Juan turned beet red. “Nah. She’s workin’. I’ll check her later.”
“What? You’ll flirt with my girl in the PT room, but someone available comes up and you’re all tongue-tied?” Blake shoved him.
Juan lifted his chin. “You got it all wrong, bro. Elise is flirting with me.” He danced two steps away as Blake swung at him. They headed for the door, Juan floating like a butterfly and Blake trying to sting like a bee. “Catch you later, bro,” Juan called as he left.
Blake grunted, just missing cuffing Juan’s head. “Get better. We need you.”
Dustin glanced at the nurse, who was smiling after the men who acted like little boys. “When are you going to propose?” he asked purposefully.
Brayden threaded his fingers together and rested his hands in his lap. “I’m not.”
“But—”
“I can’t be the man I was. Not don’t want to be; Ican’tbe.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “She won’t want a broken man.”
“I know that there’s more to you than being able to throw a 98-mile-per-hour fastball. She didn’t fall in love with your arm, man. She fell for you.” He stood. “Think about that for a while.” With a warning glare, he left Brayden alone with the flirty nurse.
Brayden sighed. Since when had his friends become so loyal to his girlfriend? What happened to brotherhood and the team?
Natalie sat on his bed, so close that her hip leaned on his thigh. “I snuck you some of that cinnamon applesauce you like.” She pulled the cup and a plastic-wrapped spoon out of her pocket.
“Thanks,” he managed to get out. She should just leave. He wasn’t in the mood to be entertaining or to be entertained. He just wanted to be alone and stare up at the ceiling tiles.
She pried the foil top off the applesauce and opened the spoon, loading it before bringing it up to his mouth.
For the love … he could feed himself. At least, he thought he could. Natalie just did it for him. “You work a lot. Almost as much as I do.”Did.
She smiled shyly. “I don’t mind when my patients are so handsome.”
Oh brother.He averted his eyes.
“I couldn’t help but overhear what your friend said about your girlfriend.”
She had his attention again.
“I don’t think now is a time to make any big decisions.” She patted his hand. Her skin was soft, and her eyes were full of sympathy. “Give yourself some time to think things through, to stabilize your life before making any big commitments.”
Natalie had a point. Wearing a neck brace didn’t exactly screamI’ll provide for our future family. He’d been drafted right out of high school—didn’t have a degree or a fallback. Baseball was his ticket, and now it was gone forever. He couldn’t trap Tilly into an engagement now. If he did, he’d always wonder if she said yes because she pittied him. What kind of a marriage would that be? A sorry one, that’s what kind. He didn’t want that, and Tilly definitely deserved better. He’d break up with her before sentencing her to a farce of a love life, even though it would tear his heart out to do it.
Didn’t matter. Tilly was what was important now.
Chapter Four
Tilly
Four days. Tilly had been in bed for four days. She hunched over in the driver’s seat of her Jeep, grateful for the warm breeze that brushed her skin. Grateful that it didn’t hurt. She was still sore, but things like breezes didn’t send her muscles into spasms of pain anymore. A crushed muscle was no joke. Even loose fabric gave her pause.
Elise had been a true friend in Tilly’s time of greatest need. She’d come over each day after working on the Redrocks players and their sore muscles, bearing fresh ice packs and compression wraps to help with the swelling. Third-degree bruises were nothing to mess with, and Tilly had a couple of those to manage. She felt the sensitive places as she limped to the bathroom and cowered from the shower spray.
She was driving herself to the hospital to finally see Brayden. She wasn’t going to moan and groan over her injuries anymore—not when Brayden was still in a neck brace.
Dustin had said Brayden’s phone was missing, which explained why he hadn’t called or texted. They rarely went longer than a practice game without talking in some form. Their inability to be apart wasn’t codependency—it was an understanding that they were meant to be together. Like they had found a missing piece to themselves, only they didn’t know it was missing until they met. Indeed, Tilly had been secure and confident as a single woman, dating often, kissing attractive men, and spending her time exploring the wilds God painted with reds and gold.
She had no idea where Brayden’s phone ended up. As soon as he could walk, they’d get him a new one. If they were married, she could just take care of this stuff. If they were married, she could sleep in his bed tonight when he came home. If they were married …
They’d talked as if being together forever wasn’t a question—even from day one. If any other man had handed her his hoodie on a first date and said he didn’t need it back until fall, she would have scrambled backwards like a crab to get away from him. Or if he’d kissed her on the second date and whispered, “I think I’m falling in love with you,” she would have told him to chill and then blocked his number. She didn’t do fast and furious romances, love at first sight, or hand over her heart. But she’d done all those things with Brayden, because when their lips touched, it was like her heart leapt to the top of Angel’s Landing in a single bound. No climb or biking trail compared to the elation he stirred with his tender ministrations or the thrill of having his fingers trail over her shoulders and down her arms.
How could she say no to a lifetime of moments with him after that?
