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“Ma’am,” one says, “take your hands off him.”
“Back off,” I snap.
Iam the unhinged, impulsive one with her heart on her sleeve.
Rory starts to smile, eyes wide like he’s afraid of me, but he shakes his head at the employee behind me. “It’s okay.” His eyes meet mine. “What—”
“I love you.” I pull him closer, and his hands come to my shoulders so I don’t fall over the railing.
He huffs a laugh, relief flooding his eyes. “I love you, too.”
“I know. I’m not letting you go.”
“I’m not lettingyougo.”
I see it in his eyes—he means it. Rory’s all in, but so am I.
The players are either on the ice or the bench, and Ward glances over at us, wondering what’s holding up the captain. My gaze lifts to the Jumbotron, and my pulse jumps. The camera’s on me and Rory. Great.
“If you get traded,” I tell Rory, “we’ll figure it out. We’ll figure it all out. I’m not scared.”
His expression is so earnest it breaks my heart. “I’m not leaving you.”
“I know.” I pull him closer, leaning down to kiss him. Our lips crash together and cheering breaks out in the arena. My feet are in the air, and a moment later, Rory’s pulling me over the railing, setting me down, kissing me harder.
The applause turns into a roar, people hooting and hollering as Rory’s hand comes to the back of my head and he kisses me deeper. I feel his kiss all the way to my toes, warming every nerve and cell in my body. When we break apart to sneak a glance at the Jumbotron, our faces are still up there for everyone to see.
“I can’t leave this team, Hazel,” he whispers, worry in his eyes.
“I know.”
“After the game,” he says, holding my face, “we’ll go talk to Ward about the trade, okay?”
I nod, and he presses another kiss to my mouth. God, I hope Ward keeps him. The idea of Rory playing for another team after everything this season feels so wrong.
“Miller, let’s go,” Ward calls.
Rory presses one, two, three more kisses to my mouth before pulling away, and I watch him skate to center ice for the puck drop.
For the rest of the game, my stomach is in knots while the fans murmur around us about the trade.
CHAPTER80
RORY
Outside Ward’s office,we can hear him talking on the phone, probably fielding calls from other organizations. Nausea rolls through me, but Hazel slips her hand into mine.
“Freaking out yet?” I ask.
She shakes her head, eyes steady on me. “Nope. I meant what I said about us figuring it out.”
“Your studio—” I start, but she covers my mouth with her hand.
“I said we’ll figure it out.”
I sigh, nodding, and she replaces her hand with her mouth on mine. I think about her snapping at the security guard to back off while telling me she loved me and I feel like laughing, but then I remember that I might get sent away and leave everything good I’ve collected this season, and the ugly feeling in my chest hardens.
At our side, someone clears their throat, and we break apart.
