He snickered. “You would.”
Austen scooted her chair closer to sit by Dane’s side. She lowered her voice. “So? What did you mean when you said we’ve got Thayer?”
Dane reached for her hand. “You’re worried he’s going to spread those pictures, right? But he can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Couldn’t you see how surprised that nurse was to see us together?”
“Well, yeah. She said so herself. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“She thinks we hate each other,” Dane said, “because of the interview.”
“Right …” Austen wasn’t sure if she was following.
“So if Thayer putsthose photos all over the internet, everyone would see us together, and they’d want to know how the hell it happened. He’d bedestroying his own narrative and givingusa platform all at the same time. Get it? That’s why he won’t post them. All he can do is threaten you with them.”
Austen took a moment to think it through.
“Maybe you’re right,” she said at last. Still, she slumped in her chair. “But Thayer might go scorched earth and post them anyway.”
“So what if he does? People will know you’re a babe with a smokin’ bod and you’ve got a hot hockey boyfriend.”
“Ahhh, I get it, now,” Austen said, and wagged her finger. “You just want everyone to see that you’re hung like a horse.”
“Not true.” Dane coaxed her out of her chair and pulled her closer. He put his good hand in her back pocket and stared into her eyes. “I just want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“Just because I didn’t immediately correct you when you called yourself my boyfriend,” she said, trying to fight off a smile, “doesnotmean I’m yours.”
“Then why do you smile so big when I say it?”
“Because for some strange reason,” she said, her voice quieting, “I actually like you.”
He flashed his perfect teeth. “Good. ’Cause I like you too.”
The hockey player tried to lean in again for that kiss that he just couldn’t get. Austen held a finger to his face and stopped him.
“Aren’t you worried about getting sick and missing games?”
“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” He held up his broken hand. “Besides, aren’t you feeling better?”
She happily sighed. “I am.”
“Then kiss me.”
This time, he wouldn’t be denied. With his hand still in her pocket, he clenched a handful of her ass and pulled her forward until she crashed into his cot, and then his mouth was against hers.He didn’t kiss her so much as heclaimedher with his irresistibly plump, velvety lips. She knew it then, she could feelit deep in her belly and in heart—shewashis. The details only had to be worked out.
Suddenly, the privacy curtains were violently flung open, and a chubby-faced doctor in a white coat stood and stared at the couple with an awkward smile.
“Whoops! Sorry to interrupt, folks!”
Dane’s head rolled back with a frustrated groan.
Chapter 35
Dane
After Dane took his x-rays, he and Austen sat in a waiting room while they waited for the results. The room was small but they had it all to themselves.
