‘What? How so?’
‘Sumners never had any intention of dropping me. He just enjoyed me and Bernie dancing to his tune, pretending he gave a crap about my public image, all the while using tonight’s so-called welcome back as the perfect vehicle to bring in Prince after firing Coach Lewis.’
‘No, Coach Lewiswastruly concerned about your future – Bernie told me that. They certainly didn’t set you up, Ward, no one who cared about you would do something like that,’ she reassured him, although after what just happened, she knew that wasn’t true in Sumners’ case. The man was successful for a reason, primarily because he was a cut-throat vulture who, unlike Ward, knew how to play many different games. The way things had gone down in there certainly did feel like a public ambush, and she couldn’t blame Ward for being angry.
‘Come on, let’s take a walk,’ Hannah suggested, linking her arm in his and guiding him down the stone steps and into the park. Though it was late, the path closest to the streets was well-lit by the overhead lantern lighting, and the trail was illuminated even further by nearby buildings surrounding the space. The trees and glistening light reflections in the dark lake had a natural calming effect, which she hoped might work its magic on Ward.
‘I can’t do this, Hannah,’ he said after a beat, his body still shaking with anger. ‘I can’t work with JP again. He has this way of getting right under your skin, making you feel worthless …’
‘Maybe yes, when you were younger and still figuring out who you were. But you’re a different person now, a grown man. Not some kid that’s so easy to mould into whatever tough-guy messed-up idea he has, or thinks the world has. I heard him talk back there after you left. He’s a relic, Ward. From a bygone age.’
‘Nah, I know the guy. He won’t rest until he breaks me. That’s how he operates. You heard what Sumners said. The wildcat’s beenneutered?’
His jaw clenched so tightly she thought it might explode and she winced inwardly, reminded of the fact that much of her recent efforts in helping him tone down his old ways was responsible. And that Ward himself had expressed concerns that his new and improved nice-guy image might be going too far.
‘He was talking about you as a player, trash-talking like they do before a game to rile players up. That’s what I got from it. Seriously, all they care about is what you do on the ice, and your skill as an athlete hasnothingto do with who you are as a person, Ward. Don’t get confused again. Remember that’s why you were so adrift in the first place, unable to step into your own shoes. Off the ice, Prince or Sumner don’t own you. As long as you can perform, that’s all thatmatters. And you can and you will, I know you will. Back better than ever, isn’t that what you want too?’
‘I don’t know …’ They reached the Gapstow bridge and moved to cross it, arms still linked. Glancing at Ward as they turned in the faint light, Hannah could still see so much uncertainty written on his face.
He paused in the middle of the humped stone bridge, staring down into the inky water, and as she stepped back, she shivered a little, the evening chill now starting to seep into her bones.
Ward noticed and immediately took off his jacket, wrapping it around her. ‘Here.’ His hands rested on her arms for a little longer than was strictly necessary and unable to stop herself, Hannah moved ever so slightly closer to the warmth of his body.
Because of the cold or … something else.
The atmosphere suddenly changed then, emotion still heightened, but in a different, more charged way and she could feel the weight of his gaze on her face.
Afraid to meet it, she looked back at the cityscape, the beautifully illuminated Beaux Arts hotel building like a postcard amid the trees in the near distance. She couldn’t help but imagine how picture-perfect they must look now in silhouette, two figures standing so close in the darkness in the middle of the humped stone bridge, the twinkling Manhattan skyline spread out behind them.
‘The important thing is, you’re on the way back to doing what you love,’ she told him, scrambling to get back onto safer territory. ‘Exactly what you wanted. That was the game plan, remember. It doesn’t matter what they say or do from now on. They can’t change you as a person, and if they try,I’mhere now, remember? Those two don’t scare me and I’m certainly not going to stand by and let them undo all our hard work. You haven’t yet seen me when I’m angry.’She chuckled, trying her utmost to lighten the mood, but Ward’s still-downcast expression suggested that he remained unconvinced. ‘Make no mistake, I’m still here to keep you on the straight and narrow.’ Hannah turned back to him then and stared at his face, now urging him to meet her gaze. ‘I’m righthere,’ she insisted gently.
Then as if by rote, her hand moved to his cheek and she softly caressed his tight jawline. She couldn’t help it. The hopelessness in his eyes was agonising and she needed to do something to take it away.
Ward finally moved his gaze back from the lake to meet hers, his eyes deep green pools still full of emotion. His hand flew up to touch hers and he rested it there for a moment, before pulling her close and into his arms, gently resting his head on her shoulder.
When he turned his face inwards and she could feel his warm breath on her bare neck, Hannah shivered again. But this time she wasn’t shaking from the cold.
‘Come home with me,’ he whispered, pleading. ‘Tonight. I need you.’
Her entire body was screaming at her to turn her face to meet his, signifying her assent. There was truly nothing more she wanted right in that moment than to feel Ward’s mouth on hers, wrap her arms around him and allow him to take her anywhere he wanted to go, and everything else beyond.
But …
She broke free from his embrace, quickly standing back. ‘I can’t.’
‘Can’t, or won’t?’ The hunger in his gaze was intoxicating and Hannah knew that if he got closer again she wouldn’t be able to resist it. Her body was humming as he picked up her hand and gently ran a finger along the edge of her wrist. It felt like fire on her skin. She needed to get this under control.
‘You’re … a client.’
‘And what if I wasn’t?’ he countered, emboldened by the palpable energy between them, and the fact that she hadn’t moved away again. He knew the effect he was having on her. Any hesitation or pretence was now long gone. They both knew exactly what was happening; what they both wanted, something that had been building all this time, yet quietly repressed, and that was dangerous.
Somehow, Hannah made herself step back further from the wall and wrapped her arms over her chest, as if to warn herself off.
‘Youare. And this is crazy. You’ve had some champagne, and it’s been a weird night …’
‘It’s not that and you know it,’ he argued, and of course he was right.
Hannah wouldn’t look at him though. ‘It’s just, there are boundaries around this, rules. Like I said you’re a client and I’m a professional. Plus …’
