“A do-over? How would that look?”
She waves me back toward the door. “I’ll show you. Go into the hallway, and when I say it’s okay, come inside again.”
I do as I’m told, not sure what her end game is but willing to play along. There’s not much Rose could ask of me that I won’t do. It’s how it’s always been, and if I have my way, it’s how it’ll always be.
She doesn’t make me wait long before I hear her call, “Ready!”
I walk through the door again. She’s cued up an old Faith Hill song on her cell phone. When I come to a stop by her bedside, she hands me a package of vending machine peanuts.
My eyes dart to hers, and she shrugs. “It was the best Poppy could do under the circumstances. You’ll have to imagine the scent of spilled beer.”
My heart is pumping faster than it does when we’re down by a score and I have the ball in my hands with less than two minutes to play.
She holds out her hand. When I don’t immediately take it, she wiggles her fingers. “Come on.”
“What?” I grin. “Can’t a man try to memorize a moment?”
She sucks in a breath as I clasp her hand and bring it to my lips. Two can play at this do-over.
“Okay. Here goes.” She clears her throat. “Hi. I’m Rose Kasper. I love books and lists, and I’ve recently started writing again.”
I cock a brow.
She fights a smile. “I’m figuring out who I want to be and working on being her, unapologetically. I also love Mexican food, being warm, and watching football. Well, one football player in particular.”
My pulse pounds and my whole body feels light, fizzy. Like my blood is fifty percent carbonated water.
“My family dynamics are complicated. My mom is dead. My relationship with my dad is rocky at best. But my sisters mean everything to me.” She shifts in the bed. “I’m a trained security operative, and I like keeping people safe. You are”—she pauses—“youweremy assignment. I would do anything in my power to protect you.“ She gestures to her leg. “Exhibit A. But I also value honesty and transparency. I’m sorry I didn’t give that to you before. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I knew you were a football player prince the moment I met you.” She takes another breath. “I knew then, like I know now, that our backgrounds are worlds apart, but what I also know, what’s always been true, from that first night in the bar, is that when I’m with you, I feel like I’m who I want to be.”
She stares up at me with vulnerability and hope splashed in the pools of her eyes.
I’m still gripping her hand. I squeeze it.
“I’m Anton Bates. Football player and soon-to-be former prince. You know a lot about me from our past, and I can’t wait to teach you a lot more about me in the future. But what I need you to know right here, right now, in the present, is that I loved youback then. I love you now. I’m going to keep loving you as long as you’ll let me.”
Rose blows out a breath. “You’re sure?”
“One hundred percent.” I motion to the side of her bed. “May I?”
She nods, and I sit down, brushing a tear from her cheek. I’m careful not to jostle her as I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest.
“Thanks for the do-over,” she murmurs. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t honest with you upfront.”
I kiss her forehead. “No more apologies. Besides, I didn’t know what I didn’t know when I didn’t know it. But if I did know it, I might have lost what I gained by not knowing.”
She tips her chin up at me and looks thoughtful, digesting my words before slowly nodding. “What did you gain?”
“Time with you. The opportunity to lay the foundation of a relationship. I wouldn’t change a thing, Sammy Rose. Everything led me here. To you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
She kisses my collar bone. “Ditto. Kind of.”
I freeze and glance down at her.
She shrugs. “I mean, actually I’d rather not be shot and in a hospital bed. I’d rather be at the book store, or the football stadium, or out to dinner with you, but the sentiment is nice, and I know what you meant.”
She’s teasing me, and I love it. Because nobody, save for my teammates and Rose, has ever felt comfortable enough around me to give me a hard time. It makes me feel normal. It makes me feel safe, and I love her all the more for it.
“Look who’s got jokes along with her gunshot wound.” I readjust her in my arms.
