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He nods. “Are they okay?”
“They’re fine. Your grandmother had a shock, and she experienced what we call vasovagal syncope. Essentially, her heart rate and blood pressure dropped suddenly, and she fainted. Your grandfather needed to be sedated. We’re keeping them both here for observation overnight, but they should be fine by morning.”
He lets out a long breath, his big body trembling beside me. “Can we go in?”
The doctor nods. “Maude is awake, and she was asking about you.”
“I’ll wait out here,” I tell him with (what I hope is) a brave smile.
“Like hell you will,” Des says, then clamps his hand around mine and drags me to the door.
Oh, dear.
Fear starts beating a drum inside me as we approach the door. I haven’t seen Maude since I made her pass out from shock. I haven’t had the guts to face her. And now Des is here, and my heart feels like everything is okay, but my brain is all muddled.
Is he angry with me? But then if he is, why did he kiss me?
Where has he been? Was I wrong about everything being fake? Why did he come back?
Maude lies in her hospital bed, looking paler than I’ve seen her. No one looks good when they’re wearing a hospital gown and they have tubes sticking into their veins—but Maude still smiles at the two of us and beckons us closer.
“Desmond,” she croaks. “You’re back. Did you get everything sorted?”
“Yes,” he says. Then, when his grandmother’s eyes narrow, he sighs. “I had to leave all my stuff behind. I rushed here.”
“Well, that was silly.”
Des arches a brow at his grandmother, at the beeping machines, at Arthur sleeping in the next bed. “Was it?”
Maude waves a hand—and then her eyes land on me. “Desmond,” she starts, holding my gaze, “will you explain to this young lady what you were doing in Lovers’ Peak?”
Des squeezes my hand. “Grandma, let’s just talk about you, okay? I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Her gaze narrows, and Desmond flinches. This big, strong manflinchesat the look his grandmother gives him. “Did you lie to me, Desmond? When you took Mia and Bailey with you to meet our family, was that all a lie? You didn’t care about them the way you made us believe?”
“Of course not,” he answers, and it’s my turn to stare at him. He glances at me, frustration making a vein pop in his forehead. “It wasn’t fake,” he insists.
Relief starts to sweep through me, but I can’t quite believe it—not yet. “Des, you gave me three months free rent for me to go to Colorado with you. You said we should pretend to be together. Itwasa lie.” Apart from all the kissing and touching we did beforehand…
“Absurd,” Maude huffs, crossing her arms. She scowls at her grandson. “I’m disappointed in you, Desmond.”
“What else was I supposed to do? She hated me!”
“I didn’t hate you,” I say, even though, yeah, I kind of did.
Maude arches her brows at him as if to say,You see?“This young lady believed you didn’t care about her. Now, I’ve had a few hours to think about it, and I want to see you two fix this. Right here and now. Tell her what you were doing in Colorado.”
“Grandma, I don’t want to do this now.”
“Well, tough shit,” Maude says, swearing for the first time I’ve ever heard. I’m so shocked I just freeze. “Tell her.”
Des sighs, turning to face me. He rakes his hand through his hair. “I was selling my house.”
“Okay…” I frown. Good for him?
There’s a pause, and Maude clears her throat.
“Look, Mia…” He exhales in a huff, then stares at the ceiling. “That house was the first place where I felt like I belonged. It was my first home, apart from the house my parents had, which I barely remember. I sold it because it was also a chain that held me back in Colorado, and I didn’t want anything in my way when I started a life here.”
