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Chapter twenty-five

Rhett

“Evie,” I whisper, gently stroking my hand down her face. “Wake up.”

She lets out an adorable grumbly noise and rolls over, taking my hand with her and hugging it in between her breasts.

“It’s too early,” she mumbles.

I chuckle. “I know it’s early, but trust me, this will be worth it. Come on, honey. I’ll get your coffee. You just have to get up and get dressed. I’ll even give you one of my hoodies to wear.”

She slowly rolls back over, letting out an adorable yawn. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” I pull my hand free and stand up from beside the bed. “But you gotta get up and get going, honey.”

She pushes herself to sitting, and man, she looks so fucking adorable all sleep mussed. It’s tempting to give in and just push her right back down onto that bed and cuddle her for another hour or two. But when I got the idea for this morning, I couldn’t shake it. And since the All-Star break is finally here, now’s the perfect time to sacrifice some sleep.

I leave her to get dressed and head out into the living room to gather the few other things I want to take with us. I’m in the middle of pouring coffee into two travel cups when Evie finally emerges, stumbling out of her bedroom, rubbing her eyes.

She looks perfect wearing my oversized hoodie and a pair of joggers. I hand her a cup of coffee before moving around behind her, and then I begin raking my fingers through her hair to untangle the knots.

“What are you doing?” she asks sleepily.

“Just drink your coffee.”

Slowly, I carefully split her hair into three sections and start to braid it together.

Evie turns her head slightly as I continue braiding. “You know how to braid hair?” She’s sounding a little bit more awake and very surprised by my actions, which makes me smile in satisfaction.

“My mama taught me how to braid our horses’ manes and tails. I figured this would be the same idea,” I say conversationally as I apply a tie to the end of her hair. Then I lean in and kiss the top of her head. “Now, come on. We gotta go.” I grab my Tridents hat, flip it around, and put it on my head before grabbing an extra and setting it down over her braid and lightly flicking the brim.

Then I pick up Ruthie’s leash, clip it on her, and lead them both out the door. We’re in my truck a few minutes later, headed for North Vancouver.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Evie asks, taking another sip of coffee.

“Nope.” I shake my head, earning a huff of half-hearted annoyance .

“Well, did we have to go wherever it is so early?” she sasses, and I smirk.

“Yep.”

We drive in silence for the next few minutes. The streets are empty, with most of the city still fast asleep.

A little while later, we’re almost to the spot on top of Mount Seymour where I wanted to take her. It’s the perfect spot to watch the sunrise. I pull into the empty parking lot and hop out of the truck, jogging around to open Evie’s door before she can.

I help her down and drop a kiss to her forehead. Then I go to the back and get Ruthie after changing out her regular leash for the extra long one so she can roam a bit while we watch the sunrise.

“C’mon, it’s almost time.” I nod my head toward the short trail that leads to a bench at the lookout. The light is dim, dawn just starting to break, but there’s enough to see our way to the lookout.

“Wait, what about your coffee?” Evie asks, looking back as I close the truck door.

“Leave it. If I’m holding that, I can’t do this.” I drape my arm over her shoulders, tucking her into my side. “You’ll just have to share yours if I need a sip.”

She giggles and snuggles in under my arm.

The lookout is empty. Of course it is, not many people are brave enough to get up so early for a sunrise. We sit down on the bench that overlooks all of downtown Vancouver, and Ruthie wanders around a bit, sniffing at the grass.

On the bench, Evie turns sideways, lifting her feet up and leaning against my side. I wrap my arms around her, taking off her hat so I can rest my cheek on her head.

I know we need to talk about what we’re doing. There’s no avoiding the truth, things have shifted between us. And I can’t find it in myself at this moment to be worried about that. Sure, there’s shit we gotta figure out. Like telling Yami the truth. But right now, nothing else matters except how right it feels having Evie in my arms.

“You woke me up before dawn and brought me all the way out here to watch the sunrise.”

I tilt her face up to meet mine before dropping my lips to hers for a kiss. “Sure did. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I have a day off. There’s nothin’ more beautiful than watching the world wake up. Those first rays of sunshine somehow feel the warmest and most pure. It gives me hope that the rest of the day will be just as beautiful.”

Evie looks at me for a minute with a soft smile on her gorgeous face. “I always thought you were charming, but now I know you’re actually a romantic, aren’t you?”

I laugh, ducking my head down onto her shoulder. “Guess so. You can thank my mama for that. I grew up listening to her and my nana talk about all the romance novels they read. I guess some of it rubbed off on me.”

That makes Evie giggle again, and she snuggles even deeper into my side just as the first rays of sun start peeking over the city. We stay like that for quite some time, watching the sky grow brighter. I lose track of how long we’re there, content to just be in the moment with her.

“When did you first start loving the sunrise?”

I smile, even though she can’t see it. “When we lived on my grandparents’ ranch. Farm animals don’t wait for no one, not even the sun when they’re hungry. Gramps and I would get up to do chores before school, and he made sure that no matter what, we always took a moment to watch the sun come up.”

“I love that. You must miss your family.”

“I do, but I get back to see them each year, and Mama comes up to watch games a few times a season.”

