Page 84 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

“Oh?”

I glance up. “What?”

“You two know each other?”

“We’ve...met.”

Her expression brightens with the kind of curiosity that makes me immediately wary.

“Met?”

“I was on the arena emergency medical team when he was injured.”

“And?”

“I followed his hospital care for several days in Riverton before he was flown back to his home team.”

“That explains the smile.”

“I didn’t smile.”

“You absolutely did.”

“I was recognizing a patient.”

“Mm-hmm.”

I look back at the tablet because screens are safer than amused supervising therapists.

“He’s scheduled at ten?”

“Yes. First outpatient appointment. He worked with his team therapist for a few days.”

“Is he cleared for active motion?”

“Not yet. Surgeon’s orders are cautious. Evaluation, pain control, education, gentle mobility within restriction, posture, breathing support, and beginning functional adaptation.”

“Good.”

Elise studies me. “You sound relieved.”

“I’m familiar with his tendency to negotiate.”

“That bad?”

I think of Jamie trying to carry a breakfast tray down the hall because the staff looked busy.

The water glass.

The T-shirt.

The call button he wouldn’t press.

The way he thanked every person on the floor before leaving.

“No,” I say quietly. “Not bad.”

Elise waits as I scroll through the restrictions.