I drew back and held her at arm’s length. “You know, you’re one of the biggest reasons I’m happy to be staying in Seattle.”

“Thank you.” She beamed at me, brighter than the sun in the Seattle sky.

“Thank you,” I stressed. “I’ve always been a guy who avoided serious relationships. I was a player big-time. Always looking for my next score on and off the ice. All that’s changed now, Geneva.”

“Because of the trouble you got into with Bria?”

I frowned and narrowed my gaze, studying her. Did she really believe that’s what this was about?

“She was the start of it. Maybe my wake-up call. Maybe the catalyst that made me stop and examine how I was living my life. I realized my casual encounters might not be as casual as I’d always insisted they were. Sometimes you hurt people and don’t realize it. Or set off a chain of events when you thought all you had to do was walk away.”

She nodded, watching me carefully. Her guard was up. She didn’t know where I was going with this. I wasn’t sure I knew. I was speaking from the heart, and sometimes the head didn’t know what the heart was going to say.

“I was physically attracted to you at first. I mean, I saw you, and all I could think of was how much I’d love to get you naked.”

“Same here.”

“Really?”

“You knew that.” She snorted at me and playfully punched me in the arm. “We were electrically charged every time we were within feet of each other.”

“Yeah, we were and are.” My smile was slow and warm as I recalled those first days after I met her. “When the season ended, and I thought you might be leaving the area, I came to a realization.”

“And that is?” Her face froze in that now-familiar unemotional mask again. Did she really think I might break up with her?

“That I want you in my life. I want us to be a couple. To be officially exclusive—boyfriend and girlfriend. I want to be someone who’s there for you when you need me. A shoulder to cry on, a partner to laugh with. I want to see where this goes, Gen.”

Her mouth formed an O, and she swallowed. Her beautiful eyes clouded with unshed tears. She nodded her agreement. “I want that too. I’ve never had a healthy relationship with a man, so bear with me as I bumble through this.”

“I guess you could say the same of me when it comes to women.”

At that very moment, her phone beeped. She checked it quickly. “It’s Jock. Dinner’s ready.”

I stood and pulled her to her feet. “We can talk more later.”

“We can. We have all the time in the world.”

Our footsteps a little lighter, we hurried the few blocks to the house. Jock hated it when people were late to dinner, and I didn’t want any further on his bad side than I already was.