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Yeah, I didn’t care much either. Right then, I had no room in my head to worry about anything or anyone other than my grandmother. But the photos might matter to him later if they ended up online—I’d be shocked if they weren’t posted somewhere.
His lips grazed my temple. “If they come over here, I’ll tell them to fuck off.”
A smile tried shaping my mouth. He would, too. And under normal circumstances, I would have discouraged him. But the last thing I wanted here and now was to chat to strangers, give them an autograph, and take selfies with them.
It wasn’t long before one of the doctors reappeared. I jumped to my feet, eager for answers. The news … well, it wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t as terrible as I’d feared. Judy had a mild case of diabetes. Managing it would require medication and some lifestyle changes, but she’d be able to return home.
Alone again with Kaiser, I scrubbed a hand down my face. “On the one hand, I’m relieved because it means she’s not dying or in critical condition. On the other hand, well, diabetes is highly serious. And I don’t know if I can get her to follow all the doctor’s advice. The woman is a damn menace.”
Standing beside me, he shrugged. “Every time she’s overdoing it, tell her how terrified you were when you found her unconscious.”
“You want me to emotionally blackmail my grandmother?”
“Will that be a problem?”
“No. Not if it means she’ll take care of herself.”
Judy was soon discharged. She was also thoroughly delighted at the sight of Kaiser. Her delight increased when she realized he’d taken the trouble of asking his publicist to locate her. She was so psyched that she didn’t even complain when I faffed over her a little.
Although she was not whatsoever pleased that she had to be wheeled out of the hospital, it placated her a little that Kaiser pushed the wheelchair. And no, we didn’t go unrecognized by those we passed through the long corridors. Plenty of people noticed us together, their jaws dropping. But no one approached—likely because he wore a stone-cold expression that would put off anyone.
As we neared the exit, he glanced at me. “I’m assuming you came here in the ambulance.”
I nodded. It only then occurred to me that I didn’t have my car.Idiot.
“I’ll give you both a ride home.” Outside, he brought the wheelchair to a halt. “Wait here.” He stalked off.
As I moved to stand behind the wheelchair, Judy glanced at me over her shoulder and said, “I’m going to tell people he carried me out. The story will sound better that way.”
I might have rolled my eyes if I wasn’t still too shaken to be amused.
Judy reached up and patted my hand. “I’m all right. You can relax.”
“Relax? Seriously? You wereunconscious. You have—”
“I know, I know, and I’m sorry I scared you.” She shifted slightly. “And don’t remind me about the unconscious part. We’ll be telling no one about that.”
I sighed. “It doesn’t make you weak, Grams.”
“Fainting is for swooning virgins. The story will be that I felt a little dizzy and you overreacted by calling an ambulance.”
“You’re not even kidding, are you?”
“Not at all.” Her lips curled a little. “Now, shall we talk about how sweet it is that Kaiser showed up at the hospital?”
“No.”
“He could have just called you to check in. Or even had his publicist keep him apprised—Kaiserdidsay that the man could find out anything. But no, he came here to be with you.”
Yes, I was quite aware of that. But I wasn’t sure if I could read anything into it. Most guys in arrangements were always careful not to make moves that could be misconstrued as them wanting more. But aside from when he’d declined my offer for him to watch a movie with me mere moments after we’d agreed to our arrangement, he had never deliberately set out to make a silent statement that we were simply play partners—as if, for him, that one act had been enough to deliver that message. Confident that I’d received it, he hadn’t bothered doing it again.
I understood why he wouldn’t be careful. Kaiser didn’t constantly make an effort to manage the expectations of others. He was the type to do something simply because he felt like it, not really putting much thought into how it might look to others. And he’d likely consider ittheirproblem if they misinterpreted his intentions.
Even as I reminded myself of all that, it was hard not to let a seed of hope plant itself in the pit of my stomach. I’d long ago boxed up my fantasies of having a future with Kaiser, but the lid on it was beginning to shake. And that was damn concerning.
Soon, he pulled up at the curb in a sleek, dark-blue range rover that I hadn’t seen him drive before. I helped Judy out of the wheelchair, which I then placed just inside the hospital entrance for a nurse to collect. I watched as, gruffly courteous in a rather adorable way, Kaiser escorted her to his vehicle. I went to help her climb into the rear passenger row, but he gently moved me aside and carefully lifted her onto the seat.
Her smile was all dreamy, and a little red tinged her cheeks. “Thank you, Kaiser.”
