The Right Move (Windy City, #2)

by Liz Tomforde

“You hiding, Shay?” Looking up, Indy’s neck is craned, peeking into the isolated cove, bouquet of white flowers dangling in her hand. Beautiful as ever. Happy too. And I can only hope I’m the reason for that. “You know me too well, Ivers.” “Can I hide with you?” Head leaning back on the wall, I take a deep breath thanks to her proximity. “You can hide with me forever, baby.”

“I want you, Indy. I want us. I want our little life we’ve built even when we thought we were pretending. I want you in our house because you’ve made it a home. I want your mess and your chaos. I want your genuine smiles, the ones you wear when you’re around my sister, the hockey team, and me. I want you happy, and I want to be the reason you are. I want you to choose me.” “Ry—” “I understand what I’m competing against. I know I don’t have your history, but I want your future.” “Ryan—” “You deserve the grand gestures, the big moments. I’m not great at making a show. I don’t like the attention, but if that’s what you need to understand how much I want you in my life, I’ll do it. Fuck, I should’ve done this in front of a crowd or standing in the rain or something romantic instead of hiding away and saying it. God…” I chuckle without humor. “I’m telling you you’re the best thing to ever come into my life while hiding in a random room with terrible carpet and shitty wallpaper—” “Ryan!” I swallow. “Yeah?” Her lips lift, a smile overtaking her face. “I never thought I’d say this, but you can stop talking now.” A small chuckle rumbles in my chest as she closes the space between us. Hand wrapping around my neck, she pulls my eyes to meet hers. “You didn’t have to say anything. I already know. And I’m the talker in this relationship, in case you forgot, but today, I only have three words I need to say.” She leans up on her tiptoes, her mouth level to mine as she whispers the lo...

In all these weeks, I had convinced myself it would take Indy time to get on the same wavelength to feel about me as I do her. I never thought she’d be the one to admit it first. I had intended to stay quiet, continuing to love her through my actions until I was certain the admission wouldn’t scare her off, but here she is, my romantic girl, sweeping me off my feet.

“I know I said I like your quietness, but now would be a good time to say something.” I chuckle. My confident girl, vulnerable and nervous. Pushing her hair behind her ears, I cup her cheeks and ensure her focus is on me. “I’m glad you finally got on my page.” A smile slides across her mouth. “I’m sorry someone let you believe you were hard to love, because, Blue, it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” I shake my head. “God, I love you. I think in a way, I’ve loved you since our first breakfast together. You brought me back to life, Ind, and I will love you as long as you’ll let me.” “Promise?” Pulling her in, I take her lips with mine. “I’ll even add it to the fridge.”

But let me make this clear, when it comes to her, I have no issue ruining my reputation. I will burn the world down to protect her and I’ll proudly wave the match, so everyone knows I’m the one who did it.”

“You know that jersey you’ve got with my last name on it? When you see it hanging there in your closet, let it serve as a reminder to you, that soon enough, it’ll be her last name too.”

“Okay, you’re not allowed to give nicknames.” “So only you’re allowed to hand out nicknames?” “Well, yeah, mine are good.” Blue. Ind. Baby when we’re in bed. Mrs. Shay is another I’d like to add to the list in the future. “What do you want me to call you then?” she asks, halting us in our tracks. Cupping her cheeks, I kiss her for everyone who wants to see. “You can call me yours.” She smiles into me. “Can you take me home now?” “You don’t want to stay here?” She has a room upstairs for the night and I have a bag in the car in case things went my way today. “I want to go back to the city where it’s just you and me in our home.” Our home. “I like the way that sounds.”

Indy Daily update—I’m in love with your brother. Stevie Best daily update I’ve ever received.

“Ryan?” I call out. “Yeah?” “When did you start learning sign?” He peeks out of the bathroom, half the door frame covering his tall body. “Your mom texted me to check in on you a couple of days after I met your parents. I asked for her advice on the best way to start learning since she was an adult when she learned too. We’ve been video chatting once a week ever since, and they’ve both been teaching me.”

