His lips curved, and she lost herself in that sexy smile of his, the one that always mesmerized her and made her want to throw herself on top of him so he could have his way with her.
“Yeah. And I’ve never said that to any other woman before you, other than my mom and my sister. And that doesn’t really count, does it?”
She laughed. “I guess not. Except to your mother and sister, of course.”
Now was the time for her to confess her feelings. She opened her mouth to say the words, but hesitated.
“Trick, I . . .”
Come on, Stella. Man up and do this. You can trust him.
He rubbed her arm. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”
“I love you.” She’d blurted it, and made it sound rushed and empty. She was an awful person.
He laughed. “I said you didn’t have to say it back.”
She stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him, tilting her head back so he could see the truth in her eyes. “I love you. I really do. I’m just new at this. And a little bit afraid.”
“You want to tell me why you’re afraid?”
She did want to tell him, but not right now. “Let’s just say love didn’t work so well for me the first time I tried it.”
“You want to tell me about it?”
She did. But for some reason, the words didn’t come. “At some point, I will. But not now. That’s the past, and it’s unpleasant. Right now, I’m happy, so let’s not go there.”
“Fair enough. I’m going to want to hear that story sometime. But I can guarantee you I’m not going to hurt you. You’re my future, Stella.”
Her heart swelled with so much love and hope she didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. For someone so used to cynicism about love, she wanted to burst with all the emotion welling up inside her.
“I’m going to warn you now that I’m not going to be good at this. But I’m willing to give it my best shot. Because I do love you, Trick.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “We’re both new at this. It’ll take some time to adjust to it. And I don’t want to rush you. We’ll take it slow.”
“Okay.”
“It’s enough to know you don’t have one foot out the door and you might be comfortable seeing me on a regular basis. The rest we’ll handle one day at a time.”
That she could live with. But she owed him an explanation for her skittishness about relationships and her trust issues. But tonight wasn’t the best night for that. They’d had amazing sex and had declared their love. She could save the big talk for later, right?
Especially since he’d scooped her up into his arms and carried her down the hall toward his bedroom.
“Now, about round two . . .”
She laughed and shoved her nose in his neck, happy to breathe him in.
She was in a relationship. And in love.
She never thought she’d say those two words again. Or believe in them.
But this was Trick, and a whole new beginning.
Chapter Twelve
She had stayed the night, and since she actually had a day off from rehearsal, and Trick didn’t have a game, they were going to spend the day together.
Trick was in the shower, and then they were going to go to her place so she could shower and change clothes.
They hadn’t talked much last night, but as she got dressed and sipped coffee, she allowed herself to think about planning for the future.
People in love tended to eventually cohabitate. As she stared at the happy Christmas tree in his living room, she pondered the thought of moving in here.
Would he want that? Was that the next step?
She sat on the chair and wondered what it would be like to live with Trick. He traveled a lot during his season. And she worked a lot, especially when she was in performances. If they wanted to see each other at all, it would make sense to live together.
She drew her legs up on the chair, already envisioning a few of her things here. Gifts for each other under the Christmas tree. A few of her favorite knickknacks strewn around.
Not having to freeze to death in her apartment in the winter—a definite bonus.
Sleeping next to Trick at night—she found no flaws in that thought.
Maybe she’d bring it up and test the waters.
She went into the bathroom to grab her socks, and Trick’s phone rang.
“Hey, can you get that?” he asked from the shower. “I’m expecting a call from my agent this morning.”
“Sure.” She pressed the button on his phone. “Hello?”
“Hello. I was calling for Trick.”
“This is Trick’s phone. This is Stella, his . . .” She fumbled for the word “girlfriend,” in the end deciding on, “friend. He’s in the shower and wanted me to answer for him. He said he was expecting your call.”
“Oh, okay. This is Dave Mincus, his agent. Can you let him know I’m messengering over the paperwork for him to look at?”
“Sure.”
“Great. Tell him this trade deal with Detroit is time sensitive, so I need to hear back from him right away.”
Trade deal with Detroit? What trade deal with Detroit? Her heart sank. “Okay. Sure.”
“Great, thanks.”
They hung up and Stella sat on the edge of the bed.
He was working out a trade with Detroit? He’d just told her he loved her, and he wasn’t going to tell her he was being traded to Detroit?
Feeling dizzy and just a little sick to her stomach, she gripped the edge of the mattress for support.
It was Vernon all over again. Telling her he loved her, then expecting her to drop everything and move with him, because his career was more important.
The same fear and devastation washed over her, but this time it was so much worse.
She loved him, loved him more than she’d ever loved another man. She’d fought it for so long, but she’d had such joy when she’d given in. She’d fallen heart first into this with Trick, given him her trust, and now he’d pulled the rug right out from under her.
How could she have been so stupid?
Tears pricked her eyes, one falling down her cheek. She brushed it away.
No. No.
She wasn’t going to do this again, wasn’t going to go through a “If you love me you’ll go with me and give up everything that means the world to you” conversation.