“I’ll send your files over to your doctor in San Francisco, but you should be prepared for a long recovery. You were lucky; the rupture could have been much worse, but it’s still going to take time. Most people return to fitness training within 6-12 weeks after surgery, but to get back to your level of performance, it could be longer.”
My initial thought was that at least they didn’t rule out football altogether, but when I walk through my door at home, dumping my bag near the entry, my reality sinks in. Twelve weeks is almost the entire season.
“Fuuuck. What am I going to do with myself? You’re going to regret loving me.”
A twinge of guilt settles in my chest for being worried about this when we still don’t have news about Landon, but I push it from my mind when Hayley bites back a grin.She’s safe.And that’s what matters right now.
“I’ll admit, you being home all the time does raise concerns. I bet you’re insufferable when you’re not playing football. We need to get you a hobby.”
I huff out a laugh, pulling her into my arms.
She’s safe.
“What hobby would you suggest?”
“Solitaire? Reading? Worshipping your girlfriend?”
“Hmmm.” I tap my chin as I peer away, lost in thought. “All great options but one of them stands out… I think I was born to play solitaire.”
Hayley lightly shoves me away as her beautiful laugh sweetens the air. “That’s too bad,” she sasses. “I was really looking forward to you becoming a reader. Especially if you need glasses. I could get used to coming home and finding you shirtless and curled up with a book.”
“Why would I be shirtless?”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
I chuckle at her crazy but my mind drifts back to something else she said. “If you’re coming home—here—I’ll be waiting however you want me to wait.”
“Are you asking me to move in?” She raises an eyebrow but otherwise keeps the emotion off her face.
“Would you say yes?”
“I’m not sure. Ask and find out.”
“Hayley Jackman, baby, will you move in with me?”
She scrunches her nose and glances away in thought just like I did. And after the longest thirty seconds of my life, she responds with a smile. “No, thanks.”
“You’re cute.” I bop her nose. “Looks like I’m moving in with you.”
“What?”
“I almost died, Hayley. But worse than that…someone I thought I knew, someone I brought into your life, tried to hurt you.”
“So, why not get me a bodyguard?”
“No need. I’m never letting you out of my sight.”
“You know that sounds a little bit stalkerish.”
“Fuck, Hayls.”
“Too soon?”
“That will always be too soon. So what will it be…your place or mine?”
Hayley’s eyes bounce around the kitchen before she walks into the hallway and surveys from one end of my house to the other, staring longingly out my back door. “Fine. I guess I’ll choose yours. If I have to.”
Without a word, I stride her way, cupping her face in my hands when I reach her, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss. She moans against my mouth, her hands gently curling around my waist before she grips on for dear life. We’ve barely begun when my phone buzzes incessantly.