“Your mom also helped me enroll in an online class which I’m passing with flying colors, thank you very much.” Ryan’s lips tug into a beautifully soft smile as he watches me from across the room. “Don’t cry, Blue.” “I can’t help it.” I suck in a sharp intake of air. “I adore you.”

“She’s funny. I like her a lot.” “But not as funny as me, right?” He laughs again. “Of course not.”

“Why?” “Why what, baby?” “Why are you learning sign?” I’m fairly certain I know the reason, but I want to hear him say it. “Because they’re your family and you’re mine, and the fact you even have to ask is mind-blowing to me. Learning to communicate with your family is the bare minimum, Ind.” I guess it is, but I didn’t know the bar was on the floor until Ryan Shay walked into my life and quietly raised it to the fucking moon. “And because I love you and when I tell your dad that, I’ll be the one to say it.”

By nature, I’m a nurturer, and now that I can look back with clarity, that part of my personality has been exploited in the past, but not once has Ryan taken advantage of me. He’s been alone for too long, and it’s a privilege to take care of him.

A soft smile slides across his lips as he leans against the doorframe, a fresh bouquet of flowers in his hand. “Well, don’t you look cozy?” “Are those for me?” He pops his shoulder before placing them on the nightstand. “Maybe.” “Ryan, the romantic.” Words I never thought I’d say. “I love peonies. Thank you.” Opening my arms, Ryan crawls onto the bed and nuzzles up to me. “And I love coming home to you.” Scratching his scalp, I place a couple of kisses on his cheek. “That’s good because I’m not going anywhere.” “No?” “Are you kidding? I’ve got a free ride here. I get flowers hand delivered every week and I’m getting laid on the regular. I’m living the dream.” His chest heaves against mine. “And then there’s the whole thing about me being in love with you.” “That little detail.” His smiling mouth meets mine.

Turning around, I make my way back to the doorway of his room. “Are you happy, Ry?” Hands folded under his head, he crosses his legs at the ankles, a soft smile on his lips. “I’ve got everything I could ever ask for. I’ve never been happier in my life, Blue. Now, I just got to get us to the playoffs.”

Indy doesn’t need the world to know I love her, she’s said it herself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want them to. Holding my fist out, I connect it with Zanders’. Leaning down, I pop a kiss on Stevie’s cheek. “Love you,” she says. “Love you, Vee.” Next to my sister sits her best friend, the brown-eyed beauty who owns my entire heart. With my knuckle, I tilt her chin up and lean down to kiss her lips. “And I love you.” She smiles into me. “Go give them hell, Five.” Jogging back to my team, Zanders shouts from behind me. “What about me? You don’t love me?” “Love you too, brother!”

“He’s an MVP nod, for fuck’s sake! Give the man some credit! What the hell are they paying you for?” she continues before adding a few more colorful curse words. “Goddamn. Are your knees sore from blowing that call?” An amused smile is fighting to break free, but I just shake my head as I watch her. “Your girl is kind of scary sometimes, Shay,” Dom notes from one side. Ethan laughs from the other. “I know,” I admit proudly. “And I fucking love it.”

“Read with me?” “God.” My head falls back. “Talk dirty to me, why don’t you.”

“Why do you like reading fiction so much?” he asks without a hint of judgment. “How else would you get to live a thousand lives in the span of only one? The beauty of fiction is that it makes you feel things on a visceral level. You can cry with those characters, laugh with them. It teaches you to look at another’s perspective, to have empathy. In nonfiction, you simply learn about something instead of feeling it.” “You already feel more than most people I know.” Ryan closes his book, cocks his head, and watches me with a softness I didn’t know existed when I first moved in. “You haven’t been reading much lately.” I pop my shoulders. “Well, that’s because I don’t feel the need to live in someone else’s reality. I enjoy my own far too much these days.” That stunning smile is back, puckered dimples and all as Ryan runs his palms up the length of my thighs. “Can I read some of your book?” “Really?”

