Page 90 of Let You Love Me

My face burns with the memory, and Gabby must notice because she bounces in her seat and says, “Spill, right now.”

I shake my head, wondering how I can accurately sum up my feelings for Teagan and everything that happened the other night into words. “I don’t know, Gabs. It’s like he’s . . .perfect.” I glance at her, my throat aching from the truth in my words. “He’s seriously everything. I had basically come to terms with the fact that I’d be single until Sophie was in high school because who would want to be hemmed down so young with a child? But he’s messing with my head, making me rethink everything.”

“Like what? That someone might actuallywantyou?” Gabby stares at my profile while I gnaw on my lip.

“For one thing,yeah.”

She scoffs. “Lane, I’ve told you that about a thousand times. You’re fuckingamazing.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Okay, but it’s an entirely different thing having your friends and family tell you that versus an insanely sexy man.”Damn, is he sexy.“For another,he’s making me think that maybe not all athletes are created equal. That maybe you can dedicate most of yourself to your passion but still have time for other things.”

“Of course you can.” Gabby reaches out and tucks a wavy lock of hair behind my ear. “Just like you can devote yourself to Sophie, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make room for something or someone else. Chance was just a dick, Lane.”

I let her swear go with a grimace and swallow through the ache in my throat.

She’s right; I know she’s right, but . . .

“Did he kiss you?” Gabby asks when it’s clear I’ve clammed up.

I exhale. “No.” I shake my head, reliving those tense moments at the lake in my mind. “But I wanted him to. Ireallywanted him to. He came up to the lake house, and Gabs . . .” I turn to her. “He brought me and Soph dinner. It was just boxed mac and cheese he rushed to make before he came, but it was so freaking sweet, I swear. And then he played with Sophie for next to an hour, stringing bracelets together with her while I spoke with the contractor. He unloaded all our stuff from the car and set up her bed while I helped her change and brushed her teeth. All without asking.Andhe calls Soph ‘Sweet Sophie,’ and I swear it hooks my heart every single time.”

Gabby’s smile spreads, a mischievous glint to her eye.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head. “It’s just that boy has itbad, Lane. He issogone over you. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it, to be honest. I wish I could’ve been there the day he met you in the park because I’m betting he let some serious sparks fly. He’s making a damn good case for love at first sight.”

I scoff.Love at first sight. Sounds like a fairy tale. “You can’t be serious.”

“Even you have to admit, the boy sounds smitten.”

A flutter of nerves awakens inside my chest like a flock of trapped birds.

“And then?” she asks, interrupting my thoughts. “That can’t be it.”

My cheeks flush, knowing what Gabby will think of the rest. “Then I had some wine.” Gabby’s eyes round. “I know,” I say quickly in my defense. “I don’t often drink, but I was at the lake and excited about the house and the prospect of moving in soon, and I wanted to celebrate.”

“With Teagan.” She wiggles her brows.

“I didn’t even know he was coming until last minute.” I scowl as Gabby takes a monstrous bite of her pretzel; eyes locked on me like she’s watching her favorite scene in a movie unfold.

I stifle the rise of nerves and check Sophie’s position before I continue. “Once Sophie was in bed, I opened the wine, and we took it out to the dock where we looked at the stars.” I ignore the look she shoots me. “We talked for a bit, and then,” I swallow and blurt out: “wewentskinnydipping.”

Gabby chokes on a bite of pretzel, wheezing as she pounds her chest.

My eyes widen. For a moment, I imagine having to perform the Heimlich right here in front of all these children and the giant rubber whale when she finally coughs it up.

Wheezing, she presses a palm to her chest. “I’m sorry, did you just say that you, Lane Turner, went skinny dipping with that hunk of a man?”

I purse my lips, glancing away from her to watch Sophie climb a rubber crab with massive claws. “Yes.”

“Holy shit.” She blinks. “Was his body as incredible as I imagine it to be?”

I flush, struck with an image of a nude Teagan standing on the dock, and my body heats so entirely, I’m forced to close my eyes, to try to breathe through the fire in my veins.

Beside me, Gabby barks out a laugh. “That good, huh?”

I groan and turn to her. “He was so perfect, it’s unfair.”