wouldn’t do either one of us any good.
Eventually, Babs headed off to his room. I forced myself to get up. I needed to call it a night. We had practice in the morning. I had my meeting with the organizer for the Light the Lamp Foundation’s first Portland fundraiser in the afternoon. In between those two things, I needed to get Noelle a cell phone and a watch.
I didn’t want to leave her side, though. I wanted to stay with her until the sun came up tomorrow. I wanted to learn everything there was to learn about her. I wanted to trust her with all the things I couldn’t tell anyone, because she would keep them safe.
My heart, too, would be safe in her hands. I knew it.
But it still belonged to Liv. Didn’t it?
“ This was nice,” Noelle said. Before I had the first clue what she was going to do, she pulled in close to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and tucking her head in beneath my chin. It was as though my arms had a mind of their own. I put them around her and let myself revel in the sensation of her warm body pressed tightly against mine. I breathed in the scent of her hair, memorizing it and every other detail of how she fit with me.
Because she did. She fit with me. She belonged with me, whether I was ready for that or not.
I wasn’t ready to let go yet, but Noelle backed away just a bit. She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed the tip of my chin.
“ Good night, Liam,” she whispered.
Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door before I completely lost my mind and did something I couldn’t undo.
Things were coming along well for the upcoming fundraiser. That was the main thing I took from the meeting I had with the new Portland-area VP of the Light the Lamp Foundation, Jessica Lynch.
She’d made arrangements with a local hotel for us to hold a silent auction in their grand ballroom. She’d selected a caterer, arranged for a crew to work the event, picked out a team to work on décor, and sent out invitations to the Portland Storm season ticket holders and other important people in the community. She was taking on the task of getting donations herself in addition to what I was already getting from the Storm, my teammates, and other players I knew around the league.
All the guys had agreed to be part of the event, even though we were holding it little more than a week before the playoffs would start. I didn’t want to waste any time, though, by putting it off until next season. Light the Lamp was my baby. It was all for Liv’s memory, a way to turn her death into something positive, and I wanted to make it a part of my life no matter where life took me. I wanted to see the good Light the Lamp could do, and before next season got underway.
We’d gotten it off the ground on Long Island, but now we were expanding to Portland. This silent auction was only the beginning. The money we were going to raise that night would help dozens of people, and the brief time I’d spent in the city had shown me there was a real need for what we could do. There were lots of addicts here. Lots of people who needed to make a change. I wished we could hold the fundraiser sooner, but events like this take some time to be set in motion.
At least I had Jessica around to handle all of the details. Jim Sutter had given me a list of names when I’d arrived in Portland after I’d asked for suggestions on who could handle work like this. Apparently, Jessica had worked with the Storm Foundation before, assisting some former players with their charitable causes. So far, she’d proven to be a perfect fit.
Which meant I had more time to sort out what was going on between me and Noelle.
The next game , I spent a few hours in the owner’s box again, but this time I sat with some of the players’ wives and girlfriends plus the head coach’s daughter, Sara Thomas. Katie stayed with us, too, but Maddie chose to hang out in her spot with a book instead of talking to us. I shared the blanket
Eventually, Babs headed off to his room. I forced myself to get up. I needed to call it a night. We had practice in the morning. I had my meeting with the organizer for the Light the Lamp Foundation’s first Portland fundraiser in the afternoon. In between those two things, I needed to get Noelle a cell phone and a watch.
I didn’t want to leave her side, though. I wanted to stay with her until the sun came up tomorrow. I wanted to learn everything there was to learn about her. I wanted to trust her with all the things I couldn’t tell anyone, because she would keep them safe.
My heart, too, would be safe in her hands. I knew it.
But it still belonged to Liv. Didn’t it?
“ This was nice,” Noelle said. Before I had the first clue what she was going to do, she pulled in close to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and tucking her head in beneath my chin. It was as though my arms had a mind of their own. I put them around her and let myself revel in the sensation of her warm body pressed tightly against mine. I breathed in the scent of her hair, memorizing it and every other detail of how she fit with me.
Because she did. She fit with me. She belonged with me, whether I was ready for that or not.
I wasn’t ready to let go yet, but Noelle backed away just a bit. She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed the tip of my chin.
“ Good night, Liam,” she whispered.
Then she went into her bedroom and closed the door before I completely lost my mind and did something I couldn’t undo.
Things were coming along well for the upcoming fundraiser. That was the main thing I took from the meeting I had with the new Portland-area VP of the Light the Lamp Foundation, Jessica Lynch.
She’d made arrangements with a local hotel for us to hold a silent auction in their grand ballroom. She’d selected a caterer, arranged for a crew to work the event, picked out a team to work on décor, and sent out invitations to the Portland Storm season ticket holders and other important people in the community. She was taking on the task of getting donations herself in addition to what I was already getting from the Storm, my teammates, and other players I knew around the league.
All the guys had agreed to be part of the event, even though we were holding it little more than a week before the playoffs would start. I didn’t want to waste any time, though, by putting it off until next season. Light the Lamp was my baby. It was all for Liv’s memory, a way to turn her death into something positive, and I wanted to make it a part of my life no matter where life took me. I wanted to see the good Light the Lamp could do, and before next season got underway.
We’d gotten it off the ground on Long Island, but now we were expanding to Portland. This silent auction was only the beginning. The money we were going to raise that night would help dozens of people, and the brief time I’d spent in the city had shown me there was a real need for what we could do. There were lots of addicts here. Lots of people who needed to make a change. I wished we could hold the fundraiser sooner, but events like this take some time to be set in motion.
At least I had Jessica around to handle all of the details. Jim Sutter had given me a list of names when I’d arrived in Portland after I’d asked for suggestions on who could handle work like this. Apparently, Jessica had worked with the Storm Foundation before, assisting some former players with their charitable causes. So far, she’d proven to be a perfect fit.
Which meant I had more time to sort out what was going on between me and Noelle.
The next game , I spent a few hours in the owner’s box again, but this time I sat with some of the players’ wives and girlfriends plus the head coach’s daughter, Sara Thomas. Katie stayed with us, too, but Maddie chose to hang out in her spot with a book instead of talking to us. I shared the blanket
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