Present Day

Rachel had been sleeping for a long time, and as she slowly came awake she found Jamie watching her through half-closed eyes. Sitting in the chair next to her bed, he seemed oddly possessive and protective, though it wasn’t at all romantic. In fact, he was more like a big brother now, someone who would take care of her. Other than Brock, Ashleigh, and the producer of her show, he and Viggo were the only people who knew what she’d been going through, and he’d spent as much time as possible with her. He was busy with rehab, but he’d found a local physical therapist to work with him so he could be with her after the surgery, and she would be eternally grateful.

“Why are you still here?” Rachel’s voice was raspy and hoarse.

“Shut up.” Jamie’s tone was snippy but there was a twinkle in his eyes as he got up and reached for the cup of water the doctor said she could have. He gently lifted the back of her head and held the cup while she took a couple of slow sips.

“Don’t you have to be home tonight?”

“Nah,” he said softly. “Since I found a rehab place nearby, I can do my PT here until you’re better.”

“I’m sorry I’m causing you trouble.”

“Shut. Up.” He shook his head as he gently brushed her tangled hair back from her face, his eyes meeting hers.

“I won’t ever be able to thank you for being here with me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, hon.” He squeezed her hand. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Did you talk to Ashleigh?”

“She’ll be here in a few hours,” he said. “I won’t leave until she gets here, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded, her eyes fluttering closed. “Jamie?”

“Yeah, honey?”

“Would you hold my hand until I fall asleep? I just—”

“Sure.” He didn’t let her finish, and simply moved the chair closer to the bed, wrapping one of his hands around her much smaller one. With his other hand, he slowly caressed the back of her hand and forearm. She’d been nervous and stressed before the surgery and now she was terrified someone would find out she was in the hospital. She hated this part of being a celebrity, not having any privacy whatsoever, because she didn’t want anyone to see her like this.

“I’m sorry I’m keeping you from home—and from Viggo.”

“If I’m being honest?” Jamie spoke almost guiltily. “It’s easier for me to be away right now. The start of training camp is killing me. I need to be out there with the guys. Instead, I’m in rehab and looking at another surgery because I can’t bend my wrist enough. Being here distracts me from my own shit, you know?”

“Glad I could be of service,” Rachel murmured with a sleepy smile.

“You know I’d be here no matter what, right? Even if Vlad was here, I’d still have come to see you, make sure you were okay. You were there for me, and I’ll always be here for you.”

“I know. Thank you.” She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off again.

Ashleigh arrived an hour later and sank into the chair Jamie vacated when he left. She pulled a book out of her bag and had just opened it when Rachel shifted on the bed. Ashleigh put the book down and reached for Rachel’s hand, squeezing softly.

“Hey, sleepyhead. How are you?”

“Hey.” Rachel yawned, opening her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Eight thirty.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Just got here, sent Jamie home.”

Rachel nodded. “You should go home, too. You must be exhausted.”

Ashleigh smiled. “I’m fine. Bud knows I have to rest but it’s getting better now that I’m in the second trimester.”

“Does everyone believe the gallbladder story?”

“Yup. Lots of flowers and baskets of fruit and wine and chocolate will begin arriving shortly.”

Rachel smiled. “That’s nice.”

“Rach?”

“Hmm?” Rachel was dozing off again.

“You should tell Vlad.”

Her eyes popped open and she narrowed her gaze. “That’s a resounding… no.”

“A reporter got pictures of you and Jamie.”

“So? He’s my friend.”

“He’s got his arms around you, helping you into your car, while he gets into the driver’s side.”

“It shows I didn’t feel well and my friend was helping me.”

“If you don’t talk to Vlad, things could go wrong really fast.”

“Like how?”

“Like instead of Vlad being the bad guy, they’ll spin this to say you were cheating on him with Jamie, and that’s why he left you at the altar.”

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t care. I’ll talk to Viggo, make sure he knows it’s not true, and the press can say whatever they want about me.”

“Rachel!” Ashleigh pursed her lips. “You have a career and a reputation to think about. I know you’re going through something awful, but don’t piss it all away because you’re scared and depressed.”

“We can address the pictures, but I’m not talking to Vlad, and I swear, if you tell him, I don’t know if I could forgive you.”

Ashleigh shook her head. “I know you’re hurt and angry, but he keeps reaching out. Don’t you think you should talk to him? Like get on the phone and have an actual conversation? Don’t you love him enough for that? If nothing else, so you get the whole picture and some kind of closure?”

Rachel looked away, her eyes fluttering closed. “I can’t, Ash. Not yet. I’m too scared I’m going to die to worry about why Vlad stopped loving me or decided not to marry me. I don’t want him back because I have cancer.”

“He didn’t show up for training camp, Rach.”

“What?” Rachel stared at her in surprise. “For real?”

“Yup. He’s not there and supposedly, Coach Barnett is pissed. They’re saying he had a personal emergency that took him to Russia, but everyone knows he’s an orphan and doesn’t have family, so there’s all kinds of speculation.”

“He may have found his mother,” Rachel said suddenly, remembering what he’d said in his text.

“Really?” Ashleigh’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”

“Maybe his mom can talk some sense into him,” Rachel muttered. “God knows, he doesn’t listen to anyone else.”

“A little snark to go with the morphine?” Ashleigh chuckled.

Rachel managed a small smile. “Maybe.”

“Get some rest.”

“Go home.”

“After you fall asleep.”

The two friends locked eyes and neither looked away. Finally, Rachel closed her eyes. “Okay, you win.”