Just Chance

by Dillon Hunter

  And that meant that Hawk’s days of relying on Corbin were over.

  Instead of following his instincts and smashing his fist into Corbin’s head, though, Hawk moved past him, heading toward the door he’d just barged through minutes ago. He put his hand on the doorknob and then turned his head to look at Corbin again. The man just wasn’t worth it. Frankie was what mattered now.

  “You’ve got it backwards, you know. I’m the one who’s not going to put up with this anymore, Corbin. We’re done here.” Hawk opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, but not before he’d left Corbin with what he sincerely hoped would be the last words he ever said to the man: “And just so there’s no confusion later, I want you to know that this is the moment I decided you’re no longer worth the headache. You’re fired, Corbin.”

  Hawk didn’t wait for a reply. He didn’t need one and didn’t want one, because Corbin had been wrong. Hawk’s priorities were crystal clear, and they involved getting his ass on the plane to Bridgewater and making sure his number-one priority knew that that’s what he was.

  He walked back down the hallway feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, feeling more free than he had since… ever. There would be fallout from Hawk’s decision to part ways with his agent—and he was very aware that he still hadn’t signed a contract for the upcoming season—but Hawk’s career wasn’t over yet. Objectively, his ribs had healed well and his track record put him in a strong position to play for a good many years to come.

  He was confident that there would be no shortage of agents lining up to take Corbin’s place, and even if they didn’t have Corbin’s well-deserved, cut-throat reputation, there would hopefully be one among them who Hawk might be able to have a mutually respectful working relationship with.

  That would certainly be a nice change of pace.

  He reached the lobby and asked the concierge to call him a cab, pushing those thoughts out of his mind. For now, his next career move would have to wait.

  Priorities.

  Hawk had a plane to catch.

  He had to get back to Frankie.

  He had to make things right.

  And, before anything else happened to get between them, he had to tell Frankie how he felt.

  Because the only thing that mattered right now? Making sure he put a smile back on Frankie’s face… and then working his ass off to keep it there.

  Chapter 26

  Frankie

  Frankie loaded another box of flowers into his car and took a deep breath as he turned to walk back into the flower shop. All morning, he’d done his very best to pretend like nothing was out of the ordinary, like he wasn’t on pins and needles, just waiting for a call or a sign or smoke signals or something from Hawk to tell him that everything was going to be okay.

  That they were okay.

  That Corbin had lied, or been wrong, or that… well, that everything Frankie had believed in for the past couple of months had been real.

  And of course, even though Frankie thought he’d been doing a pretty decent job of masking his emotions, Ethan was quick to see through it all and just as quick to call him on it. Frankie had managed to play it off for nearly two hours, but when he entered Chance To Bloom again and saw Ethan standing in front of the counter with his arms folded and That Look on his face, Frankie knew the jig was up. Ethan just knew him too well, and one way or another, he was going to have to come clean.

  “Are you finally ready to tell me what’s going on?” Ethan asked, his voice firm even though his eyes were kind. “I know this is a big day and we don’t have a lot of time, but… I can’t just keep pretending like I don’t notice you’re about to break down, Frankie.” He sighed and softened his tone. “Is it Hawk?”

  Frankie could only nod his head as he felt the hot prick of tears welling up behind his eyes. God, he’d told himself over and over and over again that no matter what, he wasn’t going to cry today. That even if it came down to the worst possible outcome—that even if Hawk told him they were done, that it was over, that it had all been just a game after all—he'd hold it together. And it wasn’t like he could tell Ethan all of that, anyway.

  There was still the contract to think about.

  And Hawk’s career.

  Not that it was really any of Frankie’s business anymore. Not that it ever had been, really.

  Today wasn’t the day for dealing with all of that, though. Sometime later, Frankie might find a way to come clean to Ethan and Jack about the whole, sordid charade.

  Not today.

