Chapter 60

Winnie

I experience nightmare after nightmare of Dana telling me that I’m not good enough for Jake. I shake and kick in my sleep. My heart is on fire, and muffled words leave my lips until a strong hand jostles me awake, and I blink back to reality.

“Winnie?” It’s Jake, and he is squatting beside me. “Wake up. Breakfast is ready for you.”

“B-breakfast?” My mouth feels dry, and my throat is sore. I think I’ve been talking in my sleep.

“Uh-huh, I made pancakes,” a grin spreads over Jake’s face. “I feel like a total wildling now. Can you believe it?

Pancakes made over an open fire in an old, dusty frying pan.”

“You’re adorable,” I sit up, unable to prevent my lips from curling into a smile. I know Jake loves cooking and baking, but the pride in his eyes for making pancakes outside a kitchen? He is so sweet.

“I would prefer to be called sexy.”

“You’re sexy, too,” I tell him. “And if those pancakes are as good as they smell,

I will go down on my knees and suck you. You don’t know how much I love your breakfast pancakes.”

He snorts and shakes his head with an indulgent smile. I love when he gives me that kind of sweet expression. He is undoubtfully proud to provide for me and hurries to fetch me a paper plate.

I only make it out of the tent to sit down on a blanket area that Jake has prepared for us before he returns with my food. ” Here you go. Pancakes with maple syrup and blueberries. Your favorite.”

The stupid, toothy grin that settles over my lips makes Jake snort a laugh. I don’t have to say anything for him to know how much these simple displays of affection mean to me. Still, when he sits beside me, I smile up at him, a little teary-eyed.

to take it for granted, you know? The way you treat me. I guess it’s because you always did, and I’m

piece into his mouth with a one-time-use fork made of renewable material. “I’ve liked you for a long time,” his smile is infectious. ” That’s why I’ve always gone the extra mile for you, hoping you

at him. “Does your teammates know that you’re secretly

and downright outraged expression on his face make me

the only one I treat differently, and on the ice,

in a sing-song voice and cut into my pancake, glancing

knows sports are replacement wars, just less bloody. Instead of killing each other, we get to fight other states on the ice and celebrate when

like the idea of other players

all fear me. I’m

intimidating is part of the job. That second of hesitation from my opponents? I live

him with my shoulder and

softie!” Jake growls, glaring at

“Oh, yes, you are. But I love that about you. You take care of me, make me

falls after I’ve spoken, and I inwardly

times before he openly stares at me. I stare right back at him, feeling vulnerable because

my man often becomes shy when complimented or called sweet. I can’t tell

me nervous, so I change the subject. “So, kayaking… when was the last time you did that?” My heart is racing, but it helps to

“I do. We won that competition and had the fastest time out of

“You remember the prize as

shared a package of hotdogs. Damn, those were the times. We gloated over it too, kept saying how juicy

gone, thank god. We are back to joking around, and we eat our breakfast while Jake tells me how rare it is to make friends with teammates. He calls himself lucky to be playing among old friends, and

He never did it very often in the past, always letting me or Mark talk over him. It

sweet, but he would probably kick my ass if I called him that often. His ego can’t handle such compliments, and more than often, he blushes when I point out how soft he

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