Page 51

CHAPTER 51

EMILY

B y the time I finally convince security to let me down into the tunnel and make it to the treatment room, Dallas is awake and alert enough to tell the officials that I’m not some deranged fan, and am, in fact, his girlfriend like I tried to tell them.

They let me in, and I pause in the doorway to find Dallas lying on the gurney, still fully geared up but with a brace secured around his neck. Tears burn my eyes as I watch on, seeing him there so still, so unlike himself, while a team of people stand around him, talking quietly between themselves. My heart breaks.

“C’mere, Goldie,” Dallas croaks, and I see his fingers waggle. “I need to see my girl.”

Sniffling, I swallow the lump of emotion that threatens me like a lead weight at the back of my throat, carefully stepping between two men, moving next to Dallas. But when I see his face, I can’t help but gasp.

His nose is undoubtedly broken, a bloody gash split straight across the bridge, both eyes already blackening, and there’s blood trickling out of his mouth, soaking through a wad of padding .

I gently envelope his hand, leaning in as close as I can without touching him or knocking his body in any way, and when his eyes meet mine and I see the hint of dimples burrowing into his cheeks and that slightly cocky smirk of his, the tears I’d been trying to hold in spill over and onto my cheeks.

“Hey, come on now,” he whispers, squeezing my hand. “No tears, baby.”

Swiping at my cheeks, I look down over his body. “Are you… okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he assures. “So long as you don’t mind me missing a couple teeth.”

He pulls the pad away from his face, and I see that he is, in fact, missing a top front tooth and the one next to it, snapped clean out of his gum.

“Oh, my God, baby,” I sob, placing a hand over his chest.

“I’m fine, Goldie,” he repeats. “I promise you.”

“Dallas, we’re going to take you to the hospital to run some scans,” a man, the team doctor I presume, says, his weathered gaze darting to me. “Just to rule out anything serious,” he says, more to me.

I nod.

“You’ll come with me, won’t you, baby?” Dallas squeezes my hand and, for the first time since I’ve known him, I witness a flash of fear in his eyes.

“Of course, I will,” I assure him. And then, with a knowing smile, I repeat his own words. “I’ve got you, baby.”

He winks at me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” another man says, appearing next to me. This one is wearing a Thunder polo and holding a clipboard. “Is it okay if you step outside for a moment? We just need to do a few?—”

“Emily stays, Jace,” Dallas says firmly.

The man, Jace , takes a breath, looking from Dallas to me and back again, and I can tell he really doesn’t want me in here, so I turn to Dallas and offer him a reassuring smile. “Why don’t I step outside and call your mom,” I suggest. “I’m sure she’s worried.”

Dallas looks from Jace to me, and I can see the moment he relents. “Yeah. Actually, that’s probably a good idea. Tell her I’m fine. Possible concussion, but otherwise?—”

“ Definite concussion,” Jace murmurs next to me, looking down at his clipboard, his gaze flitting to Dallas as one brow arches higher.

Dallas rolls his eyes. “Since when are you a doctor?”

“I’m not,” Jace sasses. “But he is.” He points his pen at the older man across the room currently talking quietly on his cell.

Again, Dallas rolls his eyes, flashing me that dimpled grin that still manages to take my breath away, even if it is bloodied and missing a couple of teeth.

I lean in carefully, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, allowing my lips to linger just a touch while I murmur, “I’ll be right outside.”

Dallas reaches up, touching my hair, his hand disturbingly weak. And I smile down at him before walking out and leaving the room. I pull my phone out of my purse and scroll through to my contacts, looking for Joy’s number. But just when I look up, I’m stopped dead in my tracks when I come face to face with Andy standing right there.

Shit.

Andy just stands there, staring at me. He says nothing. And the look in his eyes is unreadable. His whole is face void of any and all emotion. His gaze darts to the door behind me, before zeroing back on me as he folds his arms across his chest with a heavy sigh. And sure. I could probably make something up—another lie—but honestly, I don’t have it in me.

“I’m sorry,” I begin, continuing quickly before he can even think to say something. “I know this is… completely against the rules, and that I’ve totally breached the terms of my employment contract, and that you probably feel like you’ve been betrayed, an d I’m sorry, Andy but…” I swallow hard. “This is more than just some… some casual fling .”

I lift my chin a little higher as I say, “Dallas and I are together. We’re… in love. I love him, and he loves me. And I know I’m older, and he’s not got the greatest track record when it comes to women, but when I tell you that he is the only man who has ever made me feel worthy of this sort of love, I’m being so for real.” I heave a tremulous breath. “And I’m sorry. I tried to stop this before it started; I really did. And neither Dallas nor I wanted you to find out this way, but if this?—”

“Emily!”

It’s Andy’s clipped tone that stops my ramblings. I snap my mouth shut and cower a little, waiting for him to say whatever it is he needs to say.

Dragging a hand through his hair, Andy puffs air from his cheeks. “I know…”

I blink at him, my eyebrows drawing together. He knows? How?

“I had my suspicions after the benefit when you left early, and Dallas went running out literally two minutes later…” He rolls his eyes. “I mean, stealth isn’t the guy’s strongest suit.”

I press my lips together, looking down.

“After that, there were little things I picked up on, but when I realized my driver took you to Dallas’s apartment the night after our Shabbat dinner instead of your place on the Upper West Side, well… that pretty much confirmed my suspicions.”

Oh, God. He’s known this whole time? I feel sick to my stomach. I desperately want to ask him what he’s going to do, but I can’t get the words out because I know the answer, and I don’t think I’m ready to hear it just yet.

Suddenly, the door behind me opens, and Dallas is wheeled out on the gurney, surrounded by the team of medical staff.

“Goldie?” he calls out, his voice a little panicked.

Staring at Andy, I hesitate only momentarily before spinning around and rushing toward Dallas, gently taking his hand in mine. “I’m here, baby.”

“We’re taking him to the hospital for an MRI,” the doctor explains to me.

I nod.

“You’re comin’ still, aren’t you, baby?” Dallas asks hopefully.

Giving him a soft smile, I lean in and whisper, “Always.”

As we continue through the tunnel, Dallas grips my hand tighter, and it causes something to clench around my heart because, despite the facade he wears so well, the big, tough, fun-loving hockey player who doesn’t take life too seriously… I can tell he’s scared.

“I’ve got you,” I say again, hurrying alongside the gurney.

And with one last glance over my shoulder, I spot Andy still standing there where I left him, watching us leave with that same veil of indifference masking his face.