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Gideon cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Wren!” He waved me over with a gloved hand.
I was staring at him, dumbfounded. If I stepped one boot on that field, I’d be drawn and quartered by the organization. Hell—by the whole league.
Gideon shook his head in frustration, left Tatum’s side, and ran over to me. Every camera in the stadium was on us. “They’re taking him straight to the hospital. He wants to talk to you.”
Straight to the hospital wasn’t good. It meant they were taking the hit seriously, but that it was critical. Even with the army of doctors and specialists on the field, the clinics, exam rooms, and in-house imaging in the facilities, they needed to take him to the hospital. I looked over his shoulder at Tatum. The medics were getting antsy.
Jewel bolted past the goalpost, leaving her group of ladies. “Go,” she said, breathless. “I’ll keep Catherine off your back for a minute.”
My silver pom-poms hit the ground, and I ran. Gideon sprinted beside me. The stadium could have booed, cheered, gasped, or gone deadly quiet. I didn’t hear a thing.
“Tatum?” I croaked as I neared him. Gideon came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.
Tatum opened his eyes halfway. “I’m sorry, Little Bird.”
“Sorry?”
He licked his lips. “I-I had to see you before they take me outta here. I love you. I don’t want you to worry. Okay?”
“Tatum…” I cried his name, cupping my hand against his cheek.
“I’m gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay. But I couldn’t leave here and not say I love you one more time.”
“No, baby.” It was barely a whisper. Gideon’s hand tightened on my shoulder.
“I love you more than anything, Wren. I want you to know that.” Tatum clenched his hand into a fist and offered his pinky. I curled mine around his. “I would rather live with one mistake than a thousand regrets.” He closed his eyes again. “Tackling you was the best mistake I ever made.”
“We’ve gotta go,” an impatient man in a white polo said.
Tatum beckoned me forward with a twitch of his fingers. Slowly, his hand came up, cupped my cheek, and pulled me down to kiss him. The stadium went ballistic. “Cheer hard for Seth. He’s gonna need it.”
