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All he knew was that one minute he was flying at the highest of highs and the next minute he was asking her to marry him.
And then he was crashing and burning.
There was no going back now. He thought it was all lost until she texted, wanting to go with him when he went to talk to the doctors about Aidan. Even then, he’d almost said no, or nothing at all, which essentially would have conveyed no, but the thought of going to that meeting and getting news—good or bad—without her was more than he could bear.
What was important now was Aidan. That was where his focus would be, but it would be good to have her with him.
As he was getting into his car to go to the meeting, the doctor called and asked him to meet him at the ICU nurses’ station rather than his office as they’d originally planned.
He texted the change of venue to Elle.
True to her word, she was at the nurses’ station at 1:00 p.m.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she saw him.
He gave a quick nod.
“Good.” That was all that they said that could remotely pertain to what had happened the night before. Because right now the focus was on Aidan.
Standing there waiting for the doctor, who was not on time, to appear and deliver whatever news he had to give, Daniel suddenly realized the doctor might not necessarily be imparting good news. Each day, Aidan had been progressing well. The swelling had been receding and the tests seemed to be supporting the evaluation that he was moving in the right direction.
But as Daniel stood there looking at this woman he loved, this woman whose feelings didn’t run quite as deeply for him as his did for her, he worried that maybe the bottom was about to really drop out of his life. Again.
Hospitals had never been the place of good news—not when his parents had been in the crash, not after his grandmother had the stroke, not after Lana’s aneurysm...
He was about to tell Elle that she didn’t have to stay, when the doctor finally appeared, “Mr. Quindlin, I’m sorry I’m late. I was tied up with another patient. Please follow me, there’s something I want you to see.”
“Is everything okay? Is Aidan okay?”
The doctor didn’t respond. He simply motioned for Daniel to follow.
“I’ll wait right here,” Elle said.
He nodded and walked behind the doctor. Even though it was the wrong time to think it—to think about anything besides his brother’s well-being and the tough decisions he might possibly have to make in the coming days—it dawned on him that Elle hadn’t necessarily showed up because she’d had a change of heart. Or because she cared for him any more deeply than a decent person cared for another who was experiencing hard times. Just as she’d gone from pissed-off and dismissive to kind and empathetic on the day of Aidan’s accident, she very well could’ve been putting differences aside on what might be a day of devastating decisions, proving she was a good girl through and through.
The doctor stopped in front of Aidan’s door. “Wait right here for a moment.”
It was the longest damn moment of his entire life, but finally the doctor opened the door and invited Daniel inside. The first thing he saw was that Aidan was awake and out of the coma.
* * *
Elle hadn’t been allowed to see Aidan because they were keeping his visits short and limited to immediate family until he moved to the progressive care unit. But she was so glad she could be there for Daniel when he came out and shared the good news.
Since Daniel couldn’t go back to see Aidan until the next day, Elle suggested that they celebrate with a cup of coffee at the Sentient Bean, since the coffee shop was so close to the inn.
Maybe it was because she felt as if they’d left a lot of things unsaid. Maybe it was because she’d been at the hospital to learn news about an accident victim who’d been in a coma and that was a sharp reminder of the brevity of life and how things can change on a dime. But as they sat in funky upholstered chairs near the storefront window that looked out over Forsyth Park, Elle found herself rethinking her earlier panic.
“I was talking to my mom the other day about whether or not I would return to Atlanta or move back to Savannah and I told her that I was going to let fate decide. If I’m supposed to be here, then I won’t get the job. If I’m supposed to go, a job will come through.”
