Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Thanks. I enjoy baking.”
“I ate them all, which is why Flynn is faster than me,” Dimitri says, wrapping his arms around my waist and tucking his head in the crook of my neck and shoulder. It’s hard to wash dishes like this, but I won’t ask him to move. I crave his touch.
“You’re super-hot doing dishes.”
I laugh. “Don’t get used to it. If I cook, you wash.”
“But I don’t cook.”
“Which is why you wash,” I remind him, and he smiles against my jaw.
He kisses me there and then says, “I love you.”
I turn my head to meet his lips. Against them, I say, “I love you.”
“How’s apartment hunting going?” his mom asks, and I meet her gaze.
“Okay. We’ve looked at few.”
“We’re thinking of renting a house,” Dimitri says, and his mom nods. He then turns his lips to my ear and whispers, “So no one can hear you when I make you scream.”
I press my lips together and elbow him in the gut. He laughs hard, kissing my cheek.
“A house would be hard to maintain, especially with the season starting. I’d do an apartment,” his dad says, and I agree.
“That’s what I said, but then I said we should just rent the apartment we have now from Elli.”
Piper agrees. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Dimitri squeezes me. “It does hold all my favorite memories.” He isn’t wrong, and I can’t help the grin that fills my face. I look up at him, and he kisses my nose. “We’ll figure it out,” he promises, and I kiss his jaw. Then without warning, he says, “I gotta go talk to my mom. I’ll be back.”
“Okay,” I say before he kisses me once more and walks away. I miss his warmth, but I know I’ll be done faster now without his distracting self.
I don’t realize I’m not alone until Erik says, “Can I ask you something, Austen?”
I jump in surprise, and his laughter reminds me so much of Dimitri’s. My heart flutters. “Didn’t know you were still in here.”
“Sorry.”
“But yes, please do.”
I feel his gaze on me as he leans against the counter. “Do you regret not going forward with the GM position for your grandpa?”
I’m unsure what brought this up, but it’s not a hard answer. “Not at all. I do enjoy what I am doing.”
“But you would have had a team.”
“But I wouldn’t have had Dimitri.” Dimitri’s father seems to absorb my words. “I wasn’t going to let him give up his career. He worked too hard for it, and I really didn’t care one way or another about being a GM. It wasn’t like I was driven to do it or anything. I did it because my peepaw wanted me to and thought I’d be good at it.”
“But you had potential, from what Elli said.”
I shrug. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t have been happy. If Dimitri chose me and I kept the job, I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life while I watched other players live their dreams. I didn’t expect Elli to offer this job to me, but even so, I knew nothing would make me happy unless I was with Dimitri while he played hockey.”
Something moves in his eyes as he looks away. “Have you spoken to your grandfather?”
I nod. “A little, but not like before. He is still very upset that I won’t take the GM position, but as I told him, I don’t ever want to dislike him.”
I feel a bit of pain from it, but not enough to make me regret my choice. I really believe in what I have decided, and I know I did what was best for me—and for Dimitri. We said from the top that we were more than just girlfriend/boyfriend, and that still rings very true for me.
He’s everything.
I put a plate in the dish drainer as his dad watches me. He doesn’t say anything, and I almost don’t think he will. He has a very intimidating presence but also a calming one. I’m unsure how to read him, but I try not to let that make me nervous. Instead, I focus on the dishes.
“Thank you, Austen,” he says suddenly, and I look up at him, confused.
“Sorry?”
“Thank you,” he repeats. “Thank you for sacrificing a career for him.”
I smile. “It wasn’t a sacrifice, Erik. I love Dimitri, more than that career or the one I have now. I was never loved right, and he loves me right. So there was no sacrifice.”
Before he can respond, Dimitri walks into the room. “You being nice?” he asks his dad.
“Yes, of course,” I say, but Dimitri doesn’t seem convinced.
“Good. Dad, Mom needs your help.”
Erik gets up, meeting my gaze. “Then thank you for loving my son.”
My breath catches at that since I wasn’t expecting, nor needing, that sentiment. I look at Dimitri, who is glancing between the two of us with a confused but pleased look on his face. “He may be a pain, but it’s pretty easy to love him.”