Free Crush by Nicole Williams Page A

darkened another shade in the California sun.
    “Promise me right now we’ll never go that long again without seeing each other,” he said, nuzzling into my neck.
    His breath against my skin gave me goose bumps.
    “Promise,” he repeated, looking hard into my eyes.
    “I will only make you a promise that I can guarantee I can keep,” I said, remembering why honesty was a double-edged sword when his face fell a bit.
    His thumb brushed under the collar of my shirt. “Promise me you’ll marry me.”
    I exhaled. That was an easy one. “I promise.”
    His face went from dark to light in the span of two words. “Promise you’ll marry me in the next six months.”
    Back in the danger zone.
    I replied with a lift of my eyebrow.
    He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. You’re so difficult, Luce,” he said, keeping me tucked under his arm as he turned toward the baggage carousel. There was only one suitcase left spinning around on it.
    Grabbing my bag, Jude pretended to be overwhelmed by its size. Or weight. Or both.
    “God, Luce,” he said, looking from me to the bag. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were planning on staying awhile.”
    Jude’s continued theatrics with my bag caught the attention of a few people waiting at the next carousel over. One little boy in particular.
    “Two nights is a while for a girl,” I said, not able to take my eyes off the little boy gaping at Jude. No matter where we went, Jude got a lot of gaping. The little boys who stared were amusing; I only tolerated the batting-eyed females because I couldn’t take out the world’s female population singlehandedly. “Besides, I’ve got a present in there for you that took up at least half the space.”
    “Present?” His eyes sparkled. “A ‘just because’ one?”
    “Aren’t those the best kind?” I said, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the airport store. I had an idea.
    “I got you a present, too,” he said proudly as I scanned the store.
    “A ‘just because’ present?” I asked as I found what I was looking for. Tugging on his hand, I beelined for it.
    “Aren’t those the best kind?” he said.
    “Yes, they are,” I said, grabbing the turquoise-and-yellow football before heading to the cashier.
    “Luce, I can get you one of those for free,” he said, sounding confused. “An official one with the whole team’s autographs if you want.”
    The cashier rang me up, and, before I could hand her the cash, Jude slipped a shiny black card into her hand. “I got it,” he said.
    It’s all right. No biggie , I had to tell myself. He’s just paying for a football.
    I thanked the cashier, then sifted through my purse until I found a pen. Handing him the pen, I held the football in place. “I just want one autograph.”
    He did that half smile, half smirk of his that was by far the sexiest expression in the whole damn world, before signing his name just to the right of the laces.
    “I feel like my number-one fan should get something better than an airport football,” he said, following after me as I headed back to the baggage carousel.
    “Oh, believe me,” I called back, “your number-one fan will be demanding you give her something better later tonight.”
    He chuckled, that low-timbered one of his. “I live to serve.”
    Pushing the thoughts aside that were making my whole body tingle, I walked toward the little boy who was still gawking at Jude. The kid wasn’t even blinking.
    I knelt beside him, holding the ball out for him. “You look like a fan of Jude Ryder’s,” I said, grinning as the boy’s eyes widened another notch when he saw the signature.
    “His biggest fan,” the boy said, his voice high and excited.
    “You and me both, kiddo,” I said, motioning at the ball when he stayed frozen.
    When he finally grabbed the ball, his face lit up like only a child’s could. It was amazing how a signature of the guy I loved could make a person’s day. It was heavy stuff, and something I wasn’t sure