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I lay back in the uncomfortable hospital bed, exhausted and irritated. “Where’s Julia? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” Patrick said. “I sent her home.”
The news was a stab to the gut. “Youwhat?”
“The situation was getting out of hand. I booked her a flight back to Utah. She’ll be safer the further she is from the three of you.”
Dylan tensed. “We could’ve protected her.”
“I think this situation proves otherwise.”
Red exhaled slowly. “Patrick did the right thing. We all saw how overwhelmed she was. Getting her away from Vegas is probably for the best.”
“Did she say anything before she left?” I asked.
Patrick nodded. “She said she was sorry.”
I gritted my teeth. What did Julia have to be sorry for? She did absolutely nothing wrong, so why was she shouldering everything like it was her fault?
“I want some time alone,” I said.
Red and Dylan glanced at each other, a silent conversation passing between them. When the three of them finally left, I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and dialed Julia’s number.
When she picked up, it was a breath of fresh air.
“Cash…”
“Are you okay?” I asked. “Please tell me you’re okay. Everything happened so fast. I didn’t know what happened to you after they tazed us.”
“I’m…” She sucked in a sharp breath and cleared her throat. Her voice was tight and scratchy, like she’d spent the last couple of hours crying. I forced the thought out of my mind. I couldn’t stand it. “I’m fine, Cash. How are you?”
“I’m in the hospital. I have to have surgery on my knee. Doctor says it could take up to a year to recover.”
Julia sniffled “Oh, God. I’m so sorry, Cash. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It wasn’t your fault.”
“No, it is. I should never have—” She hiccupped, a sob catching in her throat. “What can I do?” she asked helplessly. “How can I help you? Is there something I can do to make this better?”
“Come back to us,” I said softly. “Or, at the very least, wait for us to meet you in Sunville. I need to see you again. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, but…”
“Don’t saybut. Don’t say it.”
“I don’t think we should keep seeing each other.”
If I wasn’t in any pain before, I definitely was now. “Why are you saying this, Julia?”
“Everything that’s happened is because of my indiscretion.”
“Don’t you dare put this all on you. The four of us weren’t exactly being careful, but I’m not ashamed of us. What we have is special, Julia. We… I love you. I don’t care if the public wants to shame us to high heaven. Iloveyou, Julia. So please… Please don’t run away.”
There was a long pause. I couldn’t tell if Julia was trying to find the right words or if the line had dropped.
“I love you, too,” she said finally.
Hearing those four simple words suddenly made all my troubles melt away, banishing my darkest thoughts and biggest fears into oblivion. In that moment, I didn’t care if my knee was busted or that my career was effectively over. All I cared about was the fact that the woman I was in love with loved meback.
