I knocked again and heard Jace sigh in frustration, then the sound of footsteps walking toward the door.
When he swung it open, his expression was serious, but then the grim set of his mouth gave way to an enormous smile. He held his arms open, and I walked right into them. He pulled me inside the room, and I dropped my backpack to the floor, lacing my hands at the back of his neck. Jace kissed me hard.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“Wanted to surprise you.”
He bit my bottom lip lightly, sending a searing hot impulse through me.
“I don’t like us fighting,” he whispered against my lips. “But if it means I get surprises like this one, I could get used to it....”
He feathered his lips along my jawline, up to my cheek. He skimmed his hands from my hips up to my back, then to my ass, as if he wanted to touch me everywhere at the same time. I was content just to be in his arms again.
“I’ve missed you, Brooke. There are a million things I want to tell you.”
“We’ll have plenty of time tonight.”
“You’re sleeping in my room.” His tone was firm, bossy.
“Well, I haven’t booked a room for myself, so that works for me.”
His phone buzzed, and Jace grimaced.
“That would be Andrew, reminding me I’m late.”
I clutched at his shirt, knowing that he had to leave but unwilling to let go. Just a few more seconds. Jace kissed me again, tangling our tongues fiercely, making me shudder.
“Hailey has my VIP tickets,” he said afterward.
“I
’ll talk to her. I already ran into her in the lobby. Now go, before Andrew storms inside here.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Brooke. It means a lot to me.”
“Go get them.”
After Jace left, I hopped in the shower. The players had to be there early, but I still had plenty of time left. I texted with Hailey so we could share an Uber to the stadium.
I had come prepared with the jersey I’d bought a while ago. I put it on, ready to cheer for my man. I pulled my hair in a ponytail and smeared on some eye shadow and lipstick, though I was sure I’d chew off the lipstick by the time the game was over. Jace didn’t seem as if he ever cared if I was wearing makeup or not, but I wanted to look impeccable, especially after rushing to his room looking less than put together.
I descended to the hotel lobby a little too early, but Hailey was there as well. She looked impeccable, in high heels and a beige dress reaching down to her knees and hugging her figure. Not many people could pull off walking into a stadium looking like that, but Hailey wasn’t just wearing a style. She owned it.
“Jace is often late, and you’re always early. Is there a correlation?”
“I think he was always late just to spite me.” Hailey grinned, taking in my clothes. “Nice. Haven’t thought about wearing a jersey.”
“Hailey, you look as if you’ve never worn a jersey in your life.”
“I did when I was a kid. Up until Val gave me the fashion bug. Started to ‘borrow’ her clothes when I was fourteen. She pretended not to notice, but then all her clothes would mysteriously find their way back from my room to hers.”
“Well, Val was a great sister. I fought with mine over clothes on a weekly basis.” I was too excited to stay put. Apparently, so was Hailey, because she suggested we could leave already.
“Yeah, let’s go. Who knows how long it’ll take us to get inside.”
Since we had VIP tickets, it took no time at all. Even after buying drinks and snacks, we still had thirty minutes until the game began.
The players were already out on the arena, performing their warm-ups. The stadium was smaller than the Lords’, and because our tickets were front row, I had no trouble catching Jace’s attention when he looked up.