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“Now that I know Bridget’s in good hands, I’ll say good-night and go home. Cullen, why don’t I take Megan, George and Hannah home with me? You’ll have your hands full with Bridget tonight.”
And if Dr. Perfect decided to stay the night—to look in on the sick girl, of course—it would definitely be a full house with all of them there. Lily just hoped to God that the woman was gone before she dropped the kids off in the morning.
Or would she be dropping them off in the morning? Things had been so hectic and strange that she and Cullen hadn’t even had a chance to discuss the weekend schedule. Maybe he was expecting her to take the kids to the holiday market. She planned on being there to help out anyway. She might as well take the kids directly there.
Great. And leave the day wide-open with the two to rekindle the romance. Of course, someone would need to stay with the sick girl—
“I can’t ask you to do that,” he said. “You’ve already had a long day.”
Brenda threw them a look over her shoulder as she was checking Bridget’s vitals.
“Let’s go out in the hall so that we don’t disturb Brenda,” Lily suggested.
Cullen shut the bedroom door behind him and the two of them were alone in the hall. Lily could hear the faint sound of the movie the kids were watching. One of the girls, probably Hannah, giggled at something funny. Lily wished she were down there with them. Actually she wished she were any place other than where she was right now—standing face-to-face with this man who had broken her heart.
“You seem upset,” Cullen said.
Well, yes…
“I’m just worried about Bridget. Like you said, it’s been a long day.”
“Please stay,” he said. His face looked anguished.
Lily blinked. Just a moment ago he had been acknowledging how tired she must be. Now he was asking her to stay?
Her chest felt tight and her words were having a hard time getting past the lump in her throat. Oh, dear God, please let her keep her composure. The last thing she needed to do right now was lose it in front of this man who had made her place in his life perfectly clear yesterday. What made it even worse was that his ex-wife was in the next room.
No. Just no.
He’d set his boundaries yesterday. Tonight she would set hers.
“Cullen, I’m happy for the kids to come home with me, but I need to leave. I’m going to go tell them to get their stuff ready. Maybe Brenda will stay and help you with Bridget.”
She turned toward the stairs.
“She’s going to be leaving in a few minutes. Please stay…. I need you.”
Lily paused at the top of the stairs. She turned and looked at him. The way he was looking at her made her want to believe he really did need her. But she had to keep it in context. He had made himself perfectly clear yesterday.
Still, she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Don’t. Cullen, please. Don’t.”
“I made a mistake yesterday.”
Oh, no. She felt the tears welling in her eyes. She reached up to swipe them away before they could take on a life of their own. “How was your date?”
“Let’s just say that it was a dinner between old friends.”
Lily gave him a look.
“That’s all we are. All she and I will ever be.”
A hiccuping sob escaped Lily as a tear crested and rolled down her cheek. Cullen reached up and brushed it away.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
Brenda cleared her throat. She was standing in the hallway watching them. “Well, it appears to be a virus. She should be fine in a day or so. I think my work here is done. I guess I’ll go wash my hands.”
* * *
“Brenda, please let me drive you back to your hotel,” Cullen said as he and his ex-wife stood face-to-face in the upstairs hall. Before Brenda had emerged from the bathroom after washing her hands, Lily had excused herself to go downstairs with the other three kids. Bridget was sound asleep and they were both visibly relieved that her prognosis was good.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Her voice was eerily calm. “I’ve already called a cab. It should be here any minute. But please do come wait with me outside until it arrives.”
