Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“My friend Tank said something to me earlier today. I don’t remember it word for word, but the gist of it was that I used to be a hopeless romantic, and he thought it was a shame that I’d let Greg and Craig take that away from me.”
He looked up at me as I continued, “These people from our past, my ex and yours? They don’t deserve that kind of power over us. I want to get back to who I used to be before my breakup, and I hope you don’t let your ex sour you on the idea of marriage forever. You deserve every bit of happiness, Hal, and that includes finding someone who loves you so truly, madly, and deeply that marrying him is the only thing that makes sense.”
“Tank’s wrong. You’re still a hopeless romantic.”
I grinned at that. “Let me know if it gets annoying.”
“Oh, I will. Speaking of being annoying, I should stop lying on you. You’re probably tired of being squashed.” Before I could tell him he was fine where he was, he slid off of me. I drew in a sharp breath when he grazed my side, and he sat up and asked, “Did I hurt you?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Let me see.” He pushed aside my flannel overshirt and hiked up my T-shirt, and when he saw the bruise on my ribs, he muttered, “Holy shit, Ryder. Did that happen during the rugby match, or did you get into a bar fight afterwards?”
“The match, and it’s not a big deal.”
“It looks painful.”
“It’s a little tender, but it could have been so much worse. I didn’t even crack any ribs.”
“Why do I feel like you left off the words ‘this time’ from the end of that sentence?”
I shrugged and admitted, “It’s happened.”
“Should I bring you an ice pack?”
“It’s just a bruise. No need to make a big deal out of it.”
Hal got up, circled the lounge chair, and sat down. Then he hiked up my shirt again and inspected that side of my body as he asked, “Do you have any other injuries I should know about?”
“No.”
He gingerly stretched out beside me, resting his head on my shoulder and his hand on my belly, which he hadn’t covered up again. “I don’t understand rugby, in the same way that I don’t understand boxing, roller derby, or any other sport that makes people put their bodies on the line like that. I’m not asking you to explain why you play it,” he quickly added. “I’m just saying.”
I wanted to try to explain it anyway. “I love rugby for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, I love being part of a team—the friendship, the camaraderie, working together toward a common goal. I also love the physicality of it. I’m not saying I enjoy getting hurt, although getting a bit beat up doesn’t bother me. I love the fact that it’s physically challenging. You go out there and give what you think is everything you’ve got. Then you dig deeper and find out you can give even more than you ever thought possible.”
“That makes sense to me, even though I’m not a jock like you.”
“Yeah?”
“That last part is kind of what it’s like when I work out. I push myself hard to look this way.” After a pause, he said, “I’m still as regimented as I was when I worked as a model. My workouts are very demanding, and I only let myself eat certain things. My friends think I’m really into health and fitness, but there’s more to it. I guess… I guess I’m afraid no one will find me worthwhile if I don’t look like this.”
“I’ll admit, I came to the bar last night because of your photo. You’re undeniably beautiful, Hal. But I didn’t stay up talking to you until dawn because of the way you look. I did that because you’re a genuinely interesting person, and I love hearing what you have to say.”
I wasn’t great with words, but I flailed around and came up with, “You’re like a beautifully wrapped present. What’s on the outside might be absolutely stunning, but the best stuff is all inside.”
That was a pretty clunky and obvious analogy, but he kissed me and said, “You’re such a sweet person, Ryder. I don’t know why I keep dumping all my insecurities on you. Believe it or not, I usually keep that stuff to myself. But you really know how to make me feel better.”
We ended up with almost an hour to ourselves, which was wonderful. Then Hal had to go help his friends, and I went to see what my teammates were up to.
It turned out almost the entire team had come back to the rental house for the wedding ceremony, and they wanted to participate. Greg and Craig were the only two who’d gone off to do their own thing, and that was fine by me.