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Her brows lift. “Well, thank you,” she says, a soft laugh following. “Are you drunk?”

“No, no,” I shake my head at her, the room spinning for a fraction of a second as I let out a sigh. “I had surgery this morning so it’s just the pain meds and shit.” I move my phone to show her my sling holding my casted arm across my chest.

“Oh my goodness! Are you okay?” Worry washes over her features and my insides feel like they’re melting with the way she’s staring at me right now. Goddamn, she’s beautiful. “I saw you go down at the game, but you went back on the ice so it was hard to tell if you were severely injured or not.”

“Adrenaline and modern medicine are a beautiful thing,” I tell her, a harsh laugh escaping me. “Or not. I mean, I don’t know. I played through the pain, but they won’t let me now.”

She narrows her eyes. “You just had surgery. You have no business being on the ice.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I huff, rolling my eyes with annoyance. “I fractured my wrist so they went in and fixed it and put in some pins. They said eight to twelve weeks for recovery.”

“When are you coming home?”

“I fly home tomorrow around noon,” I tell her, attempting to readjust in bed. A dull pain slides up to my shoulder, causing me to wince. “Fuck,” I mutter, grunting as I get into a comfortable position. “Sorry. You don’t realize how much you take forgranted having two working arms until you only have one that works.”

Andi nods, her lips pursing. “I’m sorry. Do you have anyone to stay with you and help you when you get home?”

A smirk lifts the corner of my lips and I cock my head to the side. “Are you offering?”

Her face scrunches, a soft laugh leaving her again, but this time it’s a bit nervous. “I mean, yes and no. If you need someone, I will help you.”

“I should be okay.”

She’s silent for a moment. “How good is your memory with the pain medicine?”

My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“If I tell you something right now, do you think you’ll remember it?”

“I remember everything you tell me, Trouble.”

She snorts and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, okay.” She shakes her head. “I wanted to let you know that I spoke with Matteo and told him about...things.”

My heart stalls in my chest. “You told him I’m his father?” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “How did he take it?”

“Better than I expected,” she says, the relief laced in her words. “He normally adjusts well and adapts when needed, but he’s also a child so I wasn’t sure how he was going to take it. He asked a lot of questions and is excited to see you again now.” She pauses for a moment. “I’m not sure if he’ll be angry with me one day when he’s older or not.”

“He won’t be,” I assure her, my words slurring as I shake my head from side to side. “Hopefully, we won’t ever have to explain the specifics to him, but when he’s old enough to understand, I’m sure he’ll see it clearly. You did nothing wrong, Andi. You can’t beat yourself up over it.”

She’s silent for a moment, her expression unreadable as her eyes burn holes into mine. “Thank you for that, Carson. I’m trying.” She gives me a half smile and a shrug. “That’s all we can do, right?”

“Right,” I tell her after a beat. “Can I come by when I get home?”

She raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Are you allowed to drive?”

“Are you worrying about me?” I question her, biting back my grin.

“What?” She shakes her head, a mischievous look in her eyes. “I have other things to worry about than you, Carson Ford.”

“Of course...” I smirk, shaking my head at her. “So, can I come by or not?”

“Fine,” she says, biting back a grin. “Get some rest, Carson. If you need anything before I see you, please let me know, okay?”

I tip my chin, my eyelids growing heavier as a grin slides across my lips. “Goodnight, Trouble.”

“Goodnight, Carson.”

CHAPTER TWELVE