Make Your Change (Aston Archers Hockey, #4)

by Cali Melle

Her hands find mine and she tugs on me, pulling me closer. It’s absolutely intoxicating and my god, I want to drink from her. I want to be intoxicated too.

“What’s your name?” I murmur, my lips grazing the outer shell. A shiver ripples through her as she inhales sharply and rolls her shoulders. She shifts away from me enough to lift her arms, hooking her wrists behind my neck. Her hands slide along my nape, her fingertips plunging through my hair. “Andi,” she breathes, as her hooded gaze locks on mine. “What’s yours?” “Ford,” I murmur, realizing I gave her my last name. “Carson.” She raises an eyebrow. “Which is it? Ford or Carson?” A chuckle vibrates in my chest. “Carson Ford, actually, but you can call me whatever you want.”

“Please let me be in his life. I don’t care what I have to do to make that happen, but please don’t keep him from me any longer.”

She’s always been there, lingering in the back of my mind. A constant reminder of someone I let walk away. Someone I felt a connection with, a magnetic pull.

There’s such an ease and comfortableness to them, as if their souls are tethered. There’s an undeniable connection between Carson and Matteo. And I can’t wait to watch it grow.

I didn’t realize what was missing until seeing the two of them together.

“I don’t want to make you feel uneasy or anything.” “Too late,” I murmur, my involuntary drive to breathe suddenly ceasing to exist. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. His forehead creases and concern washed over his gray irises. “I make you uneasy?” Shit. “Not in the way you meant.” He doesn’t look any less concerned. “In what way do I make you feel uneasy?” “In every other way,” I laugh, shaking my head at myself.

“Do you feel that?” he murmurs, his eyes burning holes through mine. His heart pounds hard and fast beneath my palm. “Yes,” I breathe. A warm tingling sensation washes over every single nerve ending in my body. “You make me uneasy too.” A ghost of a smile dances across his perfect lips. “You make me uneasy in a way that feels as though my heart is going to burst through my chest. In a way that feels like my brain can’t remember how to function properly. Like I don’t know how to regulate my breathing.” The corners of his mouth twitch, his hand shifting away from mine. “So, yeah. You make me uneasy in the best way possible, Trouble.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing here with you, but I know I don’t want to fuck it up.”

“You have me all fucked up,” he breathes, his eyebrows drawing together. “You’re just supposed to be the mother of my child . . . but when I look at you, it doesn’t feel like that.” He directs his attention to his hands in his lap. “It feels like more and honestly, it scares the shit out of me.” “Why does it scare you?” He turns to look at me, his eyes immediately meeting mine. “Because for the first time, it feels like I might have something to lose.”

What started as a one night stand now has me questioning the possibilities of a future.

The red script along his ribs catches my eyes. Emotion washes over me as I see it’s Matteo’s name written in a beautiful script font. I tenderly touch the skin around it that isn’t irritated.

“I know that girls can have cooties, but I think my mom got a shot from the doctor so she doesn’t have them.” He offers me a smile. “If you like her, I promise I won’t tell her.”

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that you’re quickly becoming one of my favorite people on this stupid spinning rock in space.” His lips quirk and eyes light up. “Is that so?” “It is.” “Well, Trouble,” he starts, lifting his glass up to take another gulp of lemonade. He sets it down and runs his tongue along his top lip to swipe up every drop of lemonade before he smiles. “The feeling is one hundred percent mutual.” “I like that.” His eyes don’t leave mine as he winks. “I like you.”

“Oh.” I run my tongue over my top teeth. “Seems like you’re in a rush to get out of here.” She purses her lips, blowing out a soft breath. “I figured you would want us out of your space.” “Quite the opposite, actually.” I step closer, the distance between us vanishing as I lift my hand to cup the side of her face. “You’re already everywhere and I want to keep it that way.”

“I think that’s just us, Trouble. Unconventional, but it works.”

“I’ll show you how good of a friend I am later tonight,” he murmurs, nipping at my earlobe, mischief dancing in his irises as he pulls away.

“You and Matteo are more important to me than hockey.”

Love is never a guarantee. It’s a gamble and a risk, but it’s one we have to be willing to take.

“You’re my home, Andi,” he breathes, lifting his head to press his lips to my forehead. “You always have been and you always will be.”