Play Along (Windy City, #4)

by Liz Tomforde

his fingertips fall in the spaces between mine. He asked me if I wanted him to touch me, and he’s doing just that at a pace I feel comfortable with.

The way you look in that dress…” I shake my head in disbelief. “You look like you’re going to say something a little bit evil, break my heart, and I’ll end up thanking you for it.”

There’s a huge part of me that longs for the romantic parts of life. To be grabbed and kissed. For my hand to be held like someone’s lifeline.

“Eyes are up here, wifey.” “I’m a doctor, Rhodes. Aced anatomy, in fact. I know where your eyes are located. I just don’t care right now.”

“There’s the Mrs.” “Do you lay awake at night thinking of names you know will annoy the shit out of me or what?”

I wasn’t impressed when the boys picked out my home décor, but now I’m thankful they chose the shittiest signs possible because I rarely get to see this woman laugh like this.

I’ve never, not once, been looked at the way my husband looks at me. Wanted. Important. Devastating to his life plans.

the good uncomfortable, I guess, where you’re pushed out of your comfort zone and grow. But uncomfortable, nonetheless.

“Kennedy Kay Rhodes, whatever the fuck your name is these days!” Cody yells from the ice bath. “Is my time up?”

the blinding orgasm to rip through me, writhing into the glass, the fireworks outside looking real inconsequential compared to the ones racking my body.

“Because you’re worth more than how you’ve been treated the last three years, and I love you enough to make sure you know that. I love you enough to make sure you start living up to your potential.” I watch the way her eyes bounce between mine, cataloging every shitty thing that Dr. Fredrick has done or said to her over the years. I watch the realization dawn. Watch the acceptance take over. It’s both relieving and devastating to see.

I’d only go where you are and only if you wanted me there.”

“You’ve never gotten a say in your own life, and the last thing I’m going to do is take that away from you again. Every option is yours, Kenny. Whatever you want to do, I will be your biggest supporter. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t allow you the space to fulfill your goals, to live up to everything you’ve worked so hard for.”

because that’s what you want the guys on the team to believe, so I play into it. But I know that’s not you. I see who you really are, and whether you like it or not, whether you leave or not, you will always be part of my family. You and your brother. I feel blessed that you two have let me fill a role that someone else left, you know?”

It takes a real selfless man to give up what you’re offering to give up, to make sure the person you love finds what makes them happy.”

That goddamn, earth-shattering smile she shoots me. It steals my breath with how grounded, how content it is. Like she knows, just as I do, that this is where we belong.