Page 58 of Slapshot Summer
Josh reined in his annoyance with the pregnant woman.She’d been invited, and she’d been here first;hewas the one crashing the party.
Lexi shook her head, a smile hitching a corner of her mouth he wanted to lean in and kiss.Lick.Suck.Unaware of his wayward thoughts, she filled the vase with water and began arranging the flowers.
This.A domestic vignette.Josh had had a glimpse of what having Lexi in his world could be like—though he pictured it in a space much larger than this one—and he craved that comfortable home life with her.Cravedher.Despite all the warning signals—his mom’s failed relationship, his brother’s divorce—he wanted a future with Lexi.More importantly, he didn’t want a futurewithouther.
When Josh had announced his plan to fly to Denver to his mother and brother, Brad had told him he was out of his fucking mind.“Why would you want to tie yourself down to one woman when you can switch them up all the time?”Josh’s answer?He didn’t want women he could “switch up.”He didn’t want the smorgasbord his brother fantasized about.He didn’t want anyone but Lexi.
Later, his mother had pulled him aside with concern lining her features.“I get it, Mom,” he’d said.“You loved someone once, and that didn’t turn out so well.He abandoned us.But thanks to the way you brought us up, I’m not that guy, and I don’t think Lexi’s wired that way either.Hell, she was loyal to a guy who didn’t care about her—forthreeyears.And even if we’re not right for each other, how will I know unless I take a chance?Playing it safe means losing her, and I can’t live with that.”
She’d placed her hand on his arm.“You’re right, Josh.You’re not your father, and I shouldn’t let his and my past cloud my judgment aboutyourfuture.Just because he and I failed doesn’t mean you’re bound to repeat our mistakes.This isyourlife.So whatever you decide, wherever your heart takes you, you go live yourbest version of it.”
“You had a question for me?”Lexi prompted, pulling him from the echoes of that conversation.
He leaned a hip against her cracked counter and crossed his arms over his chest protectively.His stomach was a riot of acid and spiky things.“I do.I got another opportunity, and I can’t decide between that one and Russia.”
Her hands stilled, and her eyes went wide.“I thought Russia was done, that you were on your way.Like,tonight.”
“No.I bought some more time so I could get your input.”
Her eyes widened farther, her shock evident.“Mine?”
He nodded.“Let me tell you about the other offer.”He filled her in on the chance to sign as a backup for the Dunehawks.
“I thought you didn’t want to be a backup.”
“It’s not the worst thing in the world—as long as I can talk you into moving to Phoenix with me.”
She dropped the flowers.“What?We’ve known each other for ten days!”
“So move in with me, and we’ll get to know each other a whole hell of a lot better.”
“That’s crazy talk!”
“Like I said before, I go a little crazy whenever I’m around you.”
Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and her gaze darted to the ceiling, the counter, back to the ceiling.Let her process.Don’t push.
Finally, she turned a smirk on him.“Does that mean that the moment you’renotaround me and your sanity returns, you’ll say, ‘Oh no!What have I done?’”
“I’ve given that a lot of thought these last few days.Not a chance.”
“But … I don’t understand.”
She wasn’t saying no, and he latched on to that glimmer of hope like a drowning man.“I’ve barely slept since we left each other at the airport.I was trying to come up with ways I could have a starter roleandyou.”He shrugged, a deceptively casual gesture that bled off some of his anxiousness.“I came to the conclusion I couldn’t have both.As a backup, I have a shot at the starting role.But there’s no shot at you if I move to Russia, and having you means more to me than being the number one.”
Agonizing moments stretched between them.
She looked down at the unfinished flower arrangement.“I don’t know what to say.”
“I have a few suggestions.”
She raised her gaze to his once more.“What about my job?I just submitted an article and a dozen applications.”
“Don’t copywriters have the freedom to write from anywhere?”
“Well, yes, sometimes.But …”
“If you need to travel, we’ll figure it out.Phoenix is central to a lot of destinations.”
