Light the Lamp Read Online Free PDF Page A

I said as that delicious heat raced up my neck and cheeks.
    This time, it felt like he was seeing me and not his wife’s ghost.
    The light turned green, and he drove through the intersection while I debated whether he was flirting with me again—and if I wanted him to.
    I was leaning toward yes.
     
    “ Are you hungry ?” I asked as I dug through the boxes of clothes the Islanders had overnighted to me after I’d been traded. We’d been on the road at the trade deadline, so RJ—Riley Jezek—and I had flown to Portland with just the suitcases we’d packed for that trip. Sometime this summer, I’d have to go back to Long Island and empty out my house and put it on the market.
    “ A little, yeah,” Noelle said in that sing-song voice she had.
    I finally found a clean T-shirt that wasn’t gross from being worn during too many workouts. I pulled it out to go along with the pair of boxers I’d already selected, and then I turned around to face her. “These are going to be too big for you, but they’ll do for now. We can wash the clothes you’ve got on, and tomorrow I can take you shopping to get some things after practice.”
    With a nod, she reached over to take the clothes from me. Her fingers brushed mine in the exchange, and an electrical jolt surged through me.
    I pulled my hand away as soon as she had a good grasp on the clothes. She held them close to her purse, her other hand always running along the outside of it. This flirtation, this attraction I felt toward Noelle, it was all wrong.
    I headed into my bathroom and flipped on the lights, taking towels out of the cabinet to busy myself. “Clean towels. There’s shampoo and soap and all in the shower. Just let me know if you need anything, and I’ll put together something for you to eat.”
    When I turned around to head back out of the bathroom, I nearly bumped into her. She must have followed me in there. I put my hands out to grab hold of her arms and steady her, but she just smiled up at me.
    God, but I was starting to love her smile. It was so natural and innocent and so fucking perfect. I shifted, keeping her steady while I maneuvered us until she was in the bathroom and I was out of it. Then I let go as quickly as I could.
    “ I’ll just… I have to…” I had to fucking get myself together.
    “ Thank you, Liam,” she said. As she slowly closed the door between us, she started nibbling on her lower lip again even through her smile.
    She wouldn’t thank me if she knew how many places I was imagining nibbling her. I couldn’t go there.
    I heard the shower come on so I forced myself to leave the bedroom so she could have some privacy. Babs probably wouldn’t be home for a few hours yet, and I doubted he’d be checking his cell phone while he and Katie were still at her prom, but I figured he deserved a head’s-up that I’d brought someone home with me…to his place. I hoped he wouldn’t mind, but it was too late now to go back in time and change things. I took out my phone and sent him a text message, leaving things kind of vague. Explaining the situation would be much easier to do in person.
    Then I headed into the kitchen to try to figure out something I could feed Noelle. Babs wasn’t much use in the kitchen, and I had quickly learned that he didn’t really keep anything around beyond supplies for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I hadn’t really stocked up before we’d left for our last road trip because I hadn’t wanted anything to go bad while we were gone, and we’d only returned home today. I hadn’t made a trip to the store yet. That was another thing I’d have to do tomorrow.
    I threw open the refrigerator door and frowned. Bottled water, salad dressing and condiments, and some leftover stew I should have tossed before we left. That was it. Peanut butter and jelly didn’t seem like the best choice. It wasn’t very substantial. I didn’t have any idea how long Noelle had been homeless or why, let alone how she’d