“This is practically a how-to manual on how to please a woman. How are more men not reading these?”

He’s confident and unafraid to let me know the effect I have on him.

I truly have no idea how many times this man will continue to surprise me, but it’s just like Ryan to stay quiet until needing to say something.

I’ve always wanted to be a mom. Clearly, the whole reason I moved in in the first place was to save enough money in order to make that dream a reality. But it’s no longer this innate desire to parent. Instead, I want to parent with him.

This is what I’ve wanted. I just didn’t expect it so soon. I’m a planner, a preparer. I would meet her parents, ask her to marry me, then do everything in my power to make her a mom. I’m not accustomed to my plan going out of order. I don’t just dream and hope for the best. At least, I didn’t dream before her.

“I made her feel like I don’t want the same future she does. She probably thinks I’ve been stringing her along this entire time with no plans to give her the life she wants.” “Are you?” Stevie asks softly. “Ryan, I love you. You mean more to me than anyone in the world, but if there’s even an ounce of you that doesn’t want the same things she does, then you have to let her go. She’s wasted too much time with someone who strung her along, and I can’t let you do that to her again.” As much as Stevie is my other half, there are things not even she knows. Steps I’ve taken to give Indy the future she wants. The future I want too. I’ve always wanted a family but knowing I could do it at the same time as my sister, coupled with that quick but fleeting belief Indy was pregnant, I want it now more than ever. “I would never let us get to this point if I wasn’t on the same page. I saw what she went through, and I’d never do that to her.”

The harsh reality is that I don’t love Ryan any less than I did this morning but recognizing that only hurts more to know we aren’t on the same page. Just because our futures don’t align doesn’t mean the life-altering love I have for him has gone away.

And as I pull out each item, more tears fall from my face because I love him, and I love the way he loves me. So attentively. So quietly.

Blue, I’m not great with words, so I’ll keep this short. I love you. I will love you as long as you'll allow me the privilege, and even longer after that. I have every intention to give you the life you want. I hope you’ll let me. You can even add this promise to the fridge when you get home. -Ryan

“You didn’t have to make me some but thank you. I appreciate it more than you know. And thank you for letting me stay.” “Of course, Indigo. You’re my girl. I’ve got your back.”

An audible laugh bubbles out of my lips and I almost shock myself at the sound. Rio always knows how to put a smile on my face. The same way Stevie does and Zee. The same way I’m always wearing one around Ryan. This family I’ve created over the last year and a half is new in my life but holds a weight far more significant than the friends I kept for an entire lifetime. Sometimes history really means nothing when the right people walk into your life.

If Ryan isn’t involved, what’s the point? Yes, I’ve always wanted kids, but not without him. That realization hit me like a truck this morning as I was getting in my car to come here, and now, as I sit here alone, I’m still asking myself the same thing.

“I said the wrong words the other day,” he says instead. “And there are some others you need to hear.” Swallowing, I give him my full attention. “I didn’t realize how lonely I was until you. All this time, you were existing outside of those four walls of my apartment. Everything I’ve ever needed existed outside of that apartment. Then you came inside and brought me back to life and I refuse to go back to my world before you. I won’t go back to life before you, Ind.” “I don’t want a life without you either, Ryan, but sometimes it’s not as simple as that. Life isn’t black and white.” “You don’t think I know that? I haven’t seen black and white since the second you walked into my apartment. Now it’s pink-painted toes, purple clothes, green plants, and those goddamn yellow curtains.” He shakes his head. “And so much fucking Blue. All I see is Blue.” Translation: All I see is you. Tears prick my eyes and I’m shocked I have more to shed. “I love that you read romance novels to feel something. I love that you love flowers and plants because nurturing and allowing something to grow is second nature to you. I love that you experience every emotion so hard it takes over your entire body. But baby, I want to be the one to make you feel how your favorite books do. I want to be the one to give you children to nurture and grow. When you think of me, the only emotion I want you to feel is unconditional, earth-shattering love. Because when I look at you, I see my entire future and ...

