IRE

bed, until my tears ran dry and my throat ache

ur home." There were no pictures of us on the walls. My things took up only a

feet hitting the cold fl

ofa-the blue, white, and red of the New York Rangers, the captain'

ing against the rough fabric, then

door beeped, and the door swung open.

d hair combed perfectly. He carried himself with th

oarse. "What are you doing back

aight to the bar. From his inner sui

unter, writing something. The scratch of th

couldn't believe wha

check, and walked over to me. He

ures. Enough to start over anywhere in New York, to even open a

wo years of youth, the fee to buy

ue eyes, and asked, word by wor

, his face completely devoid of expression

tter, broken sound. "So that's w

nreasonable. "Claire, don't be like

'us' anymore. You decided to put on a

hange. "She's suitable. Her family background, her

g about his future "fiancée" as

ll stop digging into my private life. I

tood. I lost to

h and snatched the

oulders, thinking

y tore the check in half. Then

. They fluttered down around us

hrough me. "Hale Jones, I am not a woman you can pay off. Take yo

ard the bedroom, refusi

or, a strange sensation suddenl

sing against my stomach. The discomfort wasn't pai

there, confused by m

followed, and a sudden feelin

, forcing myself to breathe thro

remained in my lower abdomen, accompanied by

nd took a slow breath, trying to und