in a meeting with your puppy to steal her love and become her favorite. You’ll be reduced to begging for scraps of affection.”
My newfound rival ignored me. “I’ll bring the lady to the gate and come with you. Also, Ben wanted me to tell you that Hope could really use a milkshake, and she needs all of the cherries, so we’ll have to sacrifice ours.”
I was surrounded by traitors. “Ben, too?”
My brother strolled to me, bent over, and dared to look down his nose at me. “You’re going to the hospital.”
“But it’s your wedding day, Mat!”
“And you took a baseball to the head. You’re going. Thank you for containing her, Rick. She’s slippery, so she will try to give you the run around if you let her. I’d recommend a leash, but I didn’t think I needed to bring one today.”
My brother did not play fair. Before I could protest, Rick said, “Glad to help. I’ll bring her to the reception hall if we’re done in time.”
“Take your time. I’d rather the hospital be thorough rather than have her try to rush through her examination stubbornly trying to attend the reception. I meant it, Rick. She’s slippery. Good luck. You’ll need it,” my brother announced before turning to leave.
“I’m not dying, damn it.”
Mat snorted. “We’ll let the hospital decide that. Thanks again, Rick.”
Rick snapped my brother a salute, and the motion reminded me of a professional soldier standing at attention. “Glad to help. Try to enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll text you with updates on how she’s doing.”
“I didn’t even bleed much,” I complained. “And the paramedic already checked to see if I’d cracked my skull. And despite being unconscious in the pond, I didn’t drown. You’re being unreasonable.”
“The only reason you didn’t drown is because I fished you out of the pond. At least I caught something this time. I usually don’t. I love to fish, but I’m terrible at it. This’ll go a lot faster if you don’t fight it. Anyway, head injuries can be nasty. Be grateful I told Mat you’d be unhappy if he skipped his reception to drag you to the hospital himself.”
“But you’ll miss the reception.”
“Going to the hospital with you is more interesting than attending a reception, even your brother’s. I hate watching a bunch of rich prudes get drunk before trying to pretend they’re not drunk. I deal with that too often during the week. I hate receptions, and I have to go if you skip your hospital trip. That would be a tragedy. Save me. I’m a defenseless gentleman about to be taken hostage at a reception.”
My brows shot up at that. “Do I look like a hero to you?”
“No, but you look like a heroine—possibly a princess in disguise. I’ll have to do a closer examination to determine the truth about your secret identity of heroine or princess.”
Why did I always attract strange men? Worse, they were either gay, married, or happily in a relationship with someone else. The truth would likely send Rick running. “I’m an accountant.”
“A third option has become apparent. You might be a fierce warrior queen. My mistake. Any woman clipped with a baseball and taking a tumble into a pond only to get up ready to rumble must be a fierce warrior queen. Anyway, Mat’ll feel terrible if something happened because you went to the reception instead of the hospital. I’ll keep you company and show you pictures of my insanely cute dog.”
“She is really cute,” I conceded.
“Puppy pictures,” he whispered in my ear.
Damn it. I’d been had. I couldn’t lose the chance to see Annabel Lee’s puppy pictures. “I’m doing this under protest.”
“Ben gave me the address of your favorite ice cream parlor.”
I scowled at the gang of traitors determined to force me to go to the hospital. “He still owes me a milkshake even if you get me one tonight.”
“I’ll make sure he knows that.”
After the day I’d had, some whining was warranted, and I didn’t enjoy the thought of having to walk to the gate. “I’m wet, I’m cold, and my shoes squish when I walk.”
Rick chuckled, and his gaze dipped to my feet, which I stuck out from under the hem of my ruined dress. “Take the shoes off. I’ll carry them, but I can’t help you with your wet dress problem. I would if I could, but I neglected to bring clothes suitable for a lady with me today. I’ll take care not to be guilty of