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“Oh, I very much wanted to be touched,” Celia said, her head tilting as she smiled at Trenton.
The heat that built in Malcolm’s cheeks was annoying. Trenton hadn’t been over the loss of his wife when he met Celia, and Malcolm understood that he may never get over her death. Celia seemed okay with it, though, and they’d surprised Malcolm when they announced their engagement. He couldn’t fully understand how they’d worked through the complex emotions, but they made each other happy, and that was all that mattered.
The first month they’d been together as an actual couple, little had seemed to change, but Malcolm had begun feeling more distance between him and Celia over the last few weeks. Nothing major. He was just the second person she told things now, not the first.
It was for the best, he reminded himself. As long as she was happy. There were always going to be bad moments, life wasn’t neat, but those moments had seemed to come less often, and they hadn’t hit the extremes at all lately.
The curtain pushed aside, and an older woman with a white coat stepped in. The doctor’s eyebrow lifted. “Two strapping men make this curtained-off space even smaller. I’m glad to see you’re awake, Ms. Griffin.” The doctor smiled as she shifted around Malcolm, her eyes only for her patient. “I’m Dr. Menose. A room is being prepped for you as we speak. There’s one last test I’d like to have you do on the way.”
“A room?” Malcolm asked, his heartbeat a hard thump. “It’s bad enough to keep her here?”
“What’s wrong with her, doctor?” Trenton asked. His hand clutched at Celia’s.
Dr. Menose looked at their clasped hands. “One more test, and then I’ll be ready to divulge my findings to the patient. Her life isn’t in danger, though. Once her fluids are revived, she’ll be released to rest at home.”
“More rest?” Celia asked, wrinkles forming on her forehead.
Dr. Menose smiled. “I take it sitting still can be a problem for you?”
“It won’t be a problem.” Malcolm gave Celia a look.
She sighed. “What about the tavern?”
“You let me worry about that,” he said, moving forward to pat her foot. “The customers have been spoiled having the best waitress around. It’s about time they remembered who owns the place.”
Celia snorted even as the nurse from before came in.
“I’m here to take you for a ride upstairs,” he said with a grin. He moved behind her to fiddle with the IV.
Dr. Menose looked to Trenton and then Malcolm. “Let my patient have a bit of privacy for this test. The receptionist will tell you which room she’s in once she’s settled.”
Trenton looked to Celia, and she nodded. He kissed her hand before rising. “I’ll grab a couple of things from home to make us more comfortable tonight.”
“You’re staying the night? I know hospitals—” She broke off as she caught Trenton’s expression. It was more of a kicked puppy dog look than anything stern. Trenton couldn’t do angry, especially not when it came to Celia.
Malcolm still struggled to imagine Trenton hitting Celia’s ex, even though he’d heard the story.
“You don’t get to worry about me right now,” Trenton told her. His smile was gentle. “It’s my turn right now.”
Celia nodded, and Malcolm followed Trenton out.
The waiting area still felt sterile, despite the mid-size crowd of people waiting to be seen.
Malcolm nudged his friend. “Do you want me to run by your place so you can stay here?” he offered.
Trenton hesitated, but shook his head. “No, Celia saw right through me.” He glanced at the walls, his eyes a little too wide, as if he were expecting them to close around him. “Between my mom and Emily, I’ve spent way too much time at this hospital.”
Malcolm caught his friend’s gaze. “Your mom recovered,” he reminded him. “You heard the doctor. Celia will too.”
“Yeah,” Trenton said. His hand shook as he covered his eyes. “If something were to happen to her, I don’t know what I’d do.” The words choked off at the end.
Malcolm knew better than to make any promises. That was just asking for worse to happen. He clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder, hating that it trembled beneath his touch. “We’ll just have to step it up when it comes to taking care of her. You know, smother her with more love than she can handle,” he said.
Trenton nodded. When he let his hand drop, Malcolm was relieved his friend wasn’t crying. Tears did weird things to him. As much as he’d been through with Celia, she had rarely cried.
Malcolm slapped his shoulder. “Now, go get your head on straight. I’ll stay with her for now.”
“Thanks, Mal,” Trenton said. His shoulders straightened, but the tender way he looked at Malcolm made him nervous.