  This was a day that Frankie and his grandma and the rest of the nursing home residents all shared, a day every single one of them had spent all year planning for and looking forward to. Frankie usually had a blast at the Flower Face-off, but even if he couldn’t muster his usual enthusiasm at the moment, he didn’t want to let anything get in the way of their enjoyment… and he definitely didn’t want to let his personal drama take center stage.

  “Do you want to tell me about it?” Ethan asked, his eyes so full of sympathy that it only made Frankie feel even worse.

  “There’s not really anything to say,” Frankie answered glumly, shaking his head. His mouth didn’t stop there, though, so apparently he did want to talk about it. “Hawk and I talked on the phone last night like normal. He was in New York, but said he’d be coming back today in time for the Face-off.” Frankie paused to take a shaky breath and wipe his eyes. “And then his agent called and said… a bunch of mean, hateful things, and… I haven’t heard from Hawk since then.”

  Ethan’s brow furrowed and he cocked his head to the side. “Hawk hasn’t called you?”

  Frankie shook his head.

  Now Ethan looked even more incredulous. “And you haven’t called him?”

  “I tried. I tried and tried last night, and then again this morning. No answer. I didn’t know what to do after that, so…” Frankie shook his head. “I just hope he’s okay, but… I’m just trying not to think about it for now. Not doing a very good job of that, though.”

  None of it made sense to Frankie—it had felt wrong when it had happened, and it still felt wrong as he tried to explain it to Ethan. No matter how many excuses for Hawk’s silence Frankie had tried to come up with, or how many different angles he’d tried to look at the situation from, none of it added up.

  This wasn’t like Hawk, and Frankie had been completely blindsided, sucker-punched by the whole thing.

  “Oh my God, Frankie,” Ethan stepped closer and put his arms around Frankie, pulling him in for a tight hug. “I’m sorry you’re going through all of this. Especially today.” He took a step back, but still held Frankie by the shoulders as he looked into Frankie’s eyes. “Maybe Hawk will still show up. I wouldn’t give up hope until you know for sure. Maybe he can find a way to explain… everything.”

  Frankie nodded, but Ethan’s attempted pep-talk didn’t stir much confidence in him. If it hadn’t been for Corbin’s phone call, it would’ve been a lot easier to chalk everything up to some weird coincidence.

  Sure, he would’ve still been worried when he hadn’t heard from Hawk that morning, but he wouldn’t have spent the entire night crying and wondering what was real and what was a lie. He would’ve gone to bed last night knowing that the last thing he’d heard from Hawk was that he couldn’t wait to see Frankie again.

  Not… everything else that had happened after that.

  “Maybe he can,” Frankie said, sighing as he broke the embrace to grab another box of flowers from the counter behind Ethan. “But either way, I can’t think about it right now. My grandma and all of her friends are counting on me to come through for them today, and I don’t want to disappoint them on top of everything else.”

  Ethan nodded. “You know Jack and I will be there to support you in any way we can. We’re all going to make today into a success. You’re going to put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces, so just hold onto that thought, okay? And if you need me to yell at Hawk later, just say the word.�
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  Frankie laughed, even though he could barely see through the tears in his eyes. At least he had loyal friends—friends who loved him and wanted the best for him. Friends that still meant a lot to Frankie.

  “Thanks,” he said, sniffling and giving Ethan the first genuine smile of the day. “You’re the best. Seriously.”

  “No, you are.” Ethan winked. “You’ve been there for me through a lot of tough times, and I’m here for you, no matter what.”

  Frankie nodded and turned to haul the box of flowers out to the car before Ethan could see the fresh tears that were streaking their way down his face.

  It felt good to know he could count on his friends for support, but he still wanted to hold onto a little thread of hope. He still wanted to believe that Hawk wasn’t the cold, uncaring guy Corbin had made him out to be. He wanted to believe that his heart had been right about Hawk from the start. He wanted to believe in love.

  Frankie took a shuddering breath, straightening his shoulders. Hawk would either show up or he wouldn’t. Love would win or it would all be over. And in less than an hour, Frankie would find out which one it was.

  He’d find out if any of it was real.

