I was in that room by myself, knowing Reese was going to step in, knowing he loved me and I loved him and knowing how big of a responsibility that was now. In that stadium, twenty thousand people were waiting to watch him play and most of those probably knew of his loss. Some would care; some wouldn’t. Some would just want to watch a fucking good game.

I was nervous.

My heart was breaking.

And I just wanted to see Reese, one last time before he had to go out there for his job.

The door opened. My heart jerked, but it was a female staff member. Seeing me, she pressed a finger to her ear and said, “She’s ready.” She disappeared and a second later, she was back, but opening the door.

Reese walked in, decked out in his warm-up gear.

A burst of sensations exploded in me, filling me up. My throat swelled for a second, but without looking around, he came right to me.

I held my arms open and he stepped in, folding his body around me. I heard the distant sound of the door closing, and it was just him and me in that room. Not a word was said. My heart swelled up too, beating hard, beating strong.

He buried his head into the crook of my shoulder and neck. I felt his body shudder.

A few seconds…

Thirty…

A minute…

Eighty-seven seconds…

He felt good against me. Firm. Strong. And his arms tightened.

We were at a minute and forty seconds now.

Two minutes.

Another.

Three and thirty.

Then, a soft knock on the door, and he lifted his head up.

It opened as he stepped back, the same girl from before looked in. “It’s time, Mr. Forster.”

His hand was still on my hip. It tightened, flexing against my skin, and his shoulders rose up and down in an exhale. His head folded down. “Okay.” His hand fell away, but I caught it. It kept moving, his fingertips grazing mine.

With a last look, his eyes haunted in a brief flash, before he looked back to the staff and he closed it all off again. His shoulders went back up. His head straightened. And his walk was more confident.

He was back in game mode.

And me, I was fighting back tears, for him.

Chapter Fifty-Two

“Are you ready?”

Stan. I hated him in the beginning, but now I was starting to rely on the dickwad. He’d come back after Reese left and after the team had gone out to start warming up.