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“Of course. I would have called you anyway but he was asking for you.” Jack smiled and immediately, Carson could appreciate why Sterling was so smitten with this man. He was beautiful but she preferred her men a little thicker, a little more rough.
“Can I see him?”
“Of course.” Jack stepped away giving her room to approach the door.
When she walked inside, Cole sat at Neil’s bedside. He looked up from the magazine that sat on his lap but she could tell he wasn’t reading.
“Hi, Carson.”
She nodded and tiptoed further inside.
Cole shot up and rested the magazine on the table beside the bed.
Neil’s big body lay limp against the mattress. It was covered by a blue blanket. The tray table had been pushed off to the side and the remnants of his dinner still sat on a plate. It wasn’t hospital food. No doubt one of his brothers made him a care package.
Cole rubbed her arm and smiled before he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.
She walked slowly, quietly toward the bed. Neil’s chest rose in even beats. His arm was needled up with an intravenous line and the bag dripped clear liquid into the tube. He was in a private room, thankfully. No need for anyone else to witness what she was about to say.
She sat on the chair and pulled it closer to the bed. She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers with his. They were warm and clammy. They twitched in her grip.
When her eyes travelled from their hands to his face, she jumped when she realized he stared back at her.
“What are you doing here?”
His voice was thick, rough, just like she liked it. But his tone was accusatory. Not the welcome she had been hoping for. But could she blame him? She all but threw him out of her condo last night. After she had made him feel like the worst version of himself.
“I…”
His eyes were stern, like his expression. His lips were drawn into a thin line. He was not happy to see her.
“Jack called me. Told me that you were in an accident.”
He grunted.
“I take it you didn’t ask for me.”
She should have known better. Neil wasn’t the romantic type. Of course he didn’t ask for her in his time of need.
“If you’re here to lecture me, you can leave.”
He pulled his hand away and threaded his own together across his chest.
“Well, you are stupid. What the hell were you thinking going back to Diaz?”
He knew how dangerous it was. That all it took was one more time to have the bottom fall out from under you.
“I was thinking I needed to let off some steam and riding would be the perfect cure.”
She had driven him there. Her stupid, naïve, unwarranted behavior had led him right into the arms of his almost-death. How could she ever live with the fact that she had put him in this hospital bed? That if she had let him love her, let him stay the night, he wouldn’t have run off upset and he wouldn’t have ended up at that race.
“I’m…I didn’t mean to run you off. I’m sorry. It was all too much, too overwhelming.”
“You were right. Whatever this is between us isn’t healthy. We both want the same thing Carson. Work comes first. Always has. Always will. It’s better that we figured it all out now before it was too late.”
It wasn’t too late. They could still pick up where they left off. She would apologize. That’s all. He just needed to know how she felt. That the thought of losing him, the thought of him in this hospital, put everything into perspective.
“I need to tell you—”
