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“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Audrey is upset, and I don’t want you making it worse.”
I bristle at Ryker poking his nose in where it isn’t needed. “My wife is my concern, not yours.”
“I know, but I also know how protective you are of Tia.”
“She’s my fucking sister, man. Do you have any idea how many times we nearly lost her when she was little? I sat by her bed more times than I could count watching her breathe because I was worried if I closed my eyes she’d stop.”
“I get that.”
“No, you don’t. None of you have any fucking clue. She’s everything to me. She got hurt because I wasn’t there for her and my wife didn’t listen.”
The car pulls up at the hospital and I jump out before Ryker can stop me. I race to the elevator but it’s five floors up. I head for the stairs instead and take the steps two at a time. I burst on to the pediatric floor and come face to face with Beck. He works here as a cardiac surgeon and is one of the best in the world, so it makes sense, but my brain doesn’t consider he might be here for Audrey, it goes straight into Defcon 1. “Is Tia’s heart alright?”
I get right up in his face, my chest heaving from trying to force the anger and panic into a box and failing at both.
“Relax, Tia is fine. Her heart was never an issue. She had a bad break but it’s all fixed and she’s in recovery.”
It’s like letting the air out of a balloon as the adrenaline and fear have no place to go. “Where is she?”
“Through that door. Audrey is with her.”
I push past him and take a deep breath to calm myself as I shove against the door. I expect to find Tia looking small and frightened, but what I find is her whispering softly with Audrey. For a second, I allow myself to watch them, to imagine what it would be like to have them both in my life forever. But it’s a fool’s errand. Audrey is never going to trust me again. She can’t even admit she loves me, and I know she does.
If we don’t have that, what do we have? Good sex and a one-sided infatuation. I need to start protecting myself and my sister from the inevitable pain of her leaving.
“Hey, munchkin.”
Tia looks up and her eyes are slightly glassy from the drugs, but she looks happy enough. Audrey, on the other hand, looks wrecked. Her eyes are red, her skin pale, and her hands shake as she straightens Tia’s sheet.
“Huddy.”
I move to Tia and take the other side of the bed to Audrey. Placing my hand on Tia’s soft hair, I kiss her temple, breathing in her scent and thanking God that it was nothing more serious. This is bad enough, not to mention the shitshow in the media.
“What you been up to?”
“I broke my arm, and Audrey got me pizza, and I’m going to be a star.”
“Busy day, hey?” I stroke my finger over the pink cast on her arm, a shudder moving through me at her tiny bones breaking. It makes me want to hunt down the pap responsible and tear him limb from limb.
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
“I know, sweetie, why don’t you sleep?”
“Will you and Audrey stay?”
I look at Audrey and she returns my stare with a slight nod.
“Of course. I’m not going anywhere.” But I know Audrey will be and it’s time to redraw some boundaries. I let myself get carried away with this whole fake marriage and ended up believing it could be real because I’ve loved her for so long. I’ll always love her, but Tia needs me, and I can’t let distractions like being head over heels for my wife tear me from her well-being.
“Can we talk?” Her voice is almost apologetic.
“Sure, outside.” I nod to the corridor now that Tia is snoring softly.
Audrey rubs her hands on her thighs with nerves and I resist the instinct to reassure her. I need to do this.
“I’m sorry.”
