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Her anxious blue gaze flew to his. “What on earth are you doing out of the hospital?” she cried angrily, fearing for his safety. “Are you insane?”
“Most people think so,” Ben Herrick whispered with maddening calm.
She couldn’t help but stare at his striking male features. “You’re not supposed to be talking yet!”
His lips twitched. “I thought you’d be happy I could make any sounds at all.”
“I am!” Terrie blurted. Her violent outburst seemed to fill the hallway. “Of course I am,” she said in a quieter voice, trying to calm down. “I just didn’t expect—”
“To see me again?” he broke in before she could finish.
By now her cheeks were on fire.
Just as Dr. Fortuna had said, Ben Herrick looked amazingly fit, especially for a person who’d just left his hospital bed after an ordeal that could have taken his life. The tape that held the IV needle still adhered to his bronzed skin above his left wrist.
“I—I was on my way to the airport.”
His gray eyes narrowed on her upturned features. “Yes, I know. Captain Ortiz told me you planned to return to the States this morning. You weren’t even going to come by my room to say goodbye.”
Filled with guilt and dazed because he’d actually left the hospital and could talk—even if it was a forced whisper—she scarcely noticed the waiter who approached carrying her breakfast tray. She’d forgotten all about it.
“Buenos dias, señorita.”
Terri murmured something appropriate and took the tray from him. “Just a minute while I find my purse.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Mr. Herrick reached in his pocket with his free hand to pay the man a generous tip.
When the waiter had disappeared he said, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“Of course!” she snapped, feeling out of control. “You should be sitting down, you know.” She moved out of the way so he could enter.
He shut the door behind him and walked over to the table, but he remained standing. Af
ter lifting the cover off the plate he said, “Your breakfast smells good. Go ahead and eat while it’s hot.”
In the excitement of seeing him again, she’d lost her appetite. “Why are you here, Mr. Herrick?”
His head turned in her direction. “The name is Ben. After what we’ve both been through together, I can’t imagine your calling me anything else.”
Her pulse raced. “If the doctor released you, then you should have gone straight home!”
“That’s where I’m headed.” He put the cover back. “I only stopped by the hotel long enough to take you with me.”
She stood there in shock, convinced she hadn’t understood him correctly.
“It’s very simple,” he continued to whisper, taking advantage of her silence. “Dr. Dominguez said I could leave as long as I had someone to watch out for me over the next few days.”
Her legs started to tremble.
“You have a family anxious to do that for you.”
“They’re on their way back to Texas this morning.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked them to leave.”
Aghast she cried, “How could you do that when they flew all this way to be with you?”
