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He snorts. “No, it really happened. It was quite touching.”
“I guess they all know that’s it for me,” I say, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“You might still play again. You never know.”
My heart clenches at the note of falsity in his voice. Archie’s always been a relentless optimist, but even he knows the truth about this situation.
“Babe, you were there. You saw the break,” I remind him, my voice tight with emotion. “No one comes back from that.”
“Well, just so you know, I don’t love you because you’re Tom Whitford, the legendary football star. I love you because you’re Tom Whitford, Archie Milligan’s beautiful, brave, sexy, stubborn boyfriend. A bloke who’s an amazing dad, makes really great pancakes, and is incredible in bed.”
Bloody hell.I know I need to respond. I need to tell him how amazing he is and how much I love him too. But I can’t seem to get the words out; my voice just isn’t working.
“There’s so much more to your life than football, Tom,” he assures me gently. “Whatever's next for you, we’ll figure it out.”
Despite the weight in my arms, I manage to wrap them around him, holding tight. “I love you.Somuch,” I tell him. “I don’t think you could even understand how much.”
He lets out a soft chuckle, his breath hot against my neck. “I have a fair idea.”
“Alright, what’s the damage?” I ask Abby and Gideon when they come to visit me in my hospital room the next day. I’m feeling far less foggy than yesterday, but that’s because the painkillers I’m on are a lot weaker. Which means I basically feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. It’s bearable, though, and I’d rather have my wits about me, even if it means putting up with a bit of pain.
“Well, the news about you and Archie has definitely gotten out,” Abby says, offering a sympathetic smile. “I’m not sure if you remember this from the other night, but you were quite…vocal, and…affectionate with each other. I think people would have probably drawn some conclusions just based off the TV footage, but evidently a couple of the Lancaster players who were within earshot of you confirmed things.”
“Who?” I growl.
“Calm down,” Archie says, placing a gentle hand on my good knee. “I don’t think it was intentional.”
“What?How is that not intentional?”
He shrugs. “I only saw a brief clip of the interview with Shannon Byrd. He was asked what he thought of the speculation about the footage of us and how close we were. He said he didn’t really think it was anyone’s business whether we were together or not. Then they pushed him harder and he admitted that from where he was on the field it looked like we were more than friends. I don’t think he realised exactly how…impactful his words would be,” Archie reasons.
I roll my eyes. “You’re always giving people the benefit of the doubt.”
“To be honest, I’m surprised Johnny Rogan hasn’t said anything,” Archie says, exchanging a look with Gideon that makes me feel as though I've missed something important.
Abby shrugs. “Well, people are kind of raking him over the coals at the moment for injuring Tom.”
“It was a legal tackle,” Archie says, sounding incredibly reluctant to be making the admission.
“Regardless,” Abby persists, “if Tom retires because of this, Rogan will go down as the guy who ended Tom Whitford’s career. I’m not surprised he’s being coached to stay quiet right now.”
“Well, regardless of how the news got out,” Gideon says, getting us back on track, “the fact is that according to every media outlet in the country, you two are a couple. At this point I think denying it would only make it worse.”
“Why the fuck would we deny it?” I demand, gripping Archie’s hand tightly, as though someone is going to barge in and make me give him up.
Gideon blinks at me in confusion. “You said you weren’t ready to be outed.”
“Well, that was before I was outed,” I say gruffly. “The horse has bolted now. Can’t do much about it.”
He lets out a breath of relief, running a hand down the front of his suit jacket in that nervous gesture he has. “Okay, well, that does make a few things easier.”
“You’re not going to make me be a bloody spokesperson or something are you?” I growl.
Gideon’s lips twitch. “Um, no. I don’t think many people would want that.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know Tom’s a very warm and cuddly guy,” Archie protests. “He’d make an excellent spokesperson.”
Gideon quirks a brow at him. “I’ll have to take your word on that.”
