Light the Lamp by Catherine Gayle Page A

spicy cologne he’d put on after showering. Close enough that I could feel the heat still radiating from his body after all that physical activity. I liked the sensation, his warmth wrapping around me like a blanket. Even with my sweater, I’d been cold the whole night. I had already decided that the next time I came to one of his games, I was absolutely going to steal Maddie and Katie’s idea and bring a throw blanket with me.
    We walked past a group of fans that was still lingering, even though the game had ended quite a while ago. The fans were all dressed in purple-and-silver jerseys, and they’d obviously been drinking judging by their loud voices and unsteady gaits.
    They must have recognized Liam, because all of a sudden one of them shouted out, “Kally! Nice fucking hattie!”
    “ You can stay as long as you want if you keep scoring like that!” another added.
    There were more shouts, and a few of the men started following after us. Liam pulled me a little closer to his side, which I was glad for, but he slowed and turned around, walking us backward while we faced the rowdy fans.
    “ Hope you all enjoyed yourselves tonight,” he said calmly. I was anything but calm. The same way I didn’t know how to deal with angry people, I really didn’t know how to deal with drunk people. They made me nervous.
    “ We did, thanks to you,” the one closest to us said. He was slurring his words a little. “Fucking hat trick. Way to bust out of a fucking slump.”
    “ Yeah.” Liam smiled at them. “Listen, how are you guys getting home?”
    “ Ronnie’s our designated driver,” the guy said, pointing at another man who couldn’t walk straight and was barely remaining upright. Ronnie might be the most wasted of them all.
    Liam stopped. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and took out a few bills—fifties, it looked like. He handed them over to the fans. “Do me a favor. Take a cab and come back for your car in the morning, okay? Just everyone stay safe so we can all keep having a good time.”
    They took the bills and spent a few more minutes telling him how awesome he was. One of them called for a cab. Then Liam told them good night, and we started heading toward his car again.
    “ That was really nice of you,” I said when he opened the door for me.
    “ Being nice didn’t have anything to do with it.” He closed the door and headed around to the driver’s side.
    He was wrong about that. I didn’t doubt that thinking about the drunk driver who’d killed Liv was an instigating factor in what he’d done, but it wasn’t the only thing involved. Not by a mile. Liam had a good heart.
    He started the car and backed out of his spot. “Do you want to go to dinner with everyone else, or would you rather just go home?”
    “ Would you be upset if I said go home?”
    The faintest smile stole over his face. “I was hoping you’d say that, actually. I like being alone with you.”
    I let myself breathe after that, and a warm tingle crept through my veins. He was definitely flirting with me again, and I liked it more than I should.
    I’d enjoyed talking to Maddie and Katie, and I had liked talking to some of the other women during the game, too. But I had been feeling overwhelmed by the time he’d come to collect me. It was too many new people, too many things going on at once. I needed a little peace and quiet after a night like that.
    Liam didn’t seem to need to fill the space between us with a bunch of mindless chatter. I appreciated that more than he could ever know. I loved talking to people, but I wanted it to mean something when we did. Empty words just left me feeling hollow and tired.
    After he got onto the Steel Bridge, he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel so he could hold it with only his left hand, and with his right, he reached over to take my hand. I let him, allowing his warmth to seep into my bones and spread all the way down to my toes. A little sigh escaped my lips, and his eyes