Page 22 of Puck of the Irish

“Love you,” they both echo in unison.

He hangs up and sighs.

“AJ?” I ask immediately.

“That would be my name.”

“Uh…what?”

“I mean, pretty much only my mom and dad use it anymore, Shep every now and then, but it’s what everyone called me growing up—before mom married Ray and he adopted me and I officially had a cool last name to go by instead.” He grins and I huff out a laugh. “Anthony James. Anthony was the sperm donor’s name and I think it was hard for mom to call me that after he left—which was when I was like two—so I just became AJ.” He hikes a shoulder and I wonder how many people know this story, know this name. Does him sharing it with me…mean something? Or am I just being an idiot?

Probably the latter, I think with an inward roll of my eyes. I tilt my head, studying him.

“It suits you, actually.” He eyes me and his lips curl up into one of those crooked, sexy smirks of his.

“Care to try screaming it while I lick your pu—" I clamp my hand over his mouth and look around again. We’re still alone,thankfully, and when I pull my hand away, he’s grinning like a lunatic.

“You are terrible,” I say, laughing.

“I know,” he says with a sigh. “I’m gonna grab Shep’s stuff and check in with Sara to make sure she’s good to keep Ollie the rest of the night, and then head to the hospital.”

I frown, looking at my watch.

“Aren’t visiting hours way over by now?” He gives me a pointed look. “But of course you think that won’t matter because you’re Anthony Fucking Rizzo.”

“You’re finally getting it, Nat.”

“Tell him I’m glad he’s ok. Text Hattie and let her know what the doctors said, ok?”

“Will do.”

I lean up and kiss him softly on the cheek, forcing myself to behave.

“I’m really glad it wasn’t you,” I say quietly. “When I first saw…I wasn’t sure…” I shake my head, trying to push past the memory of that moment of absolute terror when I thought it might have been him on the ice, unmoving. “I’m glad you’re alright,” I finish. Too many things seem to be flashing behind his eyes and before he can land on any one of them, before he can ask me what that means or pull me into his arms like I want him to so desperately, I tug gently on the front of his hoodie and then pat his chest before turning to walk away.

“The offer still stands!” he calls out when I make it halfway down the hall. I turn and walk backwards.

“Which offer? Dinner? Or screaming your name?” I ask,reallyhoping that everyone is actually gone like I think.

He laughs lightly. “Both.”

“Good night, AJ,” I say with a smirk.

Twelve

RIZZO

As expected,I sweet-talked and name-dropped my way into the hospital despite it being super late. Shep is fine, just like the doctors said, but I needed to see it with my own eyes. The adrenaline had been running so high when everything first happened, that it didn’t hit me until later how scared I really was. I love Connor Shepherd like a brother and the thought of losing him, or of him being seriously hurt, kind of knocked my world off its axis.

Seeing Nat earlier had helped keep the worst of the panic and fear at bay for a time, and I don’t want to look too hard into why that might be. My feelings for her are confusing at best and dangerous at worst. I still don’t know that I could figure out how to date someone even if I wanted to, so the fear of commitment is compounded by the fear of failure, and it’s honestly making my head hurt.

“Good evening, Mr. Rizzo,” Jax, the security guard at the front desk of my building says when I stride through the lobby.

“Hey, Jax, how are you doing?”

“Good, sir, thanks. I saw the game—is Mr. Shepherd alright?”

“He is, yeah. Spending the night in the hospital, but he’ll be just fine.”

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