I would miss everything about this remarkable woman. Still, her ability to roast me no matter the situation—even lying vulnerable and injured in a hospital bed—would be missed the most. No one would ever match her wit or take the place reserved for her in my heart.
Unable to stop myself, I let my fingertips trace the letters of my last name stitched across her back. She was still clad in the jersey she’d worn to the game. The possibility of giving her my name permanently was gone. Hell, she would probably burn the jersey once I was through.
“We don’t have a lot of time.” My voice was thick with emotion at the double meaning in those words.
Nodding against my chest, Hannah replied, “I’ll be back first thing in the morning. I promise.”
No, you won’t.
Sitting up, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the hospital bed, she leaned in for one more kiss. Tangling my hands into her hair, I pulled her face to mine, pouring every ounce of love I had into this one last kiss—a goodbye kiss.
Reluctantly, I tore my lips from hers, but she didn’t pull back, instead dropping her forehead to mine. The gesture was intimate, and it shattered my heart into a million pieces.
I would never find this again. I didn’twantto find this again. Hannah was my one and only, and I wouldn’t be able to shut off my love for her, no matter how much she hated me for what I was about to do.
How did I even do this? She’d know I was full of shit if I just blurted out, “We’re done.”
Someone upstairs—or more likely, downstairs—must have been looking out for me because Hannah’s next words sparked inspiration. “I’ll go, but first, tell me what happened out there. Why didn’t you turn around? You left yourself vulnerable, knowing the entire team would rush you from behind. It couldhave just as easily been one of your teammates that sent you crashing into the boards by accident, instead of Booker with his hot temper and poor sportsmanship.”
Taking a calming breath, I kept my voice emotionless in my response. “I was thinking about you.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. She’d been the voice in my head from the moment Maddox tripped Jaxon.
Shock registered on Hannah’s face. “Me? When you’re on the ice, you have one job, and that’s to take care of yourself and your teammates.”
She had no idea how well she was setting me up to break her heart. “You’re right. I should be focused on the ice, but I haven’t been for months. You’ve been a distraction since the day I met you, and it’s only gotten worse since we started hooking up.”
“H-hooking up?” Confusion filtered through Hannah’s blue eyes.
Not pausing to address that strategic word choice, I pressed on. “First, it was your criticism of my playing style. Then it was the intensive film sessions. Your voice in my brain won’t shut off. It’s become dangerous, as we saw today.”
Flinching as if I’d struck her, she stammered, “You’re blaming me?”
“If I hadn’t been thinking about you, I would have turned around. I would have seen Booker coming. I was lucky to come away with only a concussion. The way I hit the boards could have snapped my neck. I could have died, Hannah!” Raising my voice shot blinding pain through my head, but I needed to drive the point home.
Standing, Hannah backed away from the bed, her arms hugging her body tightly. “You think I don’t know that? I spent hours sitting in a room down the hall, worried and wondering if you were going to be okay. Only for you to wake up and tell me you think I’m the reason you were hurt?”
“Pretty much.” Fuck, I hated myself for playing into the asshole persona she’d believed of me for so long. “Being together was a huge mistake. I should have turned you away the day you showed up at my door in nothing but a jersey. It only took a near-death experience for me to see that. Our time is up. It’s time for you to go.”
Stunned, she stared at me like I was a stranger.
Just go. I need to fall apart, and I can’t do that with you here.
When she didn’t make a move to leave, I said more forcefully, “Get out, Hannah. Don’t come back. We’re done here.”
Tears fell from her eyes, and she nodded slowly before leaving the room.
Finally, I was able to mourn the life I had planned for us. Without Hannah, my life would be empty.
Slamming my eyes shut tightly against the pain, my chest tightened like it was being squeezed in a vise grip as I struggled to draw in air.
How the hell had I gone from being the overtime hero to hitting rock bottom and losing the only woman I’d ever loved in a matter of hours?
Chapter 27
Hannah
In a daze, Iwalked out of Cal’s hospital room. His words haunted me as I slowly trudged back to the waiting room.
“If I hadn’t been thinking about you, I would have turned around. I would have seen Booker coming. I was lucky to come away with only a concussion. The way I hit the boards could have snapped my neck. I could have died, Hannah!”
