Page 71 of Save Your Breath

She smirked a little at that, fussing with her hat. I thought I saw her tuck the top of her ear under it — as if she could lookanything less than fucking adorable in a baseball cap, whether she had giant ears or baby mouse ones.

“I bet that’s the part you’re counting down to,” she snarked. “Poor you, having to make out with a bunch of puck bunnies and get caught on camera.”

My smile felt tighter knowing that was still what she thought of me, even though I couldn’t blame her. What had I done to make her think otherwise?

“Anyway, I guess I should get going.” Mia started gathering her things off my kitchen island, making her way toward the door.

“Where are you off to this fine evening, the last of which you are a single lady?”

She rolled her eyes at the little wink I added at the end of that question. “Probably to hide away in my hotel room and go over this number that the choreo isn’t right on,” she said.

“What? It’s the weekend. You can’t work tonight.”

She laughed in my face at that. “As if you don’talwayswork on the weekend during the season.”

“Strings, come on. It’s Friday. You’re in Tampa. Let’s do something fun.”

“I have a tour coming up. You and I?” She pointed between us. “We don’t work normal jobs where we take the weekends to lounge around the house in our pajamas and stuff our faces with pizza.”

“We could.”

She flattened her lips. “Why are you acting like you really want to spend your Friday night stuck in this condo with me?”

“I’m not acting.”

The words slid out of me before I could think better to hold them back, the weight of them hanging between us. They seemed to shock the sass right out of Mia, who blinked, her lips parting a bit.

“I don’t have plans,” I said quickly with a clearing of my throat. “Not like I can go out on the town tonight, get wasted, and fuck the first blonde I see when I’m supposed to get on one knee tomorrow.”

Fuck.

My skin burned with the words even as I said them, as if they were acid coming out of my throat and I was succumbing to the virus that I was, unable to control a thing.

Mia pinched her lips tight together on a nod. “Right. And withthatsincere offer…”

She went to walk past me toward the door, but I caught her by the crook of her elbow, swinging her to a stop.

Her eyes snatched on where I held her before they crawled up my arm to my face, and I hoped she could see it. I hoped she knew that I didn’t mean what I’d said, that it was a cover up, a defense mechanism, a shield.

She used to know that.

Did she know it still?

“Stay,” I croaked, my voice a bit unsteady. “We can order pizza and play The Game of Life like we used to in high school. Or if you want to go out, we’ll go out.”

“I can’t justgo out,”she said. “Not without us making a big scene, and I’ve had enough of the madness lately.”

“Not true.”

She pulled away from my touch, folding her arms over her middle. “In what world could we go anywhere without someone recognizing us?”

“Do you want to go out or do you want to stay in, Mia?” I leveled my gaze with hers. “Answer the question, and I’ll make it happen.”

She shook her head on an incredulous laugh, but then tongued her cheek, looking out my window and then back at me. “Fine. I want to go out.”

I smirked, chest buzzing with the challenge.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”