Hold Me Forever: a feel-good romance (The Maxwell Brothers)

‘We can just grow old together and buy cats,’ Emma said, trying on a hat from The Hat Booth.

‘I do like cats,’ I said.

‘Want to continue our ‘spill-it’ conversation?’ she asked, looking at me from under the huge pink hat. It actually looked good on her.

I shook my head. ‘No. That pic took the wind out of my sails,’ I confessed.

This morning, I called my sister and had one of our spill-it sessions. Like a good sister, this afternoon, she texted me a picture from the game, asking me if I was sure Tyler was single. The question shocked me because, honestly, I didn’t even think about asking. I didn’t take a good look at the picture at first, but once I zoomed in a bit and saw how close they were, I zoomed right back out. But it was branded in my brain.

I wanted to be reasonable. It was before we even kissed. But I was really hoping she wasn’t his girlfriend or something, because I absolutely didn’t want to be participating in cheating in any way. My heart had already shriveled to the size of a peanut, though. I tried to cling to those happy moments during our trip and last night, but a small voice kept taunting me: You don’t really think you can be this happy, do you?

“Do you want to talk to him?” she asked, taking a sip of her pumpkin spice latte. Every booth seemed to have at least a pumpkin on the counter. Some were plain, and some had the typical Halloween eyes and mouth carved out.

“He did text me saying he wants to explain.” Which I thought was good. It meant he cared. I knew he’d dated a bit; he’d said as much. But was it dated or dating—as in present tense? I was petrified at the thought that I might have been fooling around with someone who was in a relationship.

“That’s a good sign.”

“But let’s not talk about him anymore, okay? Let’s enjoy the fair.”

I loved going out with my sister. Emma talked me into coming to the festival after work. Well, in between work was more appropriate. I was having dinner with some past volunteers who wanted an update on a project we’d started together. I only had about half an hour left before I had to go to the restaurant, which was only a couple blocks away.

The fair was lively and packed, and I loved the energy. There were booths lined up all over the perimeter. The band played a number of catchy songs. They were talented, but it was too loud for my taste. Currently, we were looking at stands with trinkets, colorful jewelry, and hats. I wasn’t buying anything, but I was giving my opinion to Emma.

‘Those earrings would look fabulous on you,’ she said, pointing to a pair with dangling half-moons.

I shook my head, ‘No can do. After I move and stop paying rent, I’ll finally be able to spoil myself a bit, but until then, I’m going to suck it up.’

‘I can buy them for you,’ she said excitedly.

‘No, no, no, I won’t hear of it.’ I appreciated the thought, but Emma didn’t need to be spending her money on me.

“Oh, come on, sis. You’ve always bought me things. Let me do the same for you now, please? Pretty pleaaaase?’

I shook my head, dragging my sister away from the stand before she got other ideas. ‘No. I’m the older sister. You don’t get to invite me or buy anything for me.’

“One of these days, I’ll change your mind on that.”

‘Let’s change the subject. How was your date?’ I asked. ‘You haven’t said one word about the guy, so I’m assuming it didn’t go well.’

She scrunched her nose. ‘No, that was one of the worst dates I’ve had, and I didn’t think it was possible to surpass the guy who showed up half an hour later and then shamelessly told me he was coming from a date and had one after me.’

I grimaced. ‘Okay, I won’t ask for details, then.”

“Exactly. I don’t think I like these online dating apps at all.”

“Told you they’re tricky. You can’t really tell anything about a person when they’re hiding behind a screen.”

“Let’s focus on finding a hat. I’ve decided I need one. They have touristy prices here, but I like supporting local artists. Give me your honest opinion.”

She tried on five different hats. One looked like something out of The Great Gatsby, but it looked great on her. Two had a round, decent bowl, and the other two had huge ones. I didn’t like the last two.

“I understand huge hats in the summer. They protect you from the sun. But when it’s cold out, they’re just weird.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Turning to the sales associate, she handed her the black one with a small rim. “I’m taking this one.”

She paid quickly, and then we scoured the perimeter, deciding what to do next.

‘Hey, isn’t that Tyler there?’ She pointed to the entrance booth.

I turned around abruptly, and my heart somersaulted.

“Oh wow.”

‘What’s he doing here?’ she asked. ‘Did you tell him where we are?’

‘Yeah, I did. But…’

‘Oh my God, then he must be here to talk to you. Oh look, I think he’s spotted us.’

He had indeed. I also noticed two people behind him, a man and a woman.

‘I’m staying right here next to you,’ Emma exclaimed.

‘Thanks.’

Tyler walked straight to us.

‘Hi, you must be Emma,’ he said, looking at my sister.

‘Yes I am. Nice to meet you, Tyler.’

‘This is my brother Travis and my cousin Reese,’ he said, and they both waved.

‘Hey, nice to meet you both,’ I said.

