“I didn’t feel good last night, and I didn’t tell Dawn.”

“Rodney,” she cried. “Why?”

“’Cause I wanted to be okay. I didn’t want to leave.”

“Rodney, honey, you’re killing my heart here,” she cried as Vaughn’s hand stroked up and down her back. “I’m coming. I’ll be there when you wake up, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay. Are you mad at me?”

“No,” she said, her voice breaking as she shook her head hard. “I’m just glad you’re okay and they’re gonna fix you up quickly.”

“Okay, I love you, B.”

“Oh, Rodney, I love you more.”

She covered her mouth to hold in the sob that wanted to escape, and Dawn took the phone and held it out to look at Brie. “They want to get him in now, but they aren’t sure if they’ll be able to. They’re monitoring him, but the damn thing keeps timing out almost. They’re getting ahold of his doctor. The cardiologist on the floor is ready to perform, but Rodney wants Dr. Miller, so they’re seeing if they can wait for him or if they need to go back now.”

Brie could only nod. Taking the phone, Vaughn said, “She’s getting on the plane in like thirty minutes. She’ll be there in about three hours. Call me if you need to, and make sure Marl is at the airport to get her.”

“I’ll tell him,” Brie heard Dawn say, and then he hung up, tucking her phone into her pocket as they reached the desk, finally. Once they got her ticket, they rushed to security, and her heart caught. She wanted so badly for him to go with her. To be there. But she knew he couldn’t. She looked up at him, and her lips wobbled as their eyes met.

Cupping her face, he leaned his head toward hers and nodded. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry, don’t stress, and text me as soon as you land and know something. I might not answer, but I’ll call you back as soon as the game is over.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He kissed her lips, and his eyes fell shut, as did hers. “I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could go, be there with you. I’m sorry, Brie. Really.”

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered as she clung to him. “But I do wish you could go.”

“I’ll tell Marl to bring some whiskey with him.”

She smiled against his lips as she moved her nose to his. “Okay.”

“I wish I had something on me. When I used to sit in the hospital with my mom during Nathan’s treatments, I would have this coin, but I buried it with Nathan so that he had a piece of me. I didn’t think I would ever need it again.”

She opened her eyes, and her tears streamed down her face as she met his gaze. That was the sweetest thing she had ever heard, and the words were there. She wanted to say them so badly, but she couldn’t. If he rejected her right there, she would be crushed. And if he said them, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t believe him. Swallowing hard, she smiled. “A kiss.”

“A kiss?”

“Give me a kiss, and I’ll take that.”

A smile covered his lips before he wrapped her up tight in his arms. “That’s a given.”

She tried to smile, but then his mouth was devouring hers in a kiss that had her toes curling and her heart fluttering in her chest. He held her like nothing could ever touch her, and in his arms, she felt that way. His heart was pounding against hers, and as his kiss grew hungrier, she didn’t want to face the harsh reality that was her life. As his tongue swept along hers, she melted into him, and she knew she would never love anyone like she loved Vaughn Johansson.

She just wished she knew if he loved her too.

Brie found herself in the dimly lit ICU room by Rodney’s bed with her leg bouncing and her stomach in knots. Covering her face with one hand, she cried into it as her other rested on his. His surgery had gone well, and their hopes were high. But then Rodney started having seizures, and no one could explain why. Which was why her baby brother was in a medically induced coma. As she watched his chest rise and fall thanks to the breathing tube they hadn’t removed, her heart ached.

She was in hell.

She had gotten to the hospital just as the seizures had started. He hadn’t been out of recovery yet, but when she walked in, Dr. Miller was talking to Dawn, letting her know what was going on and that they had to keep him under until further notice. When Brie asked how long that would be, he couldn’t give her an answer. They had to run some tests, is all he would tell her. Dawn and Marl tried to be supportive, and any other day, she would have gone to them with open arms. But what she wanted, or better yet, what she needed was Vaughn.

Glancing at her phone, she wished she would see a text message, but she knew he was playing and that was good. She would never ask him to miss a game, but hearing his voice at that moment would save her sanity. She was pretty sure she was going to lose it. She just wanted to hear Rodney’s voice. Know that he was okay. That he wasn’t hurting. Though, they’d guaranteed her that he wasn’t. That he was just sleeping. But it worried her. She hated that she hadn’t been there before he went in. Was he scared? Did he cry for her?

She felt terrible.

Her fingers moved along Rodney’s hand, and she fought back the tears as she laid her head on the bed, her phone beside her. She thought about quitting her job just so she would never be far away from him again, but then, she knew there wasn’t anything much she could have done. Dawn, Trish, and Marl had done everything she would have, and Rodney wouldn’t want her to quit. Neither did she. But she had the urge to. If it weren’t for Elli Adler, she probably would have.

Russell had called Elli and told her what was going on, which she had expected him to, but she didn’t expect Elli to come up to the hospital to check on her. Elli even brought Brie some dinner, though it was still sitting in the chair, untouched. Elli told her to take as much time as she needed, that they would get a replacement. Brie appreciated that, but she knew Elli didn’t want anyone but her. And Brie did love her job, so very much.

Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath as her phone started to vibrate. Reaching for it, she saw that it was Vaughn and almost cried out as she answered it. “Vaughn.”

“Hey, sorry. I just got out of the rink, I didn’t want to call with everyone there.”