Rebound (Seattle Steelheads #1)(90)

It was my turn to avoid eye contact. As much as my ex had left me bristling at the idea of getting involved with someone financially again, Asher was nothing like Marcus. Yes, it would be a risk to take him up on any offer of money just like it would be a risk to get into this relationship. After all, in the beginning Marcus had been nothing like Marcus. I’d had no more reason to believe he would turn out that way than I had to believe Asher ever would. Fool me once…

But relationships were nothing without trust, and this thing between us wouldn’t get anywhere unless we both risked trusting each other. The fact that either of us was even willing to consider it after our respective exes had put us through the wringer… Well, maybe that should have told us something.

I clasped his hand in mine and kissed the middle of his palm. “Let’s take things as they come. You know it’s a touchy issue with me, and I know you’re not an asshole like my ex. I’m pretty sure if we can both remember those things, we can work out the rest.”

His warm, sweet smile gave me goose bumps. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Me too.” I kissed his hand again, and as I let it go, laughed softly. “By the way, you can thank my partner and my ex-wife for getting me to pull my head out of my ass.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Told you they’ve always been good at that.” I ran the backs of my fingers along the edge of his jaw. “And tonight, I should have stopped you when you came in. Told you everything I needed to say before you had to be the one spilling your guts like that. I’m sorry.”

Asher shook his head. “No, I think I needed to do it.”

“But I’m the one who fucked up. I should have—”

“And I’m the one who finally feels safe enough to ask for what I want. I think… I mean, I guess I needed to follow through with that, you know? Like I felt safe, and I had no reason to believe you’d blow up or be an asshole, but I needed to actually see it for myself. Tell you I wanted something and see what happened.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “It’s still terrifying, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be good at it. A few months ago, I couldn’t even push to go to a restaurant I wanted to go to. When we first started hooking up, it scared the hell out of me to put down a boundary and stick to my guns, but I did, and you’ve always been safe. Being able to say everything I did tonight means this really is as safe as I knew it was.”

“You’re always safe with me,” I whispered. “I promise.”

Asher smiled, sliding his hand up my chest. “I know I am.”

I smiled back and pulled him closer. “I love you, Asher.”

“I love you too.”

And for the longest time, we just lay there, holding each other and basking in the warmth of being together again.

I’d be the first to admit that going forward was terrifying. We’d both been through enough hell that taking this risk wasn’t an easy thing, and I knew we’d have to be patient with each other. We came from different worlds, had wild schedules, and there was the minor detail of me having teenagers and him being in his twenties.

But none of those were deal-breakers, and deep down, in ways I’d never been with anyone in the past—not my ex-wife, not Marcus—I was sure this was right. That we were in this for the long haul, and that I’d be counting my blessings daily that Asher had given me another chance.

He was the last man I’d ever expected to have as my partner.

And I hoped he’d be the last partner I ever had.





Epilogue


Asher



Two hockey seasons later.



“Nice one, Claire!” Grady high-fived they as skated past each other.

Claire beamed, and she had every right to after shooting a puck past Bruiser. Not many teenagers got to say they’d scored against PHL goalies, even if it was just an off-season scrimmage.

To be fair, the guys all reined it in a bit when David and Claire were here. They were kids, after all, and while they were both solid skaters, it still took a lot of coordination to skate like that and control the puck. That was fine. By the time they joined us on the ice at the end of practice, we were always ready to bring it down a few notches anyway.

It had been good for my relationship with David and Claire, too. It gave us something to do together and something to talk about, and there wasn’t much I could bond with someone over faster than hockey.

We’d been doing pretty good outside of hockey, too. Geoff and the kids had moved in with me a few months after we’d gotten back together, and while it had definitely been an adjustment, we did all right. David used the pool more than any of us, so he’d been given the chore of maintaining it, which he’d done without complaint. Claire and Geoff both liked to cook more than David or I did, so the kitchen had gradually turned into their domain, though David and I pitched in with things like loading the dishwasher.

The house was big enough that everyone had their own space. I think that was what the kids loved most about the arrangement. They’d been claustrophobic in their apartment, and now they had a bit more elbow room. David’s bedroom was on the first floor, Claire’s was on the second, and ours was on the third, so there was plenty of elbow room.

Lately, I’d been spending more time with Claire. Since both the practice rink in Green Lake and the stadium (where we were playing today) weren’t far from the University District, and her classes started half an hour or so before practice, I usually drove her to class. It was a little out of my way, especially in Seattle traffic, but I really didn’t mind, especially since it had given us a chance to get to know each other. Once in a while, if we were heading home in the evening and traffic was light and the weather was clear, I’d even let her drive the Ferrari, which she loved. She really wanted one of her own, but…that was something I’d have to discuss with her dad.