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‘You should be furious…’

‘I was, when I woke up,’ he replies.

‘And now?’

‘Now I don’t care,’ he says. ‘Because now I’m looking at you, you’re still here, and so am I – really, that’s all that matters.’

He’s right.

‘That’s all that matters to me too,’ I tell him. ‘I never want to leave your side again.’

‘That could become inconvenient, in a scrum,’ he jokes.

‘I can settle for the sidelines, sometimes…’

‘Then I think we’ll be okay,’ he tells me with a smile.

‘Can I kiss you again?’ I ask.

‘Gently,’ he replies through a chuckle. ‘And not in a way that makes my heartbeat go up.’

‘Well, now you’re just making me want to try,’ I point out. ‘Sort of like a sexy video game. Let’s see if I can push the right buttons.’

I can control myself a little better now, kissing him without giving him another concussion.

‘Now I see why your mum wants you to retire,’ I tell him. ‘Does she know you’re okay?’

‘Yeah, I asked Sol to let her know,’ he replies. ‘That reminds me, I have something to tell you. I got some news, just before the match.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yep,’ he replies. ‘I told Bravo I’d play for Leeds for another year. He’s drawing up the contract, but it’s a done deal.’

‘Mixed emotions,’ I reply, wincing. ‘I don’t want to ever see you get hurt again… but I did love the idea of the two of us working together.’

‘I’ll be all right though, won’t I, because I’ll have you watching over me.’

He smiles hopefully.

‘If Bryan keeps me on…’ I reply.

‘He’d be mad not to,’ Eddy says.

Assuming Bryan keeps me, it really would be a dream to keep doing the job and to work with Eddy too.

‘You’d better be more careful,’ I tell him.

‘I’m always careful.’

‘You were unconscious, like, an hour ago,’ I point out.

‘I’ll be more careful,’ he promises me. ‘If you promise not to blame Jamie for this.’

I pull a face.

‘It sounds like you’ve got to know him,’ he says. ‘You know he’s not a bad lad really.’

I suppose that’s true.