  Frankie wouldn’t have admitted it, but he was holding his breath when he parked his car in front of the nursing home.

  Once he reminded himself to breathe again, he told himself that he wasn’t upset that Hawk wasn’t standing out on the sidewalk waiting for him. He told himself that Hawk might be waiting inside. He even told himself that it didn’t matter anyway, that the day wasn’t about Frankie or Hawk or their relationship status.

  Too bad he couldn’t bring himself to actually believe any of those things.

  Ethan had arrived first, and he was walking out of the building to meet Frankie when Frankie stepped out of the car. He could already tell by the look on Ethan’s face that there was no happy ending in sight, but… he still had to ask.

  Just in case.

  “He’s not here, is he?”

  Ethan shook his head. “I’m sorry. I was really hoping he’d be here waiting, Frankie. I wanted it for you so badly. I mean, we still have a few minutes for him to show up, but—”

  “No.” Frankie closed his eyes for a moment and tried to center himself, tried to take a deep breath and to push away all of the unhappy thoughts that were clouding his mind. “His agent was right. He’s not coming. I need to just come to terms with it.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Ethan looked like he was about to cry, and there would be no way Frankie could hold it together if that happened.

  “It’s okay,” Frankie lied, trying really hard to pretend his heart wasn’t breaking a little. “Well, it’ll be okay, anyway. There’s really nothing I can do about it now. I’m just gonna try not to think about it until we get through this day.”

  “I just wish we knew what happened,” Ethan said. “I wish he would’ve told you what changed.”

  “Would that make it better?”

  Frankie didn’t wait for an answer. He didn’t want one, anyway.

  Pulling up to an empty parking lot had been all the answer he’d needed.

  Still, he wished Hawk would at least call. As upset and hurt as Frankie was, he at least wanted to make sure Hawk was physically okay.

  Even fake boyfriends—even ex-boyfriends—had a right to worry… right?

  Ethan and Frankie each took a box from the back seat and slowly walked toward the nursing home. Jack had come by earlier to decorate, and there were already signs and streamers hung from every available space.

  Frankie smiled in spite of himself. The place really did look festive and fun and full of life. Maybe he could just lose himself in the chaos and somehow forget everything that had happened over the past twelve hours—and everything else that had happened over the past couple of months. Not forever, but just for now. Just long enough to get through the day without bursting into tears again.

  There’d be time enough later to nurse his broken heart.

  They’d barely finished unpacking the flowers from the boxes when the moment Frankie had been silently dreading all morning arrived.

  “Frankie, dear.” His grandmother tapped him on the shoulder, and he made sure to fix a bright smile on his face before he turned around to look at her. “Everything looks wonderful,” she said, beaming at him. “But… where’s that handsome boyfriend of yours? I was hoping he’d be here by now so I could show him off. I’ve spent the whole week telling Edna Riley what a good catch you’ve made.”

  She peeked around Frankie’s shoulder as if Hawk might’ve been hiding there, and Frankie took a few seconds to figure out what he wanted to say.

  The truth?

  A lie?

  Half-truth?

  No. No sense in pretending now. Best to rip it off like a Band-Aid.

  “Hawk’s, um, not coming, Nana.” Frankie met her eyes for a split-second and saw the same instant look of sympathy-mixed-with-pity that he’d seen on Ethan’s face all morning. “Excuse me for just a second, please.”

  Frankie gave her a quick peck on the cheek then stumbled past her toward the front door. The room was suddenly too hot, too small, too full of people and flowers. He just needed to get some fresh air and get himself together, to dry his eyes and collect his thoughts. He just needed to find a way to breathe again.

  His head was down and he was wiping his eyes as he walked through the lobby, and Frankie thanked his lucky stars that he’d been in and out of the place enough times that his feet could get him out of there on auto-pilot. He reached blindly for the door handle… and ran right into what felt like a brick wall.

  A brick wall attached to huge, muscular arms that wrapped themselves around Frankie’s body and kept him from landing flat on his ass.

