Page 57 of The Rebound Play

“Pizza slice?” a waitress asks, thrusting a large tray in front of me. “Oh, it’s you. Great work tonight, Dan.”

“Thanks. It was a team effort,” I reply as I take a slice.

“Sure, but they couldn’t have done it without Dan the Man,” she replies.

“You got that right,” Dad agrees, still beaming proudly.

All this adoration could go to a guy’s head. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m heading back to Chicago in the morning, even if I don’t want to leave.

“Thanks for this,” I tell the waitress as I take a bite of pizza. “I’m going to go find Keira,” I say to my family. “Catch you later?”

“Sure thing,” my sister says as Mom says, “Anything for the hero of the hour.”

Seriously, too much adulation can’t be good for a guy.

I circle the room, stopping to talk to teammates and old school friends, looking for Keira. With no sign, I pull my phone out once more to check for messages. What I read makes me stop in my tracks.

Keira:

Dan. The past few weeks have meant so much to me, and I know I will never forget you.

Something unpleasant squirms inside. What is she saying? She’ll never forget me?

There’s another message.

Keira:

It’s completely spineless to do this by text, but I know if I see you I’ll cave. You’re leaving tomorrow morning, and I think it’s for the best that we say our goodbyes.

What the …? She cannot be serious. After everything ... she’s breaking up with me?

There’s one final message.

Keira:

I’m sorry, Dan. I will always love you.

I blink at the screen, barely believing the words. Tension tightens my chest, a knot twisting painfully in my belly.

Keira doesn’t want to be with me? She loves me but it’s over?

No. I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it. Whatever is going on with her right now, wherever her head is, I need to see her. Reason with her. Show her that I love her and want to be with her, no matter what.

I won’t let her end this. We are meant to be together. I’ve always known it, but I’ve never fully allowed myself to embrace it. Now that I have, there’s no way on this sweet earth I’m going to let her go.

With my mind made-up, I charge to the exit, determined. As I make my way through the crowd of people, I feel a hand on my forearm and look up to see Cooper’s PR person, Blair.

“I know where she is,” she says without preamble, and I snap my attention to her. She doesn’t need to mention Keira’s name.

I lock my jaw, my body taut with tension, determined to find her and make this right. “Tell me where.”

CHAPTER 16

KEIRA

“Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then.”

I close my dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice over in disgust. Are you serious, Mr. Bennet? No girl likes to be crossed a little in love. Ever. Heartache is the worst feeling in the world. Yet still, here I am, curled up on the sofa, having crossed Dan in love only thirty-seven minutes ago.