Page 20 of Playboy Husband
We slipped into easy conversation after that, trading stories and teasing each other every now and then.
I found myself leaning in, brushing her knuckles when I gestured, and I watched the tension slowly bleeding out of her shoulders.
My old charm was coming back out to play, but it didn’t feel like an act this time.
It felt real—and it was working on her.
Maisie relaxed enough that she was actually smiling between sips of her whiskey, her eyes lighting up when she teased me. The shift was subtle, but I noticed every bit of it.
“You know, for someone who claims to be terrible with cars, you managed to solve my entire transportation crisis in less than twelve hours,” she said. “That’s pretty impressive.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m resourceful.”
Her lips curved into a skeptical smile, her eyes moving from one of mine to the other. “You’re something, alright.”
I grinned. “Something good?”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t look away. “I’m still deciding.”
My pulse sped up. “That’s fine. Just don’t take too long, okay? I don’t like being kept waiting.”
She laughed, pressing her hand over her mouth like she hadn’t meant to let it escape. I reached across the table without thinking, gently tugging her hand away. Her fingers were warm, so much smaller than mine, but strong.
“Don’t hide that,” I said softly. “I like it.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t yank her hand out of my grip. Her gaze locked with mine, searching, and I swore I felt something click into place.
For a second, all the noise of the lounge faded, the clink of glasses and even the buzz of conversation just suddenly vanishing. In that moment, it was just her and me, the space between us crackling with electricity like a wire had been exposed.
It was the kind of moment that couldn’t be planned or forced and the air itself seemed to buzz with inevitability. Maisie cleared her throat and broke eye contact, but she still didn’t pull her hand back right away. “You’re dangerous when you’re charming.”
I let my thumb brush against her knuckles, the movement slow and deliberate. “I suppose that means it’s a good thing you like danger, isn’t it?”
The flush that spread across her cheeks told me everything I needed to know. She was feeling it too, the undeniable connection between us. Even if she scoffed and tried to deny it. “I thought you said I was boring and predictable. Cautious.”
“Then you ordered a double shot of whiskey. Neat.”
By the time we left the lounge, I felt like something had changed. Maisie was still quiet, but not the guarded, shut-down kind from before. This was different. Lighter. Like maybe I’d peeled back a corner of her armor and caught a glimpse of what was hidden underneath.
We went up to check on Brody, quietly making our way into the suite where the team had collapsed in a sprawl of limbs and pizza boxes. The TV was still glowing, controllers abandoned mid-game. Brody was out cold, his body spread out on the couch cushion, his mouth open just enough to make me grin.
Maisie moved toward him, pulling the blanket higher over his chest and brushing his hair back from his forehead. I watched her, my throat tightening as the weight of what I suddenly wanted hit me so much harder than I’d expected.
She stood there for a moment, as if she was uncertain whether she should just crawl up beside him, but finally, she walked back to me. I’d been standing in the doorway and I motioned her out before I stepped back and quietly shut the door again.
When we got to our room, the latch of our door shutting clicked loud in the quiet. Maisie froze, like she could feel the sudden shift in the air, too. I leaned against the door for a moment, just looking at her. We hadn’t been alone together in a room since college.
Eight years of unanswered questions pressed at the back of my throat, and in the dim light of the small room we were sharing, little more than two beds, a dresser, and a tiny adjoining bathroom, it didn’t seem necessary to shove those questions down any longer.
“Can I ask you something?” It was out before I could stop it, my voice a little rougher than usual. “You can say no.”
She turned to face me from where she’d been standing in front of the dresser, her hands next to her head and one of her earrings already halfway out. Her expression turned wary as she cocked her head at me. “What is it?”
“Why did you leave that morning? After… us. Why didn’t you ever speak to me again?”
Her eyes widened, the color draining from her face. For a heartbeat, it looked like she might actually bolt. I stayed where I was, giving her space but not letting her look away.
Not this time.
Ever since we’d reconnected, I’d wondered about it. I’d lived with the silence of the unanswered questions. I wasn’t letting it stretch even one more day if I could help it.
Maisie had been the first girl I’d wanted to wake up to, but when I’d opened my eyes, she’d been gone and I’d never seen her or heard from again.
It felt like it was about time I finally got to find out why.