Ryan is it for me. It didn’t take six years for me to know. It didn’t even take six months. My heart has been his even when I thought I didn't have any left of it to give.

I’ve gained a new appreciation for the quiet since I met Ryan. The silence allows for a moment of introspection. Now, that silence screams with reminders that I’m worthy. That I’m deserving of the love I read about. I’m deserving of the family I desire, and I know this because I fell in love with a man while I was being completely and utterly myself and he fell right alongside me.

“What are you thinking about, Ind?” I’m thinking about raising kids with the woman next to me. About getting to call my best friend my sister-in-law. About being an aunt to that sweet baby she’s growing. About spending our days together at the United Center watching Ryan or Zanders play then spending our evenings out here.

All I can see in this backyard is the rest of our lives. Every birthday. Every holiday. Every warm summer evening and chilly winter morning. And every image centers around the man my heart, mind, and soul loves.

“Mr. Shay, in my almost four decades of doing this job, you have been my favorite tenant. You’re kind, generous, and more down-to-earth than any twenty-seven-year-old who makes the kind of money you make should be. But son, in the almost five years you’ve lived here, the only time you’ve been able to step outside is to rush into a car or rush into the building across the street to see your sister. You’re not living here. You’re being watched.” He motions towards the crowd of fans waiting for me out front. “I will miss the heck out of you, but I hope you and Miss Ivers get out of here and find a place where you can have a moment of peace.”

“Mr. Morgan,” I call out, jogging to meet up with him. “Sir.” He stops, turning on his dress shoes, his pressed suit perfectly in place. “I apologize if what I said in there causes the organization any grief.” He shakes his head, confused. “I know that’s not really on brand for me to admit those things, but—” “Thank God you finally did.” He laughs. “That’s the Ryan Shay I’ve been wanting people to see all these years. That’s the Ryan Shay I scouted out of college. It’s good to see him again.” He smacks my shoulder, turning down the hall again. “Are you trading me if we lose tonight?” I call out. He laughs so loudly it echoes off the empty hallway walls. “Hell no. I’ve got the best point guard in the league. Hell, maybe the best point guard the game has ever seen and he’s on my payroll. You think I’m giving that up? Not to mention, you’re kind of growing on me, kid.” As I stay silent, Ron eyes me curiously before continuing. “This probably isn’t what any profitable General Manager would say, but I’m not worried about the scoreboard. I want guys that want to be here. That enjoy their teammates. I want the rest of the league to look at the Chicago Devils organization and wonder how they could get traded here because the guys who play for me love their jobs. That is what’s going to win us a championship. That is what’s going to make us successful, and Shay, for the first time in five years, I think you might love your job.” “I do, sir.” “Good.”

And there she is, blonde hair, lavender sundress, and embroidered Converse. Beautiful as always with that sunshine smile I’ll never tire of seeing. My best friend and the person who owns every part of me.

“First line item,” she says, grabbing a pen and hovering it over the paper. “Rent.” “Blue, we own the house outright.” She ignores me. “I’m going to need at least two ‘I love yous’ every morning and another before bed. I’m a bit needy, you know. Words of affirmation and all that. And we should really build an in-home library, and maybe a greenhouse in the back for winter.” A laugh heaves in my chest. “I think I can handle that form of payment.” “Well, that was easy. Let’s move on. Rules.” She writes the word down, identically matching the lease I made for her. “What are your rules, Ind?” Her soft brown eyes meet mine, melting in front of me. “We live our happiest lives out here. You and me. Even if it’s always just you and me. Even if children aren’t in our future, we remember how grateful we are to have found each other.” I couldn’t agree more. “Deal.” “But at the same time.” She holds up a single finger. “We try our hardest to fill every room in this house. I’m talking morning, afternoon, and evening. You think you practice a lot for basketball?” She laughs condescendingly. “That’s nothing, Shay.” I can’t help it anymore as I stand from my stool and round the island to meet her. Gripping her hips, I kiss the top of her shoulder. “Deal.”

