Caged (Gold Hockey Book 11) by Elise Faber (romantic love story reading TXT) 📕

him, so much Dani that he’d almost forgotten about the shy side of her.

He squeezed her waist. “Should we go to dinner?”

His dad nodded, eyes going from Dani to Ethan. “Yes, let’s head out. We have reservations.” He swept forward, wove his arm through Dani’s, tugged her away from Ethan. “Is my son treating you well?”

“I—um—”

“Yes,” his mom said, closing ranks on her other side. “Give me all the gory details. Has he brought you flowers? What about chocolates? Jewelry?”

“Those are all too cliché.”

A scoff. “They may be cliché, but they’re still beacons of romance.”

“Cliché romance,” he said, coming up behind them.

“Tell me, honey,” his father murmured, “do I need to have a talk with my son about the merits of flowers and chocolates?”

Dani tossed a glance over her shoulder, fear in her expression.

He stepped forward, ready to move between them, to be a barrier between his parents and her discomfort, to shield her until she was prepared to speak.

But then her face changed, determination pushing out the fear.

“No,” she murmured. “You don’t have to have a talk with him.”

“You sure?” his mom asked.

“I’m sure.” Another glance, this one filled with warmth. “He bought me my favorite body wash.” She leaned closer. “And then he planned a candlelight dinner for me at Red Rocks.”

The first had drawn his mom’s gaze to his, her brows arched fiercely. The second had made her face soften.

“That’s my boy,” she mouthed as his dad took over the conversation, saying something that had Dani laughing out loud, the lovely, ringing sound filling the hall.

And his heart.

And Ethan knew this was going to be the best night ever.

Chapter Twenty-One

Dani

She’d thought she was doing well, thought she’d managed to get past her insecurities because she was meeting people who loved Ethan.

And because she loved Ethan.

Dinner had gone well.

She’d started off a little slow, a bit stuttering, but once she really started listening, Constance had reminded her of her own mom. A force to be reckoned with, whip smart and funny, with plenty of pushy thrown in.

Then they’d dropped her and Ethan off at the hotel.

Or the initial plan was dropping them off, because they’d ended up staying for a drink in the bar, and that one drink had turned into three.

Dani had peeled off to use the bathroom, a little buzzed, more than a little high on life. She’d done her business in the single stall, had washed her hands, reached for the doorknob.

And then she’d heard it.

Well, them.

Voices in the hall, undoing everything she’d spent the last few weeks building up.

She recognized Brian’s voice even through the door. “You’ve got a good one there, Eth.”

Footsteps coming closer, their words rising in volume.

“I know I do.”

The doorknob jiggled, making Dani jump, her hand clamping to her chest. The footsteps moved on, voices dimming, but not enough for her to miss hearing, “I love her, Dad. So fucking much.”

“Oh shit,” she whispered.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Her knees gave way, and she sank to the floor, her ass hitting the cold tile. She should be happy. Thrilled even. She was helplessly in love with Ethan, had been for a while, even if she was good at pretending she wasn’t.

Except . . . he loved her.

Fuck.

Her throat seized, spots flashing behind her lids, and her lungs worked without actually drawing oxygen into her bloodstream.

He loved her.

Fucking hell.

That . . . that . . . Her fingers scrambled for the lock, flicking it open, yanking the door wide. She stumbled out . . . right into Ethan.

Oh, fuck.

She wasn’t ready for this.

She couldn’t do this right now. She needed to have a panic attack in peace, needed to get to her room, to shove down all the old emotions of unworthiness that had burst forth at his words. It was just . . . too much and—

A soft hand on her back, rubbing up and down. “In and out,” Ethan murmured. “In and out. That’s it. You’ve got this.”

Eventually, the edges of black receded, and she came back into herself in the hall, Ethan having tucked her close, his body wrapped tightly around hers. “You can’t love me,” she whispered. “You can’t, you just can’t.”

His face gentled. “Except I do. I love you, Dani. Of course, I’d expected to tell you in a romantic setting, without the side of toilet. But I do.” He cupped her cheek. “I love you.”

She shook her head.

“Yes, baby. I do.”

Her pulse thundered in her veins, her heart twisting this way and that. She needed a moment. She needed to think, to freak out, and then to recenter. To tell this man she loved him too.

“I love you, Dani,” he murmured.

She pushed against his chest until he released her, staggering to her feet, shoving the hair out of her face. “I need—” She sucked in a breath. “I just need some time to—”

He rose with her, hands coming to her shoulders, eyes bright. “You don’t need time. You need to accept that I love you.” He jostled her lightly, making her head shake. “You have to—”

Her lungs went tight again.

The black crept back in.

“Just a second,” she breathed, slipping out of his hold. “Ethan, this is so much. Too much. I need to think. I need to—”

Come to terms with the fact that her entire life had shifted on its axis again.

She loved the man, loved him back so intensely, but she couldn’t muster the words out of her mouth. Instead, she scrambled for air, her throat swelling, her muscles spasming.

He loved her.

She loved him.

And . . . she was going to fuck it up. Or he’d realize that he wanted something else, deserved something more. The image of Roxanne burst to life in her mind, and for all she’d worked to exorcise those demons, to embrace her self-worth, to remember that Ethan had pursued her, had showed her over and over again that he chose her . . . she just . . . well, she was just too fucking panicked for something like logic to