There’s a knock on the door and Dr. Stone walks in. He has my chart in his hand. Flipping through it, he says, “I know you saw Dr. Su this morning, but I like to follow up once my patients leave the Emergency Department. Looks like my prediction was accurate. Your blood pressure is right where it should be. You feeling okay?”
I touch my head. “Only a little throbbing.”
“That will go away sooner rather than later. Try not to overdo it when you get home. They’ve issued discharge orders so you should be good to go in a few hours.” He glances at Krista and Jenn and then back at me. “I also heard there may have been an unwanted visitor last night. I apologize. We’re training new staff, but that’s no excuse. It never should have happened.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for all your help, Dr. Stone.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck, Ella.”
After he leaves, Krista and Jenn go into full swoon mode again.
“First the gorgeous rock star and now the hot doctor,” Jenn says. “Some girls have all the luck.”
“Was he serious about the unwanted visitor?” Krista asks. “Did you actually make them throw Liam Campbell out?”
“No, not Liam.”
“Then who?” Jenn asks. She sees my apprehensiveness. “Oh my God, it was the dickhead, wasn’t it? Shit, Ella. I should have known when he commented on my Instagram post. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. He seemed genuinely concerned about me. Even asked me to go home with him so he could tend to me. He said he still loves me.”
“Stop it,” Krista says. “He’s a lying, cheating bastard.”
“I know, but it was hard seeing him again. I guess I miss him more than I thought I would.”
“Nope,” Jenn says. “No way. I see the look on your face. You are not getting back together with him.”
“Why do you think I had him kicked out? I don’t want him back. But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss him.”
“Maybe it’s not him you miss,” Krista says. “Maybe it’s sex.”
Jenn swats her arm. “Maybe it’s being in a relationship. Being in love. Knowing someone has your back.”
I drop my eyes. “He didn’t have my back. He cheated behind it.” I sink into the pillow. “I wish I could, I don’t know, disappear for a while.”
Krista offers a sad smile. “Hey now, that’s why you have us. We’re your people. We’ll always have your back, no matter what.”
A nurse pops in. “I have the discharge papers for you to sign.”
“We should go,” Jenn says. “Call me later if you want a ride home. Or if you need ice cream. Or alcohol. Or anything.”
I hug them both before they leave. Then I fill out the twenty-five forms the nurse left. “All this for one night in the hospital?”
“Need help?”
My heart flips when I see who’s in the doorway.
“I mean, who better to help you fill out all that shit than your husband?”
Chapter Five
Liam
“Come in,” she says.
I cross the room and hand her a vase of flowers so big, she almost drops it.
“Here, let me.” When I take them back, her hand brushes mine and our eyes meet. It’s easier to see hers clearly today, as the large bandage from last night has been replaced with smaller Band-Aids. She has the most incredible brown eyes—lighter in the middle and several shades darker around the outer edges. They’re exotic. I can’t shift my gaze away.
She pulls back. “Why are you here?”
I get the papers from my back pocket and hand them to her.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a song I wrote. Or rather, it’s a melody. Crew and Bria write the lyrics. I write the music to go with them.”
She seems confused. “Sorry, I can’t read music. I’m not sure what I’m looking at.”
“It’s the first Reckless Alibi music I’ve written in months.”
“Okay.” She pretends to be interested in the sheet music that probably looks like a foreign language to her.
“You don’t get it. I haven’t been able to do this since last fall. My bandmates have had to step up and compose music for me. I’ve been in a slump—the biggest one I’ve ever had. Then you fell into my life and voila, a new song.”
“You’re right. I don’t get it.”
“Last night after I left, I found a music store and bought blank sheet music and a used guitar. I got a cheap hotel room down the street, because my place is back in Stamford. Well, Crew’s place is. Anyway, the point is, instead of staring at blank