‘As a work thing, obviously,’ he’d insisted after, to save his embarrassment and also so she wouldn’t think he was hitting on her or anything. Ward sighed. As much as he wanted to sometimes. Most times. But he knew better than to rock the boat when things were on the right track, and she’d done so much to get him to this point.
He was almost afraid to get his hopes up about being welcomed back to the team, so he also knew that if things didn’t go as planned, having Hannah there would keep him on an even keel.
It was complicated too because he also recognized that what he felt for her wasn’t just attraction. She simply had this way of keeping him grounded somehow. A way of teasing out an inner,betterside of him so that he didn’t have to feel so guarded all the time.
Lower the deflector shield…
And that was doubly scary, because Ward didn’t know what he’d do when all of this public makeover stuff did come to an end, and there was no longer a reason for Hannah to be in his life.
So he was in two minds. While getting back on the ice had been all he’d ever wanted, achieving that pretty much meant that he’d be saying goodbye to Hannah. Having overcome their initial teething problems, he’d since come to almost depend on having her around. A little too much if he was being honest about it.
But maybe she enjoyed being around him too, and their easy relationship would continue? Probably not. Women like her didn’t babysit guys like him unless they were being paid to do so. And yet, a part of him was almost certain that he and Hannah were more than that – more than just client and publicist.
But what did he know?
Went without saying that maintaining relationships had never been his strong point. Take Melanie for instance. An incoming call broke him out of his ruminations then and Ward tapped the earbuds he was wearing to block out the hoover noise.
‘Hello, stranger.’
The voice was low and throaty and immediately made his stomach tighten.Seriously?
It was almost like his thoughts alone had summoned a ghost.
‘Mel … hey. How are you doing?’
‘I’m good,’ his ex replied, ‘and from what I’ve been reading lately, it seems like you are, too.’
He chuckled. ‘Don’t believe everything you read.’
‘How’s the injury coming along? Physical therapy helping?’
Still numb with surprise, he sat down on the couch and leaned back against the cushions. As much as he hated to admit it, even hearing her voice brought back so many feelings that were hard to control.
‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘it’s coming along good.’
There was a long pause and then she added, her voice tentative, ‘And are you coping OK with the pain?’
He’d gone through the pain meds issue once before when they were still together. She’d been there for him – probably more than he had any right to expect her to be, and for that he owed her a debt of gratitude. Hell, he owed Melanie a lot of things.
‘I’m off the pills now,’ he told her. ‘Johnny set me up with a trainer who’s making sure I stay on the straight and narrow.’
‘Wow, glad to hear it,’ she said. ‘Out of all the people in your life, Johnny’s the best. The two of us always had something in common.’
That caused him to raise his eyebrows. ‘Really?’ he asked. ‘What do you guys have in common?’
There was another long pause. ‘We both always want the best for you, obviously.’
Out of all the words that could have come through his earpiece, Ward hadn’t been expecting that.
‘Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, considering that I haven’t heard from you in months.’
‘Well, work has been keeping me busy and I wanted to take some time out too. See what was going on with me and how I was feeling.’
‘Right. Well, just in case you’re interested in whatIwas feeling, I was feeling like you just walked out of my life and left me hanging. I was feeling like everything that you and I had been through didn’t mean a damned thing. I didn’t mind when you moved away, Mel, I understood that was something you had to do. But you cut all ties with me. You didn’t answer my calls, didn’t reply to my texts. Hell, you even blew off Johnny who you suddenly seem to like so much.’
There was a long pause and Ward wondered if he’d gone too far and she’d set the phone down.
Finally, Melanie spoke again. ‘I was scared, to tell you the truth. The thought that there might be something real between us scared the hell out of me.’
