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  “Selena Gomez.”

  Lace was startled, wasn’t even sure she had heard him right. “Selena…Gomez?”

  “Do I have to quote her for you?” When she didn’t answer, his tone was grim and amused at the same time as he said, “Google this.” After Silver rapped out instructions, she did as asked, and this time her laughter mingled with her tears.

  Damn you, Silver March. You just had to make me cry at sports camp.

  Damn you, Silver March. You just had to be… Too. Irritatingly. Perfect. How could someone like him be so good at the corporate world but at the same time know about Selena Gomez?

  The Heart Wants What It Wants.

  “How do you even know something like that?” Lace gasped.

  “My brother-in-law is a damn rockstar, how else?”

  She choked, sniffed, and laughed all at once. “You just can’t be real—”

  Silver cut her off, his voice rough and hard as he said, “I’m far from perfect, Wyndham. But for you…I want to be perfect for you.”

  She was this close to throwing her phone out of the window. “See? That…that…you just can’t be real.” His words were…God, she so badly wanted to see him right now, wanted to feel his skin against her fingertips so she could be sure she hadn’t just dreamt him up.

  “You just can’t be—”

  The edge of hysteria in her voice must have finally gotten to him. “Lace—”

  It was the first time Silver had called her by her first name, and somehow that felt like the final straw, pushing her over the edge and she was drowning, drowning, drowning—

  “Come back, March.” The words were out before Lace could really think about what she was asking, and the moment they were past her lips, she wanted to kill herself. Why the hell had she said that? She had gone insane. That could be the only reason.

  Silver seemed to be as floored as she was. “What…did you just ask?”

  “If you’re here, I think…I think I might finally...” Oh my God, she was still insane.

  “Finally…what?” Silver’s tone was now edgy with unease.

  “Those words.”

  Lace ended the call.

  It was official. She was certifiably insane.

  The sound of applause had her jerking and when she turned around, all her boys were smirking and clapping their hands.

  Lace shot to her feet. “You heard?”

  Drew gave her a thumbs-up. “Every word, Coach.”

  Noooooooooooooooo.

  Why did every chapter of her life seem to end the same way?

  First Fight

  “I’ll be out in a sec,” Lace shouted irritably the next day when one of her boys banged his fist on her door again. “It’s not as easy to wear a skintight dress as you think, assholes.” Especially for someone like her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had to wear something that didn’t have leg holes. Maybe…high school graduation?

  “I dunno…” It was Vasyl speaking. “They always seem easy to take off for me.”

  The words had Lace rolling her eyes while outside her door, the guys were laughing. She stepped in front of the mirror when she finally managed to zip herself up. The dress was the girliest she had ever worn, a spaghetti-strapped flowery thing with a heart-shaped neckline and a loose skirt. It was brand new, and so were the frilly ballet flats they had her wear. How they were able to get their hands on the stuff, Lace didn’t even want to think about. She just hoped they hadn’t committed a crime over it.

  Her fingers drifted over her skin, and she was grateful there were only the faintest marks on the places that Silver had claimed. Damn you, Silver March. But the thought had her more depressed than furious.

  He hadn’t called her back, hadn’t sent her a single message since she had asked him to come. Did that mean—

  Lace determinedly shoved the thought to the back of her mind. There was no point wasting time thinking about stuff she could never answer.

  When she stepped out of her room, her boys whistled. “Good job, Alexio,” Ivan said, pounding his forward on the back. “You actually made Coach look like a girl.”

  “Shut up,” Lace snarled. But actually, she was pretty impressed, too. Alexio had managed to style her normally unruly blonde hair into something painfully cute, and even the light makeup he had applied on her face was perfect. She glanced at her forward, asking bluntly, “Are you gay?”

  Alexio choked. “No.”

  Drew grinned. “As it turns out, Coach, Alexio here is the youngest in his family, and he has four older sisters. Over the years, they’ve managed to force him to learn girly stuff so he could help them with their jobs.”

  “They’re all models,” Ivan clarified.

  Alexio was rubbing his jaw contemplatively. “But I gotta say, I think I’ve outdone myself with Coach. I never thought I could make her look this good, too.”

  “Do you guys want to run ten extra laps for tomorrow’s practice?” she asked sweetly, but everyone just laughed.

  Damian checked the time. “We should start moving. They told us each team only has ten minutes with the photographer and if we miss it, the uni’s going to kill us.”

  As they ran down the stairs, she threatened, “If I ever learn that you guys tricked me into wearing a dress and they didn’t actually require it…”

  They all gave her angelic looks. “How could you think we’d do something like that to you?”

  She said dryly, “You so could.” She checked her watch and set the time. “Might as well use this for practice.”

  Her players suddenly looked panicky. “Coach—”

  “Last one will run an extra lap,” she called out over her shoulder, running as well since she also included herself in their practices.

  By the time they reached the arbor where the photo shoot for the team was supposed to be, all of them were panting hard and half bent, hands resting on their knees.

  Lace was about to say something when she noticed something…wrong.

  There wasn’t anyone else in the arbor but them.

  “Is the photographer late?” she asked.

