Page 123 of Tangled with the Tight End

“I like seeing you in my jersey,” he says. “Will you wear it to a game? When I’m back on the field?”

“I will,” I promise him.

But the words come with a rush of questions: What are we? Where is this heading? How does this work when life goes back to normal?

All of those thoughts evaporate when Declan says, “Come here, Winona,” in his soft, private, late-hours voice. He smiles a playful smile and adds, “Please.”

I don’t even try to resist him. I walk to the couch and bend down, initiating our kiss this time. He cups my face like I’m precious—fragile, even.

And maybe I am.

He definitely has the power to shatter me.

“Humpty Dumpty,” I mutter into his mouth in the middle of our kiss.

“What?” he asks, pulling back.

“Nothing,” I say, placing another soft kiss on his lips and running my hands through his hair.

Humpty Dumpty.

Well, I plan to enjoy my time on the wall.

Chapter 19

Winona

The morning was full of sunlight and hope.

~ Kate Chopin

My eyes open slowly and I snuggle more deeply into the softness of the comforter and the exquisite fluffiness of my pillow. I breathe in and the smells of coffee and Declan fill my senses. I turn my nose into the pillow and inhale. This pillow smells like him. I sigh. A dreamlike image of Declan reaching over to cup my face before he kissed me lazily drifts through my mind.

I snap up, momentarily disoriented. This is not my bed.

Where am I?

One glance around and I have my answer.

I’m at Declan’s.

Last night. The rain. I stayed. And we kissed.

Those kisses.

My smile spreads and I close my eyes, the scene scrolling like a movie. The way he looked at me. How he said my name.

I pull the comforter further up over my lap, shrugging my shoulders upward and smiling a private smile. I’m wearing his jersey. I run my fingers over the number eighty-eight on the front.

Declan kissed me—more than once. I could stay here in bed, savoring the memories, but …

What time is it?

I lift my phone off the chunky cream nightstand.

Nine? It’s nine in the morning. I slept until nine. In Declan’s bed. Guest bed. His guest bed.

Message notifications pop onto my screen. I swipe up.