Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
The way her body shook when she finally let go.
I’ve scored goals, lifted trophies, stood under bright arena lights as glory rained down on me, but none of it comes close to what it felt like to hold her when she came apart in my arms.
There were nights this penthouse felt hollow. Too much glass, too much space, not enough life to fill it. The silence used to envelop me until I drowned it out with music, late-night workouts, noise, and women.
Now that same silence feels like peace as it wraps around us.
For years, I told myself that wanting her wasn’t meant for me. That if I could just stop chasing her, I’d stop needing something I could never have.
But lying here, watching her sleep, I finally get it.
It was never about the chase.
It was about the finding.
The quiet, steady realization that she was always the missing piece of a life I hadn’t figured out how to live yet.
I press a kiss into her hair and take in the faint trace of her perfume as it lingers on the pillow, mingling with the clean scent of my soap and the warmth of her skin. It’s sultry and feminine.
Unmistakably her.
The proof of what we became last night continues to weave itself between us in the tangle of sheets and the hush of dawn.
Home.
That’s what it feels like.
I’ve always had a place to go back to. A family that loves me, a house that’s never empty. But this is different. This is the kind of home that settles under your skin. The kind that doesn’t fade when the door closes behind you.
With Rina beside me, home isn’t a place anymore.
It’s a heartbeat synced with mine.
Her fingers twitch against my ribs and a small smile curves her mouth as her lashes flutter open.
“You’re staring,” she murmurs, the sound raspy with sleep.
“Can you really blame me?”
She blinks, squinting against the light. “You’re awfully chipper for someone who kept me up half the night.”
I grin, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “Funny, I don’t remember you complaining.”
“There was definitely no complaining.”
The admission hangs between us, light and teasing but threaded with something deeper. Her smile is shy and warm all at once as the last remnants of distance between us dissolve completely.
We fall into that quiet space that exists only on mornings after everything changes. It’s one that’s fragile but filled with peace and hope.
Her fingers trace lazy circles across my chest, nails dragging lightly through the hair. Each touch sinks deeper than the last, grounding me until it feels like my whole world has narrowed to the press of her skin against mine.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
“That I don’t want to move ever again.”
Her laugh is small but real, vibrating against me. “You’d get hungry eventually.”
“Then I’d just have to make a meal out of you.”
She lifts her head, eyes meeting mine with amusement and something else. Something open and trusting. “You’d get bored of me.”
“That’s not possible,” I say. “You still don’t get it, do you? It’s been you all along. It just took time for you to believe it too.”
Her expression softens a fraction as she stills. “I didn’t think it was possible to ever let anyone this close.”
I tighten my arm around her and press my lips against her temple. “You don’t have to keep your guard up with me. Not ever.”
“Were you really waiting?”
“Years, Rina.” My thumb strokes the curve of her shoulder. “I’ve been waiting for you for years.”
She leans in and kisses me, her lips brushing mine like a promise before she settles back against my side.
I trace the slope of her shoulder, trying to memorize every detail. The warmth of her skin, the way her breath catches when I touch her, the weight of her hand resting over my heart like she’s anchoring herself there.
She gave me her trust last night.
Not because I asked for it, but because she finally believed it was safe to do so.
And that trust?
I’ll spend every day proving she made the right decision to give it. This is the moment when everything I’ve ever wanted finally settles into something solid and real.
Something that feels like forever.
Outside, morning sunlight burns brighter, glinting off the glass. The world is already moving again.
She relaxes, her whole body loose and unguarded.
The Railers can chase the next win.
I’ve already found mine.
With Rina.
When her fingers tighten around mine, I know that whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.
51
Rina
The first thing that hits me when I step into Lakeshore Sweets isn’t the scent, it’s the familiar sounds of laughter rippling from a table near the window, the clink of mugs, and the faint strains of a playlist Callie probably curated herself. It’s something acoustic that’s both mellow and easy. The air feels like it’s been steeped in comfort, and I love it.