Rookie Move (Playing for Keeps #1)(74)

We sorted through the penalties, and while hurting Garrett had been an accident, we were out to avenge our teammate.

LA didn’t make it easy on us. Garrett’s injury had taken the wind out of our sails a bit, and they’d come back and scored two unanswered touchdowns. We couldn’t seem to get our shit together. We needed our wide receiver back.

We squeaked out the victory. Sure, we saw a twenty-one-point lead whittle down to seven, but I’d thrown a long-bomb to Ward at the end of the game, and gotten one last touchdown to redeem myself. They were out of the playoffs, and we were heading to the second round. None of that mattered as much as the fact that I’d kept my promise to Garrett.

My heart punched against my chest the whole time I got dressed. Tuck tried to talk me down, but I couldn’t see past the all-consuming need clawing at my insides. I needed to see Garrett, to make sure everything was fine. Once I knew he was okay, I’d sort through the rest of it.

“Where’s he at?” I asked Coach, who sighed.

“Cedars-Sinai.”

“Thanks.” I turned and headed for the door. I should have waited until they let us know how he was doing, stay with the team. It wasn’t like I could do anything, but this was Garrett, and rules didn’t apply when it came to him. My insides felt like they were being gnawed away at, this strange emptiness in my chest that I was still trying to work through. I’d felt like that since we called it off, hadn’t I? Kind of empty.

“Warner,” Coach said.

“I’m going. I don’t care what that means for my career.” And I didn’t. Not when he was hurt and I didn’t know if he was okay. Garrett was…fuck, he meant too much to me for anything else to compare.

“I was just going to say good game. Given the circumstances, you kept your head in it, and that counts for something.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Coach.”

I ordered a car, and thankfully, they were only two minutes out. My leg bounced up and down the whole ride. I forced myself not to check my phone. I figured Houston would have messaged to let me know what was going on. I was sure he and his family would have gone to the hospital since they were in town for the game, but if it was bad news, I couldn’t handle hearing it yet. I had to see him, be close to him first.

“I need to see Garrett McRae,” I said when I got to the hospital.

“Are you family?”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Yeah, I’m his…partner,” I replied. Someone might hear, but whatever got me in the room with him.

Partner…hmm… The word hadn’t even felt weird on my tongue. I kinda liked it.

“Warner?” the receptionist asked. When I nodded, she added that Mr. McRae’s brother said I could be let back. She didn’t seem to recognize me, but this was also Los Angeles, so they were used to celebrities coming in. She gave me a visitor’s pass and a room number. He wasn’t in the regular emergency room. I wasn’t sure if that was because of who he was or because he was already doing okay.

I followed the signs to his room, hands shaking, thoughts spinning because I’d just told that woman I was Garrett’s partner and I wasn’t freaking out. Everything else seemed so…small, so insignificant all of a sudden. All I was worried about was him.

The door was closed. I knocked and pushed it open. Houston and Dale stood close, their heads together as they talked. Connie was beside the bed, holding Garrett’s hand. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. First Houston’s knee and now this.

Four sets of eyes shot toward me. I took them all in before landing on Garrett. He wasn’t in the neck brace anymore, thank God. He did have an IV, and he looked out of it, sort of loopy and perfect and beautiful. Fuck, he was so goddamned beautiful. The emptiness in my chest started to disappear, and I was suddenly filled with nothing but him.

Holy shit…holy shit. My heart was racing, my breath coming out too quickly. Everything inside me clicked into place. The confusing thoughts, being willing to get traded. Wanting what was best for him, how it felt when he talked to me and held me and—

“Did we win?” Garrett asked.

“I love you,” slipped out of my mouth and…what the fuck was that? Why had I said that now, in front of all these people? And how much would they hate me if I turned around and ran out? Claimed temporary insanity?

Houston laughed. Connie smiled. Dale looked puzzled as fuck—welcome to my world, buddy. I was still coming to terms with being in love too, and the ferocity with which it had hit me. I’d known I liked him, had known I was falling for him, but falling for someone and knowing you were in love with them? Fuck, that felt bigger. It felt like more.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that right now. I mean, I meant it, but I shouldn’t have said it in front of—hi, Mr. and Ms. McRae. How’s the head, G? Are you—”

“I love you too,” he cut me off.

“You do?” I couldn’t have stopped the question if I wanted to, but when I realized how needy it sounded, I added, “Clearly.”

“I think we need to leave them alone,” Houston said, taking a bewildered Connie and Dale by the elbow and steering them toward the door. “I’ll explain in the hallway.”

I went to Garrett’s bedside, kissed his forehead, his temple, before my lips found their home on his.