  “Dunno.” Drew shrugged. “We’re waiting for someone else.”

  “I see him now.” Damian pointed somewhere behind Lace.

  She whirled around and nearly had a heart attack when she saw Silver. He was dressed in the most casual she had ever seen him, in a buttoned-down shirt, jeans, and loafers. Most of his face was covered by his hat and dark glasses, but it didn’t really matter. She had a feeling she’d always know him, no matter what his disguise was.

  If her boys weren’t behind her, Lace had a feeling she’d run for her life. Silver March was here. He was supposed to be in Europe, but he was here. Was it because of what she had said last night? Just the thought had her knees buckling.

  All the time he had been walking towards her, Lace had been desperately trying to think of him as a figment of her imagination, but now that he was right in front of her—

  Too. Irritatingly. Perfect.

  His Hollywood-star-face. His Olympic-athlete-body. Lump the two together, and it was a powerful combination, able to render virtually every girl dumbstruck. Even someone like her, but she was hoping she could still stop herself from being seduced.

  Lace opened her mouth to speak, anything to break the sensual spell of his presence, but no words came out. Not when he had taken off his sunglasses and looked at her like that.

  Damn. She had forgotten about that: Silver March’s greatest weapon.

  The ability to melt women with his gaze.

  Averting her eyes, she asked stiffly, “What are you doing here?”

  Behind her, Vasyl was groaning. “So unfeminine, Coach.”

  “I don’t even know what the guy sees in her,” she heard Drew saying.

  Their words made Lace redden, and she whirled around, snapping, “Well, sorry for being so unfeminine and unattractive.”

  Her team fell silent, all of them visibly taken aback by her outburst. She
hated herself for it, but she couldn’t help it either. She had spent the whole night waiting for a call – even just a damn message – that never came.

  And then all of a sudden, Silver was here, and Lace felt like she was drowning again. But this time, she couldn’t be sure at all if it was right to hold on to Silver to survive.

  Her team was still staring at her, and she heard herself saying sarcastically, “What? You want to see me crying, too?” But she already was, even before she was done talking.

  Ivan was the first to move. A nod from him, and they were turning and walking away. She knew she should call them back and say sorry, but stubborn pride kept her silent. It was their fault for playing a trick on her. It was their fault—

  Behind her, Silver said quietly, “I was already on my way to the airport when one of your players, Ivan, called me. When he learned I was flying back, your team and I hatched this surprise for you. They thought you deserved a little reward for all the hard work you’ve put in.”

  Glaring down at her shoes because she didn’t want Silver to see her crying, she said between clenched teeth, “If that’s supposed to make me feel bad—”

  “I don’t have to. You’re already angry at yourself.” Silver tipped her chin up. “Call them back now, little lamb. You know you want to.”

  She rubbed her eyes furiously. “I…”

  A smile touched his lips. “Go on. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be here with you until Sunday.”

  “Y-you will?”

  Nod.

  She whirled around. Her players were already crossing the bridge that connected the arbor to the rest of the garden. Cupping her mouth, she shouted, “I’M SORRY.”

  They turned around to face her.

  “I ADMIT IT. I WAS A MELODRAMATIC BITCH. I’M SORRY.”

  They grinned, and then Ivan was shouting back, “We need payback, Coach.”

  She grinned back. “And here I was thinking you guys were gentlemen.”

  They met halfway in the garden, Lace trying to pull her hand from Silver’s casual but firm grip. He only released her when they reached her boys, and damn if that didn’t make her heart skip a beat. She really loved the way he gave her space when it came to basketball.

  “We are gentlemen, Coach,” Drew was telling her with a grin, “but only with girls we want to have in our beds.”

  Lace wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Gross.” Ivan and Damian were speaking in Greek, and the way the rest of the team was nodding and smirking made her nervous. “What are you talking about?”

  “What kind of payback we’d ask for,” Damian answered.

  She scowled. “Assholes.”

  “But you were the one who said it first, Coach,” Vasyl said innocently. “You were the B-word, weren’t you?”

  “Shut up. What’s the payback?”

  They looked at Silver. “It’s your lucky day, man,” Alexio said, clapping him on the back. Then he bent down, his words a low murmur Lace couldn’t hear.

  Her suspicions worsened when she saw the way Silver’s blue eyes gleamed, his lips curving as his gaze settled on hers.

  Damn. Whatever it was, she had a feeling she wouldn’t like it.

  When Silver started towards her, she automatically started backing away. But then he was running, and she, too, tried to run, but Silver was surprisingly fast, faster than she assumed he could be. He caught her in a few seconds, and she shrieked when he swept her up in his arms, princess-style. Before she could ask him if he had lost his mind, he was already bending his head.

  It was an unbelievably passionate open-mouthed kiss. It swept away her ability to think, leaving her only capable of feeling. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, seduced into a willing participant by every bold stroke of his tongue. She whimpered against his mouth as her breasts flattened against his hard chest, swelling against its tight confines. She whimpered again, her skin heating as his lips trailed down, Silver nuzzling her jaw before licking her neck.

