She nodded.
“You’re going to cut the circulation off in your fingers.” He nodded at her hands. She deliberately unclenched them.
Maybe if the ladies hadn’t been behind them, maybe if she had never heard what they said, maybe if she weren’t already so nervous and worked up, she would have thought about her next move a little before she did it, but she didn’t, and her hand slid slowly across and touched Bryce’s fingers.
It was kind of a question. A gentle nudge, asking if it would be okay.
Or something like that. She wasn’t sure. But his body jerked when he felt her touch, and he looked down at her hand and then over at her.
Chapter 17
Forgiveness. - Natalya Lakhno, California
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Peyton had her eyesglued on her son, but when she felt his gaze, she turned her head. She supposed there were questions in her eyes, and maybe a little fear too. Fear that she would be rejected.
But he seemed to be asking, “Are you sure?”
She flattened her hand, so it wasn’t just her fingers touching his, but her entire hand over his.
Her stomach spun like a washing machine as she waited for his response.
Maybe in the back of her head, she had been wanting him to know that she was on his side. That it didn’t matter what the ladies behind them said. And he didn’t even know that they’d been talking about her son before they started talking about him.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t like her.
She didn’t back down.
After just a second, but it felt like eternity, his hand flipped over, and their fingers threaded together.
Maybe that was something he was used to. Probably as a popular ballplayer, he’d been with a lot of women. But she hadn’t held anyone’s hand since her husband had left her. Hadn’t wanted to.
And now, she found it was exactly what she wanted to do.
She smiled, relief and happiness coming out, though maybe there was a little pain in her eyes, because his brows didn’t quite unfurl when he smiled back at her.