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“I need to check her vitals, and it’s clear this is causing her anxiety, which is not good for recovery.”
“We’re delightful,” Jamie muttered beneath his breath.
Nurszilla heard. “Well, go be delightful in the waiting room.”
P and I stood off to the side while the rest of Elite filed out.
“Miss.” The nurse in blue scrubs stepped close. “Can you hear me?”
Jess nodded, cheeks still damp with tears.
“You’re in the hospital. You had a fall and hit your head.” The nurse repeated the same thing Max had literally already told her.
“I fell?” Jess’s voice seemed small and unsure.
My protective instincts, which I thought had been exhausted after last night, reared to life with brand new force. I stepped around the woman, reaching out to take her hand, but then I remembered. Jess didn’t know me. She wouldn’t want a stranger to touch her.
How could she not know me?
“You really don’t know me?” I whispered.
Her lower lip wobbled, and oh my fuck, that was it. That was the fucking end of me. A broken sound echoed deep in my throat, and I forgot I was keeping my distance. I leaned over the bed, over my girl, mopping up the wetness on her cheeks once more. “Shh, it’s okay, baby. I’m not mad. You can brain-dump whatever you want, okay? All that matters is that you’re breathing.”
She sniffled, grabbed my hand, and used it as a tissue for her dripping nose. Nasty, right?
“I like you,” she announced, her voice wobbling.
Well, I’ll be damned. Snot was suddenly romantic AF.
I smiled, chest expanding times two.
“I told you two to leave.”
I turned my face to glare at the nurse. “Can’t you see I’m trying to have a moment here?”
“Your moment can wait. Her health cannot.”
Yeah, okay. She was right.
I started to back away, but Jess clutched my wrist, pulling me back. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“I’ll wait outside and come back as soon as I can.”
“Y-you won’t leave?” she asked.
My stomach flipped at the underlying vulnerability in her voice, at the way she held on to me like I would be able to fix it. “Do you want me to?”
She thought a minute, her whole face crinkling up like it took so much effort to decide. It was so cute I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to yank her out of that bed and kiss the shit out of her right there.
Bet she’d remember me then.
Or maybe not considering I’d never kissed her before. But, fuck me, did I want to. Almost lost your chance.
“I want you to stay,” she finally said, sagging into the pillows as though those words exhausted her.
I leaned in, smoothing the hair off her forehead and side-eyeing the giant-ass bandage on her head. “Can I kiss you?” I whispered.
Her brown eyes lifted, wide and full of trust. When she nodded, I felt like the fucking man.