  She arched her neck, wanting more of his kisses, and that was when she heard it—

  Her boys, clapping, whistling, and shouting encouragement to Silver.

  Her eyes flew open.

  “That was some show, Coach.”

  “We just wanted proof that your guy is what you really wanted.”

  Her boys exchanged looks. “But…we also wanted to torture you with embarrassment, payback for the hell you gave us this morning at the gym.”

  She glared at them. “ASSHOLES.”

  But they only grinned and gave her a chorus of “Bye, Coach” as they started jogging away.

  “You could put me down now.” She tried getting out of Silver’s arms.

  “Nope.” Silver was walking back to the arbor, taking them further away from the resort. He only let her down when they reached one of the benches facing the springs, where players from other schools were relaxing.

  When she was seated on the bench, Silver promptly lay back and rested his head on her lap.

  Lace froze, hissing in protest, “March, dammit!” Right now, everyone who cared to look their way would see them.

  “If you don’t make a noise, they won’t even think about looking our way.”

  She shut up, but she glared at him still.

  Silver reached for her face, caressing her cheek as he murmured, “I missed you.”

  Her lips tightened. Ha.

  “If you’re wondering why I didn’t call or text you, obviously, it was because I wanted this to be a surprise.”

  “I hate surprises.”

  He only smiled. “But…surely you knew? You only have to say the word, and I’ll go wherever you are.”

  God, the words that this guy would say…

  Lace closed her eyes and slumped against the back of the bench.

  She found herself stroking his hair, slowly, shakily. Soon, she was luxuriating in the texture of his hair, in the knowledge that she had the right to touch him like this.

  “Say the words.”

  Butterflies. They were waking up, their wings slowly fluttering.

  His voice turned silvery. “Say the words, little lamb.”

  Those damn butterflies were flying now, soaring, reaching her heart.

  She opened her eyes, allowing him to see the fear lodged inside her. It was just too soon. Just too much.

  His own gaze softened, and Lace knew he understood. Even though he had flown halfway across the world because she had promised him she'd say the words, he wouldn’t hold it against her.

  He really was too irritatingly perfect.

  She bent down, taking him by surprise as she pressed her lips against his. Lace whispered, “I hate you.” It was the best she could do. “Despise you, loathe you—” The rest of what she had to say was lost in his mouth. His fingers sank in her hair as he pulled her down to deepen the kiss. And later, much, much later, she could feel his smile as he murmured, “Love you, too, Wyndham.”

  First Time

  No words were needed. It was as if they both knew what would happen next, and it was what they both wanted. When they reached the resort proper, there were already other students around but while all of them did double takes at the sight of Silver, none of them thought it was odd to have him there. She realized belatedly it was why Silver had dressed down, his clothes allowing him to fit in with the rest.

  She led him to her room, her heartbeat racing so fast it seemed a second away from collapsing by the time she and Silver were alone, the door closed and locked behind her.

  Was she really going to do this? She had never given sex a thought before Silver, but now, it was all she could think about.

  Behind her, she heard Silver mutter and when she looked at him over her shoulder, she saw him gazing at her long row of rubber shoes, which she had lined up next to the door. “I almost tripped on them,” Silver said.

  “Sorry.” She swallowed back a nervous giggle.

  “I’m counting…twenty pairs of shoes?” His eyebrow lifted. �
��You brought twenty pairs of shoes for camp?”

  “I love my shoes,” she said defensively.

  His lips twitched. “I can see that you do.”

  Damn. That smile. She looked away. “Umm, do you want something to drink?” She started for the mini bar but Silver pulled her back, closing the distance between them. A hand lifted her hair off her back, placing it over one shoulder. A second later, she shivered in acute awareness when he started nibbling on her ear.

  “You know what I want.”

  Shiiiiiiiiiver.

  Before she could even think how to answer that, Silver was speaking again. “Are you on the Pill?”

  The question had her closing her eyes. If she answered that, she was as good as saying yes to what would happen next, wasn’t she?

  “Wyndham?”

  “F-four years now. For my period.”

  “Good.”

  The sound of their breathing filled the room as his lips moved down, caressing her neck and then moving further down, his mouth tracing a wet, warm path on the line of her shoulder.

  Lace swallowed when she felt Silver’s fingers drifting on her back, resting at the handle of the zipper. His voice was pure silvery seduction as he murmured, “I’ve dreamt of this so many damn nights, little lamb.”

  “Y-You did?” She couldn’t help stiffening as she felt Silver pulling the zipper down.

  Ziiiiiiiiip.

  “Sometimes, I’d need to take three cold showers in one night.”

  Silver’s fingers were on the straps now, pushing them down her arms, making her head spin at the way things were progressing. Any second now, she thought dazedly. Any moment now she would be—

  The dress slowly fell in a pool around her feet.

  Lace’s fists clenched. She was down to her underwear now, and she couldn’t remember feeling this exposed before. She stiffened when she felt Silver unclip her bra, and she stiffened even more when she felt him slowly pulling the lacy piece away from her breasts. The bra fell to the floor as Silver admitted grittily, “Sometimes, I wouldn’t be able to help it…”