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“I’m sure my mom and dad will be back soon.” They hadn’t left her for more than an hour or two at a time.
“They’re busy for the next few hours.” Max looked away from her.
“What aren’t you telling me? Are they okay?”
He still didn’t look at her. He didn’t respond.
“Max?” Her mind was finally clear enough after a day and a half in the hospital to put more than one thought together. “This is about Kyle.”
“Now is not the time to talk about him. You need to stay calm and keep your blood pressure down.”
“You need to tell me what happened.”
Max planted a hand next to her head and leaned over her. “Please calm down.” He eyed the heart monitor, then looked at her again. “The nurse is going to bust in here any moment and make me leave.”
“Good. Then you can attend Hunt’s wedding.”
Max hung his head and sighed. He looked so tired with the scruff darkening his jaw and the circles under his bloodshot eyes.
He was still wearing the same clothes he wore to Hunt’s bachelor party and pulled on as they were rushed from the house.
“Have you slept at all?”
“I’ll sleep when you’re home with me in our bed.” Tears gathered in his eyes. He’d had a rough couple of days.
“Max.” She reached up and softly brushed her fingertips over his cheek. “I love that you want to protect me and be with me and love me.”
“I love you more than anything.”
“I know that. I feel it. And I’m going to be fine.”
“You had major surgery. You still have a concussion to go with the nine new stitches in your head,” he growled out.
“All of which is keeping me here. But none of it means I won’t be here when you get back after the wedding. Please, Max, go. Come back with pictures and a smile on your face because you’re happy for your brother and you have a new sister-in-law and niece and it’s all official and beautiful. Bring me a piece of wedding cakeand I’ll feel like I got to experience a small part of it. I wish I could be there with you. But I’ll feel even worse if you don’t go.”
Max hung his head again.
She brushed her fingers through his hair, simply needing to touch and soothe him. She’d give him everything she had, even if she wasn’t at her best right now, to make him feel better.
She knew the moment he decided.
He pressed his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes. “I won’t be gone long.”
“Stay for the ceremony, the dinner, the cake, the toasts, all of it.”
“It’s brunch.” He looked at the closed blinds. “It’s coming up on nine in the morning. The wedding is at eleven.”
She frowned. Maybe her head was still foggy from the pain meds. “Don’t miss a moment. Take it in. Be happy with them. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be right here, safe, watched over by the nurses. You’ve got to be tired of watching me sleep by now.”
“Never.” He kissed her on the nose. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
“Or you could get some sleep and see me in the morning.”
He shook his head all through that. “I’ll be back tonight. With cake,” he added.
“Stubborn.”
“Look who’s talking.” Max settled beside her again and stared down at her hand in his. “We’ll talk aboutyour brother tomorrow. Your parents are making all the arrangements for him today. Your aunt and uncle came into town this morning to help them out.”
