Page 49 of Hot Shot
“Have you? From where I stand, it looks more like keeping information from me. That’s not lying. Not in my book. And you did it to protect Laura, to protect me, from Celeste, yourself from more pain. I see that. I didn’t at first, I do now.”
“I don’t intend to keep you in the dark ever again. Or lie. I know we haven’t really talked about us as a couple but you have to know, that’s what I want. I’m prepared to wait as long as you need to.”
“You don’t think we’ve waited long enough?”
“Yes. But I don’t want to rush things, fuck anything up, and we have unfinished business to deal with, then the Rogues to get off the ground.”
“Oh, we do, do we?”
“Yes, we do. I told you I’d sign. I meant it.”
“Then you should probably get yourself a new agent.”
“Know any good ones?”
“Actually, yes, Walker’s agent, Drake. He’s a shark at negotiating but also fair. He won’t bullshit you and he’ll go to bat for you to get a better deal.”
“The one you’re offering isn’t good?”
“Oh, it’s good. On par with what you had before.”
“I’d play for free.”
“You don’t need to do that, and you shouldn’t. Your talent and the hard work you put into honing your skills is worth something.”
“I guess.”
“There’s no guessing. Just because you do something you love doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get paid for it.”
“I’m not sure I love it like I used to.”
“Why the hell not? There was nothing wrong with your game before…”
“No, but it’s the game that led me down the path I ended up on.” His gaze meets mine, his eyes a maelstrom of swirling emotions. “If I hadn’t been so single focused on getting signed to an NHL team, I would have gotten on my knees and begged you to marry me. I never would have met Celeste. Never would have married a woman I didn’t like, never mind love.”
“And you wouldn’t have had Laura.”
“Sometimes I wonder if those five and half weeks with her were worth it.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. You loved her.Loveher. She knew that, I know it because I know you love me.”
“I do. I never stopped. Could never stop and I’m scared shitless if I come out of hiding, if I join the Rogues, my past is going to come roaring back and ruin everything all over again.”
“You survived it once, you can survive it again.”
“Did I though?” He waves a hand at the trees behind us. “I’ve been hiding in the woods for two years, refusing to answer the phone or talk to anyone I didn’t have to.”
“But you didn’t want to.”
“What?”
“You didn’t want to leave here. Now you do.”
“And?”
“Wanting to come out of hiding makes all the difference. If you didn’t want to, you wouldn’t put in the effort you have with me the last few days, you wouldn’t be talking about playing for the Rogues, going to Mom and Dad’s. You’d be telling me to leave and pushing me down the driveway.”
“I’ll never push you away again.”