She tilts her head to look up at me, chewing on her lower lip. I reach a thumb out to free it before giving her a soft kiss.

“Do you ever think about transferring to a team closer to home?”

“Now, that’s a tough question. I did, before I ended up with the Tridents. But now Vancouver feels like home, and I can’t imagine playin’ anywhere else.”

She turns her head back to face the sunrise with a quiet sigh. And a few seconds later, her hand squeezes my leg. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too, honey.”

Soon, the sun has fully risen, and when Ruthie comes over with a whine, lifting her paws up onto our knees, I reluctantly accept that it’s time to go.

“I think she’s hungry,” I comment, kissing the top of Evie’s head again.

“She’s not the only one,” Evie replies, placing her hands over her stomach. “My body can’t figure out why we’ve been awake for so long and haven’t eaten.”

As if on cue, my own stomach lets out a rumble, making us both laugh. “That settles it. Breakfast for my girls.”

My girls. I’m not sure what made me say that .

Evie stands first, and when she turns to me, I’m glad I’m still seated. The depth of the connection between us when she looks at me is so intense, I reach a hand up to rub my chest.

“Do you mean that?”

I stand up, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “That depends,” I say, knowing I’m taking the coward’s way out but not quite ready to put it all out there.

“On what?”

“On whether you want me to mean it.”

Evie turns slightly, wrapping her arms around her waist as she looks out over the city. I instantly miss her gaze being on me. Which should be enough of a sign that I’m in deep. But there’s a tiny kernel of doubt buried within. Small enough that it’s easy to ignore right now.

“I’ve wanted that for a long time.”

Her whisper is almost stolen by the wind. But I feel it as much as I hear it. And I close the small distance between us, turning her to face me, taking her hands in mine and lifting them both up to my lips for a kiss.

“Can I tell you something?”

She nods.

I exhale a shaky laugh. “This scares me more than facing down a fastball in the bottom of the ninth.” She squeezes my hands, and I swallow down my nerves and uncertainty. “I do mean it. You and Ruthie. You feel like you’re mine. And I’ve never felt that before. But I swear, if you want this, then I do, too. I want nothing more than to see if this can be somethin’ real. Because it sure as shit feels real to me.”

“Same.” This time, Evie is the one lifting our hands and catching me by surprise when she kisses my knuckles. “To the scared part, and to the something real part.”

There’s no point holding back my smile any longer. “That’s damn good to hear, honey.” I pull my hands free, only to cup her face, and draw her in for a long, slow, lingering kiss. One that solidifies everything.

My damn stomach chooses that moment to interrupt the romance with another loud grumble.

Evie pulls back with a laugh. “Have you got a granola bar in your truck before your stomach starts to eat itself?”

I nod and drape my arm over her shoulders as we turn toward the truck. “I’m a professional athlete, I don’t go anywhere without snacks.”

Her laughter rings out in the early morning air, and it’s the most beautiful sound.

We decide to make breakfast together at home instead of going out to eat. Which suits me just fine since the sooner we get home, the sooner I can get Evie naked.

Maybe we’ll just eat breakfast naked.

I bet I can convince her…

The drive home is quiet, but not a sleepy quiet like the drive up the mountain earlier. No, this time, there’s a charged energy crackling between us. My hand is high up on Evie’s thigh, my thumb stroking back and forth slowly. I can feel her twitch and shift in her seat, and I try not to let her see me smirk. It’s good to know my goal of mildly edging her the entire drive is successful.

When I finally pull into my parking spot, I turn off the engine and slowly lift my hand from her leg, leaning against my door.

“Whatcha thinking for breakfast? I make a mean pancake. ”

Evie turns to me, her cheeks pink and her eyes full of fire. “Really. Pancakes? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

I rub my stomach, biting my cheek to stop smiling. “Yeah, I’m hungry, remember? That granola bar wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.” I wink when I say the word s atisfy so that she knows exactly what will satisfy me.

But instead of lunging for me like I half expected her to, Evie blinks slowly, then turns and gets out of the truck without a word. I scramble to get out myself, but she’s already opened the back and has Ruthie in hand and is halfway to the elevator before I can grab our coffee cups and catch up.

I slide into the elevator just as it starts to close, scooping Ruthie up before she has a chance to start whining. “So that’s a no to pancakes?” I ask, leaning against the wall of the elevator. It’s getting harder to act unaffected.

Ruthie starts chewing on her leash. Normally, I’d correct her behaviour, but there’s no chance of my gaze dropping from Evie’s.

The door opens on my floor, and Evie brushes past me, still silent. She waits for me at my door, allowing me to unlock and hold it open for her. Her silence is more than a little unnerving, but at the same time, I’m so fucking turned on, waiting to see what she does next. Waiting to see when she’ll explode. Because it’s coming. The buildup is like a fuse, growing shorter with every passing second.

I have the good sense to lock the door behind me, still staring at her back as she sashays toward the bedroom. She pauses at the entrance to the hall and looks over her shoulder at me .

“It’s a no to pancakes.”

Her shirt lands on the floor a second later, her pants following immediately after.

That’s my girl.