‘I want to talk to you, Kendra,’ Tyler said without further ado, looking straight at me.

I steeled myself, rolling my shoulders. ‘Okay.’

‘Let’s go somewhere quieter,’ he suggested. That was probably a good idea, because you could only hear someone if you were very close with all the loud music around.

‘It’s rather empty over there,’ Reese said, pointing to the right. ‘The stands there closed already.’

We turned and headed in that direction. I walked in front of him, acutely aware of his presence just a few inches behind me. Had he told me he was coming and I didn’t see the message?

When we reached the area with the closed stands, I turned around, looking straight at him.

‘I’ll cut to the chase, Kendra. I only saw that picture when my brother showed it to me.’

My shoulders slumped. ‘I saw it earlier today.’

‘Why didn’t you say something?’ he asked, sounding confused.

‘Like what? ‘Hey, Tyler, do you have a girlfriend, and am I your dirty secret?’’

He jerked his head back. ‘You thought I have…? No, I don’t. Damn it, Kendra, I don’t. What kind of an asshole do you think I am?’

I put my hands on my hips, shifting my weight from one leg to the other. ‘I don’t know. It was the first thing that came to my mind. And why shouldn’t you have one? You’re hot and a great kisser and—’

‘You think I’m a great kisser?’

I sighed. ‘Really?’

‘You brought it up,’ he said, then shook his head, turning serious once more. ‘Kendra, no, I’m not seeing anyone.’ He came a bit closer, looking me straight in the eyes, and I was rooted in my spot. ‘I kissed you. I flirted with you. I made you mine. I want to do it all over again and again. That was just a fan who wanted me to sign her chest. I shut her down. Want to know what I was thinking about?’

‘What?’ I whispered.

‘You.’

I licked my lips, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. ‘But you barely know me.’

‘And I’m going to change that.” He tilted his head, coming closer. ‘I want to know you. Your thoughts. Wishes. Desires. Everything.” His voice was decadent now. Somehow the energy between us changed. It was more charged.

“When is your dinner?”

‘In twenty minutes.’

He groaned, looking around. Then he shook his head as if having a conversation with himself.

“Come on, let’s get back to the group.”

Hmm… this is suspicious.

He put his hand at the small of my back, and I straightened up as if a current went through me. Energy zipped through my whole body. I felt so connected to him that it was surreal.

His passionate confession of the incident was real; could I hope that Tyler was as into me as I was into him? I felt on cloud nine right now and very thankful I wasn’t an unwitting cheater. I would never do that to someone knowingly.

Emma, Reese, and Travis were in front of a booth, enjoying drinks, laughing their asses off. My sister had a talent for making friends quickly, but this was a record even for her.

She glanced straight at me, and I knew what that look meant. She was silently asking: Is he an asshole, or was it a misunderstanding? I smiled to indicate that everything was fine. She instantly lit up.

She wasn’t suspicious of Tyler at all anymore. And neither was I.

‘You two are back already?” she teased. “After what these two told me, I was thinking you might have thrown her over your shoulder and kidnapped her.’

‘Crossed my mind,’ Tyler said seriously, pressing his fingers deeper into the small of my back, and holy shit, this time, the energy crawling through me went right between my thighs.

Ha! That was why he was checking out the area.

‘What exactly did you tell her?’ Tyler asked.

‘Well, you said we should keep quiet around Kendra, but you didn’t warn us specifically about her sister,’ Reese said, ‘so obviously we told her you’re a decent guy.”

“That you don’t double-dip your dick,’ Travis added.

Tyler burst out laughing. I felt my cheeks heat up.

“This one’s very outspoken,” Reese explained, pointing her thumb at Travis.

“Duly noted,” I murmured.

Emma zeroed in on Tyler. ‘You’re looking a bit too territorial, Tyler.’

‘Emma,’ I admonished. Like Travis, she was very outspoken too.

‘And like you might not let her get to her dinner at all.’

Tyler looked at me. ‘Is your sister a mind reader or something?’

‘You were thinking about interfering with my work dinner?’ I asked.

He flashed me a cocky smile. ‘It crossed my mind.’

‘Yeah, we should warn you,” Travis cut in. “Sometimes he sort of runs his own show.’

‘Most of the time, actually,’ Reese said, ‘with complete disregard for manners.’

‘Good to know,’ I whispered.

Tyler’s hand moved to my waist, pulling me close to him. ‘You’ll have plenty of opportunities to witness that, Kendra. What’s your schedule like for the rest of the week?”

“Work and… that’s it. Why?”

He didn’t reply, just looked at me intently—like he had plans.

My pulse sped up as he pinned me with those determined eyes, and I just knew this sexy hockey player was going to turn my life upside down.

Excitement bubbled up inside me, even though I wasn’t 100 percent sure I was ready for what was to come.