“There were a few things she did know for sure, though. There was no way the pony was going back in the gate. Not when the pony was thirty-four and really liked pulling the milk cart.”

“Luc scored forty and slapped the darts in her palm. “The light sucks in here.”“No.” She smiles and took great pleasure in announcing, “You suck.”His gaze narrowed.Weeks of anger and hurt poured out of her and she said, louder than she’d intended, “And worse – you’re a whiner.”A collective intake of breath caught their attention and she and Luc turned and looked at the guys watching a few feet away.“Lucky’s gonna kill Sharky,” Sutter predicted from the sidelines.By taut agreement they both went to their respective corners. Jane shot and scored sixty-five. Luc scored thirty-four.“Now remind me. Why do they call you Lucky?” she asked as she reached for the darts.He pulled them back out of her reach as a slow, purely licentious smile curved his mouth. A smile that told her he was remembering her on her knees kissing his tattoo. “I’m sure if you think long and hard, you’ll remember the answer to that.”“No.” She shook her head. “Some things just aren’t that memorable.”

“Are you trying to tell me—in your own typically macho way—that you want to make love again?” He glanced at her. “I’m not trying to tell you anything. I want you. You want me. Someone is going to end up wearing nothing but a satisfied smile on her lips.” “I don’t know, Nick, I might talk afterward. Do you think you can handle it?” “I can handle anything you can think up, and a few things you’ve probably never even thought of.” “Do I have a choice?” “Sure, wild thing. I have four bedrooms. You can choose which one we use first.”

“I feel like I should probably ask you to leave. But I don’t really want you to go. I want you to stay, but I know you shouldn’t.- Hope”

“-"Stop""I've tried. I can't. These past few days, not knowing if you were okay have been hell."-"I'm okay.""I'm not.”

“He lifted his gaze to hers. "I have a lot of other things I should be doing, but I'm here." He stared into her eyes for several heartbeats before he returned his attention to the big box. "I've tried to stay away. After you threw me out of the house, I thought it was probably for the best. You're a distraction, and I don't need a distraction right now." He handed the screwdriver back to her and ripped the box open with his big hands. "I've got tapes I need to review, and plays I need to go over in my head before today's practice, yet here I am. Putting baby furniture together for you because I can't get you out of my head. I plug in a tape, and all I do is think about you." He peeled back the cardboard and reached for the instruction sheet that had fallen to the floor. "But the thing is, Adele, I'm not really sure whether you want me to be here or not." His polo shirt pulled out of the waistband of his Levi's and slid up the tan muscles of his back. He straightened and looked at her over the top of the instructions. "I don't know what you want.”

“Chelsea, I knew when you showed up on my porch that you were going to be trouble. You were bossy and annoying and you brought sunshine into a very dark time in my life. You saved me when I didn’t even know I needed saving. I love you for that. I will always love you for that.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the backs of her knuckles. “Please say you’ll stay in my life and make trouble with me forever.” -Mark Bressler”