Page 107 of Replay

“You had something already?”

“Some of the team stopped by. Put the donairs on the table—I want them, but first I want you.”

A bigger smile this time. She dropped the bag on the table, giving the duck a strange look. Then she came to the side of the bed.

Finally. I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward me. “Can I kiss you?”

This time the smile reached both sides of her mouth. “Will your doctor be upset?”

“Don’t care.” I put a hand on her cheek and brought her close enough that our lips touched.

Everything relaxed and my brain stopped worrying. Katie’s lips felt a little cold, a little chapped, and totally perfect. I twisted to get closer, and my knee throbbed. I flinched.

She pulled back. “Not going to jeopardize your recovery.”

I sighed but let her go. She pulled up a chair and sat down right beside the bed. I reached out my hand and she put hers in mine. Instant relief. We had things to work out, but I was optimistic. We’d get through this. “We have a lot to talk about.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got some stuff to discuss with you too. But first, how are you doing?”

I ran the fingers of my free hand over our joined ones. “It’ll be months before I know for sure about playing hockey again. The surgery went well, but they can’t make any promises.”

“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

“Just be with me. I didn’t mean to tell you in a text that I loved you, but it’s the truth. I love you, and I maybe never stopped. Since I broke up with you, I’ve never found anyone who makes me feel like you do. Could you give me a chance to make you love me again?”

I’d just put it all out on the line, but I wasn’t playing any more games. Clear communication. We were going to be different this time.

Her hand tightened on mine. “What about your mother?”

I shrugged. “When I told her, she walked out. I don’t know what she’s going to do.”

Katie drew in a breath. “I can’t say she’s my favorite person. But I’ll try to get along with her. I don’t want to keep you apart.”

I felt the smile break out on my face. “So you’re staying? Giving this a chance?” I got a partial smile back so I tensed up. There was something coming on her side, something I didn’t know about.

“We need to talk about what that means.”

My stomach was seriously sore from all the nerves twisting it up. I gripped a little harder on her hand. She didn’t let go, so I drew in a long breath, relaxing my grip. “Okay. Let’s talk.”

“How sure are you that you’re staying in Toronto?”

Ugh. “Not sure. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but the team had almost finalized a trade. I found out before the game where this happened. Me being injured stopped that.” Her mouth opened. “So I don’t know. If they decide to rebuild the team, I’m probably going.”

She closed her eyes. “Maybe it’s a sign.”

“What?” I was confused.

“I’m having problems at school.”

This shocked me. “You were always such a good student.”

She opened her eyes, smiling at me. “It’s not the work. Not the courses. But my advisor…”

I tried to remember what she’d told me about him. Had he done something? I couldn’t even get out of bed to help her. “What did he do?”

“Nothing and everything. Sorry, I’m not trying to be cryptic, but he has some frustratingly old-fashioned ideas about women and academics.”

“Can you do something?”

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