Page 93 of Split Decision

He exhales.

We stay like that for a moment—him on his knees, me onthe bed, both of us a little broken, the room quiet around us.

"I still think you should have told me," he finally says.

"I know. And you should have told me about the arrangement." I look at him. "We have to stop protecting each other from our own information."

"You’re right," he agrees.

"Okay." I shift slightly and wince, which kills the gravity of the moment. Luke is immediately on his feet, trying to figure out what he did wrong, until I catch his expression and realize I'm going to laugh despite everything.

"I'm okay," I say. "It's just the incision. I moved wrong."

His face goes through three emotions in about two seconds.

"You're a disaster," he says, but his voice has changed.

"I know." I smile. "Get my crutches."

"No."

"Luke."

"In a minute." He carefully sits on the edge of the bed. He reaches under his shirt and pulls the dog tag necklace out from where it rests against his chest. The heart-shaped hole in the center. "You have the other piece," he says.

"I do," I say. It's still around my neck. I never took it off, not once, through any of it. Not even during my surgery. I’m sure the operating room staff removed it once I was unconscious, but I was adamant about keeping it on while I was awake.

He looks at it for a long moment. "That's the entire story," he says quietly.

"Yeah," I agree. "That's the whole story."

He carefully, slowly, reaches out and covers the heart pendant where it rests against my collarbone with his hand. Like he's checking to see if it's still there.

"I have to ask you about something," he says.

"Okay. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"I saw a new tattoo on your back at the concert the night before my fight. Want to tell me about it?"

"It's pretty self-explanatory." I smile. "It's a pair of boxing gloves, hanging by the strings. Above them are the words 'Crazy for You.'"

"That song was dedicated to me?" he asks. "Every time?"

"Every single time I sang it," I tell him. "You are the love of my life."

He covers his face for a moment with one hand. When he drops it, his eyes are red.

"Get some rest," he says.

"My crutches."

"In a minute." He doesn't move. "I will give you a lifetime of love, Andi. You'll never regret choosing me."

"I know," I say.

And I do.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX