She chose a flight for late that night from Nashville to O’Hare. Then, because she didn’t trust herself not to start crying, she busied herself with getting ready to go. She showered quickly and, after dressing, left her wet towel in the laundry room on the second floor. She repacked her few belongings quickly and then walked back into his bedroom to get some clothes for him to drop off at the hospital on the way to the airport. Searching through his drawers felt like an invasion of his privacy, so she simply grabbed the first things she saw—a sweatshirt, a pair of shorts, and some boxer briefs. Next, she grabbed a toothbrush and some toothpaste from the bathroom. In his closet, she found an empty drawstring backpack to put them in.
The orderly line of clothes hanging on one side of the walk-in closet made her pause for a moment. The neatness of it all, the tidiness, brought a pang of homesickness she had no right to feel. This wasn’t her home. But the sight of his suit coats, some still in the plastic bags from the dry cleaner, felt intimate. She ran her fingers down the sleeve of one, a dark navy that probably looked amazing against his olive-toned skin. She’d seen pictures of him walking into arenas before games, dressed in one of these suits with dark sunglasses shading his expression from the cameras. Sometimes, she’d watch his games and marvel, That’s my husband, but he never really was.
And now it was time to say goodbye.
Neighbor Cat was asleep at the bottom of the stairs. Elena crouched and gave her a scratch. “Take care of him, okay?”
Her heart wanted to linger, to look around a little longer. Her brain told her to go. She drove one of his cars—a spacious SUV—and would leave it at the hospital so someone could drive him home in it. She’d just call an Uber to take her to the airport from there.
The security guard didn’t question her this time, but she felt like a zoo animal on display when she exited the elevator on the fourth floor, dragging her suitcase behind her. A small circle of people wearing tracksuits bearing the team’s logo stood next to the nurses’ station, consulting with an official-looking man in a sport coat and a tie. They turned as one and stared at her with unmasked curiosity. Madison was among them, so Elena waved like they were old pals.
“Tell him I’ll be in in a few minutes to go over the rehab plan,” Madison said.
Elena nodded but didn’t stop. Their eyes followed her every step down the hallway toward his room and when she paused at his closed door. Did she need to knock? With the eyes of the staff burning a hole in her back, she quickly rapped her knuckles on the door and opened it before he could respond. She braced herself for whatever he might say, but she found him staring listlessly at the TV on the wall, the remote in his non-IV hand.
He turned it off when he saw her. “Hi,” he said, pressing his hand to the mattress to straighten against his pillows, gingerly, though, so as to not disturb his injured leg in the harness.
He was slightly more covered today. The hospital gown now hid his chest, but tufts of dark hair still poked through the top. And rather than detracting from the muscular appeal of his body, the thin, diamond-printed gown accentuated it. His biceps looked like they’d rip the fabric if he flexed. Vlad wasn’t the flexing kind of guy, though. His body was a machine with one purpose—hockey. And he was as oblivious to his stunning physique as he was to the way his smile could make a person want to lean into him to absorb some of his warmth. He’d never understood how handsome he was, how attractive women found him. Elena had always felt lucky to know that his sexiest quality was his kindness.
Elena left her suitcase by the door and averted her eyes from his exposed skin as she walked to the side of his bed. “I wanted to bring you some things before I left,” she said in Russian. “Clothes and a toothbrush.”
“Thank you.”
She set the bag on the table next to his bed. “The keys to your car are in there too. I hope you don’t mind that I drove it here. I just thought someone could drive you home in it.”
He thanked her again, studying her face in a way that heated her blood and scrambled her brain.
She bit her lip. “Did you sleep okay last night?”
The purplish smudges beneath his eyes said he hadn’t, but Vlad nodded. “Yes. You?”
“Good.”
“You found everything you needed in the house?”
“Yes.” Elena shoved her hands in her back pockets, desperate for something to cover the awkwardness. It didn’t used to be like this between them—useless small talk bracketed by heavy silences. But the man who’d once been her best friend was now like a stranger. Still, awkward was a lot better than the subtle aggression he’d shown toward her yesterday. “I met your friends.”
“Which friends?”
“The Loners.” She toed the floor with her sneaker. “They were at your house when I got there yesterday. I don’t think the old one likes me very much.”
Vlad dragged a beleaguered hand over his hair and spoke on a sigh. “What did Claud say?”
“I don’t remember exactly, but it was something like, ‘You’re a heartless bitch who should be hit by a train.’ ”
Vlad’s eyebrows pulled together as his expression darkened. “She said that?”
“Maybe not those exact words, but that was clearly the meaning.” She shrugged and adopted what she hoped was a self-deprecating smile. “Hey, if I were dead, then you’d be a real member of their club, at least.”
Her attempt at humor missed its mark. “Elena, don’t ever say anything like that again.”
She squirmed again under his examination. She self-consciously scratched a nonexistent itch on her face as she thought of something to say.
“You’re not wearing your ring.”
She shoved her hand back into her pocket.
“You had it on yesterday.” His voice had dropped an octave.
“I saw yours on your dresser. I figured since you weren’t wearing yours . . .” She shrugged. “I left mine next to it.”
“I only take mine off for games, Elena. I’ve been wearing it.”
“Oh.” Her heart hammered a confusing beat. Why was he telling her that?
A brisk knock on the door interrupted them. Madison poked her head in. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, of course,” Elena said, switching back to English. She turned away from Vlad, hands still in her back pockets, as Madison walked in. Madison greeted Vlad, checked his incision, and then introduced the two other trainers with her—a pair of eager-looking grad assistants who seemed like they couldn’t wait to start torturing him with squat thrusts.
Done with the introductions, Madison smiled and said, “So, I bet you’re ready to get out of here.”