Page 140 of Play For Me

“I do possess a trophy or too. And multiple ribbons from kicking ass in multiple spelling bees, thank you very much.”

I laugh, feeling so happy I don’t quite know what to do with myself.

When I yawn again, he presses his lips close to my ear. “You can fall asleep if you want to,” he murmurs. “I can carry you inside later.”

“If you’re trying to remind me how big and strong you are in the hopes of getting lucky, don’t worry. I’m a sure thing.”

He barks out a laugh, loud and deep, from his chest. I think it’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh like that since before everything went wrong. I snuggle into him, making a happy sound.

“Did you know that your name means peace?”

He stills behind me. “It does?”

I turn a little so I can see his face over my shoulder. “You never looked it up?”

He shakes his head, a weird expression on his face. “I always hated my name,” he admits. “I’m named after my grandfather—not Red, my dad’s dad.” He shrugs. “My dad never stopped telling me that I wasn’t living up to my namesake.”

I’m going to seriously kick his dad in the balls if I ever see him again.

“Didyoulook it up?” he asks.

I give him a sheepish smile. “I mean, maybe. It’s not like I was obsessing about you before you finally gave in and slept with me.”

He laughs again. “Ifinally gave in?”

“Hey, I totally kissed you first.”

“Yeah, and if you’ll recall, I didn’t need a lot of convincing.”

“Anyhow,” I say, mock-exasperated. “I was trying to tell you that I think it’s a very appropriate name for you. You make my life much more peaceful.”

His face softens as he gazes down at me. “You have no idea, do you? How much you get to me.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yeah, Cecelia. It’s a very good thing.” He smooths my hair back from my face and when he speaks, his voice sounds a little thick.

“What about your name? What does Cecelia mean?”

I snort. “Blindness.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup. Cecelia means blind or blindness.”

“I take it that’s not the reason your mother chose it.”

“My dad named me, actually,” I say. “When Will was born, my parents let Wyatt name him, and he gave him a W name to match. Then with Silas, they picked an S name to match my mom. I got the C name to go with Cash.” I roll my eyes at him. “Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians.”

Sol laughs. “Well, that tracks.”

He’s quiet for a while after that, for so long that I do start to doze off in his arms. When he speaks again, it’s soft enough not to jolt me.

“Your mom and dad were really nice to me today.” His voice is even thicker now. “I kind of figured they must hate me.”

“I wouldn’t let them hate you,” I say firmly. “I was upset about what happened, Sol, but I never hated you for it. I knew you were going through something.”

His laugh is shaky. “Your mom hugged me when she saw me. And your dad hugged me like, four times.”