AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wantedto drag out the teasing a little longer, and make Tanner sweat, but I was also so giddy to hear him say those words. And if I thought the kisses were good before, when we werejust fooling around—as if—this tender, concerned Tanner and the way his lips moved against mine, lit my soul on fire.
“Come back home when they discharge you?” Tanner murmured against my mouth.
I smiled and kissed him again. “Okay. But only because you’re pretty when you’re worried about me.”
“I’m pretty all the time,” Tanner said.
I wanted to keep kissing, and maybe more, but the increasingly insistent beeps from my blood pressure monitor said that might not be a good idea.
Tanner pulled back, looking as reluctant as I felt, seconds before a nurse walked into the room.
She looked between the two of us, then took a look at the machine. “This is going to set off an alarm every time one of your numbers goes out of whack.” The warning in her voice was clear.
Heat flooded my cheeks. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She left us alone, and Tanner settled on the edge of the bed instead. “I guess the hand job has to wait until they release you,” he teased.
I grinned. “Probably a good idea. Both parts of it.” The monitor beeped loudly again, and I forced myself to calm down.
Tanner’s laugh didn’t help. But it did sound wonderful. I’d missed him.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with your arm?” I asked.
He looked down at the sling and a frown whispered across his face before vanishing again. “I tore my rotator cuff.”
“What?” My gut sank. “How?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Pulling me out of the pool. Oh, fuck. The Olympic trial.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’d make the same choice every single time if I had to.”
“But you pushed so hard. You—”
Tanner rested his palm on my cheek. “It doesn’t matter. You being safe matters.” His sincerity was heavy.
“I still feel bad.”
“Because you’re you.” Tanner smiled. “Another thing I love you for—you care about people. It’s never just lip service.”
Another thing I love you for. Hearing that wasn’t getting old anytime soon. Or ever.
“I’m going to say this, not because it makes a difference in how I feel about the situation, but in case it helps you,” Tanner said. “I barely squeaked out that qualifying time. What was I going to do? Spend money we’ve been saving for years to fly to tryouts? I wasn’t coming home with the gold—or the bronze—no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise.”
“You might have.” If anyone could do it, Tanner could. He made so many things happen that I was pretty sure were by pure force of will.
“It doesn’t matter. You being all right matters. I’ll say that as many times as I have to for you to know I mean it.” He kissed my fingertips. “Get some rest, so I can take you home.”
That wasn’t happening. Not with Tanner’sI love yousfloating in my thoughts and heart. Instead, we caught up. He told me about the building estimate, which was incredible news, and a far more interesting story than mine about cleaning out Brooke’s garage.
“That is, if you still want to work with me,” Tanner said.
I looked at him with disbelief. “Partner in every sense of the word. You can’t shuffle me off just because I hurt my brain. Of course I still want to do this.” We’d have to figure out the logistics of the fact that neither of us would be teaching swimming for a little while, and get bank approval if we wanted the building, but now seemed like as good a time as any to start expanding our operations.
We talked a little longer, but sleep stole in without my permission. I woke up to sunlight striking my window, and Tanner nowhere to be found. I grabbed the nurse, asked about discharge, and if she’d seen where he went.
She told me she’d find the doctor for the first, but that Tanner wasn’t here when she clocked in half an hour ago.
