Focused: A hate to love sports romance(70)

Two, she had a hand covering her mouth as she breathed out a laugh at the sight of me storming out of the tiny house.

Three, and I caught the sheen of happy tears during our yoga session.

At four minutes, the realization that Marty caught our almost first kiss. She pressed a shaky hand to her mouth.

It was impossible to be so far away from her, so I approached quietly from behind, letting out a slow breath before my palms coasted up the sides of her upper arms. I cupped her shoulders, warm and firm, and her soft hair tickled my fingers. She leaned back against me, giving me her full weight, and I exhaled my relief, wrapping my arms around the front of her chest as she watched the footage from South Dakota.

This was subtle to anyone else watching, but to Molly and me, it was bright and obvious, a spotlight on everything we'd been denying. The camera caught me constantly watching her off the screen. Everything I couldn't understand was right there in my eyes.

I tightened my arms, and her hands came up to grip my forearms. With her tucked against my chest, I could set my chin easily on the top of her head. She dropped her mouth and laid a soft kiss on the tender skin of my wrist.

"I was such an idiot," I whispered.

She kissed me again, just above my thumb. "Only a little."

The laugh was out before I could stop it.

"Shhh, I'm still watching," she chided gently.

I closed my eyes and breathed her in. How had I ever thought I could live a full life, a satisfying life, if I didn't have this in it?

What a fool I'd been.

She sniffed when she watched the blank, robotic version of me after she pulled away. It was the part I hated most—what I would have accepted, what I did accept, as a normal, healthy life.

Then she laughed when she saw the end. The part Marty caught in his failed attempt at a sprint in the parking lot. The screen went black, and Molly turned slowly in my arms.

"You did this? For me?"

My hand cupped her face, and my eyes feasted on the small details that I'd missed so much. The jut of her chin, the delicate nose, the weight of her body against mine. "I had a little help," I admitted with a smile. "And there was going to be a much better delivery."

"Yeah?"

"A screen in the backyard. Lights. A big bed on the grass where we could watch it."

Her eyebrow lifted, but she was running her hands over my chest, so I figured I wasn't in too much trouble.

"And the stars," I continued. "I found Pegasus and had every intention of trying to make it romantic, but ... it's not. He came from a severed head, so it's probably best that it didn't work out anyway."

The laughter started low in her throat, bubbling out the longer I rambled. Finally, she took pity on me and laid a hand over my mouth. "Stop."

I kissed her fingers. "Okay."

"Why'd you make that?" she asked quietly. "The movie."

"Because there needs to be a record somewhere," I told her. "There should be proof, undeniable proof, of the very best thing I've ever achieved in my life." I wrapped my arms around her back and lifted her up in my arms so I could whisper where no one but us would hear. "Falling in love with you is the greatest thing I've ever done, Molly Ward."

Her arms were so tight around my neck that I felt the way her body trembled. Within the circle of my arms, she let out a sob of relief. "I love you too," she whispered back.

In the next moment, her mouth was on mine, hard and sweet and deep. The fierce fullness of the kiss pulled a groan from my chest, and she wrapped her legs around my waist so she could hold tighter and move more firmly against me.

I wanted her.

I loved her.

She loved me.

And, I thought as I froze, we were being filmed. I pulled back, and she followed with a whimper.

"Camera," I said against her lips.

Molly went still, another bright smile spreading over her face. "Oh, yeah."

"But as soon as we chase them out of here …" I promised with a growl.

She hopped out of my arms and called for Rick to come upstairs.

I glanced over at Marty, who was wiping tears from his face unabashedly.

Rick skipped lightly up the steps. "You called?"

"Yes," she said. "You and I have to talk tomorrow morning. But right now, you need to leave."

His face creased in confusion. "Tomorrow morning?"

Molly nodded, herding them gently toward the door. "Yes. I have a job proposal to go over with you. I think you should hire me."

My eyebrows popped up in surprise. So did his.

"He says yes!" Marty interjected as he hastily started wrapping up cords.

Rick gave him a look. "Tomorrow," he promised. "But can't we, I don't know, film a little happy cuddling?"

"No," Molly and I answered.

"We have other things to discuss," Rick said. "A lot has happened this week. You don't even know about our new idea!"

"Out. Or I will start stripping," she warned. "And that will make my future employment awkward. And you'd violate the nudity clause if you film me in any state of undress."

My head tilted back on a booming laugh, and Rick gave me an exasperated look.

In another two seconds, she had them out the door, and the deadbolts flipped decisively. I set my hands on my hips as she turned, her back flush against the door's surface.