. Read it, she mouthed.

  While the guys were swaying their hips onstage, unbuttoning their shirts, I unfolded the paper. You’re the best part of my day.

  With my heart stunned into shock, my gaze snapped up to Travis. He winked at me.

  The women continued to go wild as the men’s smooth, muscular chests were revealed inch-by-inch. Maybe we should’ve hired the fire department to help us with the event. I had a feeling a few women would be bursting into flames soon at the sight of all those mouthwatering chests and abs.

  The shirts were tugged out of the wai
stbands of the pants. With their hips thrusting to the beat of the music, the men slid their shirts off their shoulders and down their arms.

  Once they had them off, they tossed the shirts into the crowd.

  All except for Travis.

  He aimed it at me.

  Laughing, I caught it and folded it over my arm with his tie.

  I glanced at Hannah to see if she was enjoying the show—or if she was watching Wes. She grinned at me and mouthed something I couldn’t make out. She pointed to her chest and then to the shirt in my arms. She mouthed the mysterious words again.

  I looked at the shirt and noticed something was hidden in the pocket. I slipped my fingers in and removed another piece of paper.

  You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

  My poor heart didn’t stand a chance after that. It melted like ice cream left in the heat.

  Travis wasn’t looking at me when my gaze returned to the stage. He and the other players were still dancing. Some women were fanning themselves, ready to pass out from all the hot testosterone onstage. Others were laughing and blushing at the guys’ antics.

  The men moved into a V formation, with Travis at the front. And then in a swift move, they ripped off their trousers and tossed them into the crowd.

  Instead of G-strings, they were wearing basketball shorts. But that didn’t stop the audience from jumping to their feet while cheering and applauding—me included.

  They had done it. Travis and his teammates had nailed their routine.

  They waved at everyone in thanks and moved to the back of the stage, waiting for me to make the next announcement.

  But before I got as far as the steps, Fanny was up there…with her own mic. I held back, wondering what she was up to. Travis had never told me that Fanny would be addressing the audience.

  “Wow, that was quite the performance, wasn’t it ladies?” she said, fanning herself. “Thank you, boys, for making me feel twenty again. I believe my ovaries just kick-started themselves after that.”