Right then, Ward wished that he had never met her. That Bernie hadn’t insisted that he needed to revamp his goddamn reputation. He would have been able to fix his knee, stay off the pills and get back on the ice.

And yes, Hannah had helped him, improved him even. Ward couldn’t deny that. He marvelled at just how well she seemed to get him. How great she had been at creating a strategy that fit his personality just so. She understood him. She cared.

Ward cared too. Hannah deserved a whole better than that guy, regardless of whether or not that person was him.

Plus he wanted her approval. Craved it. And now some other guy was getting that and a whole lot more too, he thought darkly, despondent and angry at the world once more.

Certain that he’d messed up. Again.

Chapter 53

HANNAH

‘What the hell was that?’ Hannah exclaimed angrily.

Rob raised his eyebrows, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth and casually handed her back the phone as if nothing had happened. He oozed smugness and in that moment she wondered what she had ever seen in him.

He shrugged. ‘I was just messing around.’

‘Messing around with my—’ she began before grabbing the phone and reclaiming it. She looked down at the screen. Yes, it was a call from Ward that had been safely disconnected and her thoughts spiralled, wondering what he must be thinking.

Especially when Rob had made it sound just then that they were … She felt her face flush – with embarrassment and anger too.

None of it was lost on her ex, who watched her closely.

‘Why does it matter? I was just joking – just having fun. I’m sure your client will understand …’

His words were thick with sarcasm and she looked down at her feet, ashamed at what he was trying to suggest.

Rob studied her as if he could see right into her mind and knew everything she was thinking, everything she was feeling.

‘So answer me. What does it matter what he thinks, Hannah?’ he chided, his tone feigning innocence. ‘I mean, he is just a client, right?’ His blue eyes darkened. ‘Or have you been helping him with some physical therapy too? Wouldn’t be the first time.’

‘He is just a client,’ she retorted, but even as she tried to insist to Rob that there was nothing between them, of course it wasn’t true. She remembered when she had first bumped into Ward that day at the coffee place. How flustered he had made her. Recalled all the times it had felt like he had been flirting, being playful with her. The undeniable spark she’d been working so hard to suppress.

And then, of course, that night in the park.