  “Oh my God,” Frankie said, sniffling and still wiping tears away and so mortified that he wanted to just die. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking, and I—”

  “It’s okay, babe,” the brick wall said. “I’ve got you. Always.”

  Hawk’s deep, familiar voice washed over Frankie like a dream, and he froze in disbelief as his heart literally stopped for a moment.

  “Hawk?” he asked, his heart unfreezing with a vengeance and flooding with hope so fast that it almost made him dizzy. He scrambled back out of Hawk’s arms and looked up at him, shaking his head in disbelief. "What… but how? What are you doing here? I thought… but… you didn’t call…”

  Frankie couldn’t seem to get the words out right, and to his horror—even though he was pretty sure he was happy—he suddenly started crying again.

  Hawk winced, pulling Frankie right back into his arms. “I’m sorry, Frankie. I’m sorry I’m late, and I’m sorry I couldn’t call. I kind of… smashed my phone. And when I called the flower shop earlier, nobody answered.”

  Frankie shook his head, swiping madly at his face as he tried to get himself together. “No, nobody's there today. Jack and Ethan are here with me. They closed the shop for the day.”

  Frankie’s head was spinning, and when Hawk’s arms tightened around him, he pressed his cheek against Hawk’s chest—as much to steady himself as to make sure he wasn’t just imagining the whole thing. But no. There was no way he was imagining how amazing Hawk’s broad, muscled chest felt, or the steady, reassuring sound of his heartbeat.

  And he definitely wasn’t imagining the way his own body was reacting to having Hawk so near.

  “Corbin called me,” Frankie said, pulling back to look up at Hawk with his brow furrowed.

  He didn’t want to remember that conversation—didn’t want to do anything but stay right where he was—but the last twelve hours had been hell, and he wanted to know what had happened.

  Needed, too, to hear that Hawk being here meant what Frankie thought it did.

  Needed the words.

  The mention of Corbin’s name already had Hawk frowning, but Frankie needed to tell him all of it.

  “He, um, said you had to take care of business—that y
ou didn’t care about me, or about all of this.” Frankie had to stop to swipe his eyes again, his heart hurting as he said it with the memory of just how bad it had made him feel. “Corbin said—”

  “He lied, babe,” Hawk interrupted, placing a hand over Frankie’s and then bringing it up to his lips. He brushed them across Frankie’s knuckles with a soft sweetness that nearly made Frankie’s knees buckle, and—still staring into his eyes—he said, “I do care. I love you, Frankie, and I wouldn’t have missed today for anything. Nor for Corbin, not for the team… not for my career. You’re my priority, Frankie, and I promised you I’d be here, didn’t I?”

  Frankie’s mouth had gone dry. He nodded as he looked up into Hawk’s eyes, and it was all there. The truth. Hawk had been worried and stressed. And he… he loved Frankie.

  Frankie’s breath hitched.

  Hawk had just told him he loved him. Hawk… loved him.

  Him.

  Frankie.

  He’d really said that, right?

  “You… love me?” Frankie’s voice was just barely above a whisper. “Is that what you said? Love?”

  Hawk nodded, his smile holding everything Frankie had ever wanted. “From the first day we met,” he said. “I think my heart knew from day one. I’m just sorry it’s taken this long to say it out loud. But I want to say it again, now and later and as many times as you want to hear it—I love you, Frankie Moretti. I love you so much, and I’m so sorry for Corbin… for these—” he ran his thumbs over Frankie’s wet cheeks, “—for all of this.”

  “I love you, too,” Frankie said, more tears happening even as his heart started to bloom. Hawk loved him, and these tears? They were definitely happy ones. “I didn’t think…”

  Frankie bit his lip, shaking his head instead of finishing. He wanted to tell Hawk about all the weeks of uncertainty he’d had, about the way his heart fluttered each and every time Hawk looked at him… or touched him… or just said his name. Wanted to tell Hawk how the thought of losing him last night had made Frankie feel more upset and sad than he’d felt in his whole life.