She turns to face me. “Ryan, I need you to know, when I was staying at Rio’s I didn’t have to think about whether you were the right person for me. There’s no question of how badly I want you or how much I love you. You know that, right?” Shockingly enough, that was never my concern. Indy has always made me feel wanted, and I’m sure it only made things worse for her, wanting me while believing our futures were headed in different directions. “I know.”

“I love you.” “God, I love you so much,” she says, snaking her hands around my neck, intertwining her fingers. “I missed you. Thank you for understanding my fears and treating them with patience. You make me feel deserving of all the things I want in life. I don’t know where you came from or how I got so lucky to be loved by you, but Ryan, I adore you.” “You are. You deserve every little thing you manage to dream for yourself. I hated being away from you, Ind, but I loved seeing you stand up for the things you want. Don’t stop doing that. Even if it’s me you’re facing off with, don’t settle for less.”

“Ask me.” She drapes her arms over my shoulders. “What do you say, Shay? Want to be my roomie? Hide away with me in this big, beautiful house?” “I think that sounds like the right move.” Fingers threaded through her hair, I pull her into me, foreheads and noses touching. “I will love you for the rest of my life,” she whispers against my lips. It’s a promise, coming from the most loyal woman I know. “Forever, Blue.” I’m lost when her mouth meets mine. Soft pulls of her lips, sweeps of her tongue. She’s warm and tastes like fucking heaven. Her coconut soap lingers on her skin, and I inhale as much as I can, reminding my body that she’s here. That we’re okay. I’ve gone far longer than three days without kissing Indy, when I’m on the road for work or when she is, but this intentional distance was torture. Kissing her now, in our kitchen, feels like it’s the first time all over again, with a reassurance that there will never be an end.

This woman ruined me the day she walked into that apartment, then she brought me back to life soon after, and I’m hers. I’ve always been hers.

I bought this house for her to host. For her to have as many people over as she likes. I’m sure I’ll continue to be a bit of a lone wolf, to want my time alone as long as that time alone includes her. But Indy, as much as she’s learned to be content in the quiet, will always be a social butterfly. I didn’t buy this place to hide her away from the entire world, I bought it so she could bring our world to us.

“I love her. She’s my whole world. My best friend.”

He doesn’t have to say anything else. I know what it means. Thank you for protecting my daughter, for loving my daughter. But later tonight, I’ll hopefully be the one saying thank you right after I ask for his blessing to marry his daughter. It was the first question I learned to sign, so you could say I’ve been practicing it for a while.

“You’re happy.” Stevie smiles softly. “It looks good on you, Ry.” I rest my head back, letting the sounds of Ethan’s kids playing in the backyard and my teammates having a good time fill my ears. “I am. This is everything I didn’t know I could have.”

Annie’s brow raises. “A great school district? Why have you looked at that, huh?” I shrug. “Ryan Shay, is Indy pregnant?” “Not yet.” Ethan stills. “Not yet?!” I pop my shoulders. “We’re trying.” I catch Stevie’s eye at that, and across the way, her lips lift in a soft smile. I don’t have to say it. Our twin brains can communicate with a simple look that I don’t want to miss out on raising a family right alongside her.

“Ind!” I call out as she passes by the open back doors. “Come sit with me.” She drops what she’s doing to come outside and take a seat across my lap. Bringing her knees up to her chest, I wrap her up, hoping to keep her warm in that little dress. “Can I help you with anything?” I whisper. She shakes her head before dropping it to my shoulder. “I’m having so much fun.” “Me too.” She looks up at me. “Yeah?” I nod. “Thank you for planning this for me.” “I’m happy that you’re happy.” “I’m happy that we’re happy.”