Fake Dating My Ex's Favourite Hockey Player novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201

EMILIA

For a second, I’m sure I’ve misheard him. Then the warmth in his gaze lands square in my chest, and every thought in my head dissolves into glitter.

“You’re serious?” My voice is barely there.

“Dead serious,” he murmurs, kissing the corner of my mouth like it’s a promise. “I want to wake up to you every morning, fall asleep to you every night, and have you here in between to tell me off when I leave my skates in the hallway.”

There’s a lump in my throat the size of a hockey puck, but I manage a smile. “That’s a lot of commitment… are you sure you’re ready for my thirty–seven bottles of hair products in your shower?”

His answering laugh is low and so warm it makes my toes curl. “Baby, I’ll build you a whole new shelf.”

My lips part, but whatever I was about to say gets lost in the traffic jam of my brain cells. He must notice the way I’m seconds away from glitching in his lap, because he shakes his head, fighting a grin. “It’s not like I’m asking you to marry me yet. You don’t have to look this distressed.”

“I’m not distressed,” I mumble, though my pulse begs to differ. Is there even a difference? Marriage. Moving in. Either way, it’s permanent, and it’s him.

And God help me, I think I want it.

His lips brush the side of my neck, slow and unhurried. “I’m not forcing you into anything, Em. Stop overthinking.” Then he pulls back, grinning. “We need to get ready.”

I frown. “The barbeque isn’t till tonight.”

“Who said we were going to the barbeque?”

Suspicion curls low in my stomach. “Then… where are we going?”

His smile goes wicked. “You’ll see. Put on shoes you can walk in.”

I’ve learned not to ask too many questions when Liam gets that look. It‘ s like talking to a locked vault with a smirk.

So I just watch the scenery change until we pull into a place that rings a faint bell. My suspicion sharpens. “What are we doing here?”

He gives me a look that says you’re going to regret asking, and I instantly do. I mutter under my breath while wrestling with my seatbelt, but before I can win, he’s already out of the car. A moment later my door opens, and he’s there – casually freeing me from the buckle, steadying me with one hand like it’s nothing.

“What?” he hums, voice annoyingly light. “You don’t like it?”

“I’ve never been to a place like this, so I wouldn’t know.”

His brows shoot up so high I almost laugh. “You’ve never been to a farmer’s market?”

“Never,” I admit, almost sheepish.

For a second, I brace myself for judgment, maybe a teasing comment about me being a spoiled city girl. But instead of the lecture I’m half expecting. Liam grins like I’ve just handed him a gift. “So I’m your first, then.”

I blink at him. “How does that even-”

“Doesn’t matter.” He doesn’t give me time to overthink it. His hand slides into mine, warm and unhurried, and before I know it he’s tugging me toward the entrance.

I sigh, already silently thanking myself for wearing comfortable shoes. “Are we getting stuff for the barbeque?”

“If you want us to.”

He’s still guiding me like he knows exactly where he’s going, and I can’t decide if it’s charming or obnoxious. Probably both. All I can do is glare at the line of his stupidly broad shoulders, flexing like they’ve never heard of subtlety. “If that’s not why we’re here, then why are we?”

Finally, I stride up to his side, no longer letting him drag me along like a puppy. Good thing, too, because that’s when he tugs me against him, lips brushing the corner of my mouth in the laziest, most casual kiss like it’s a reflex.

My heart does something inconvenient.

“No reason,” he says.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify