a deep sigh. It sure in the hell feels like it’s my fault. “I didn’t even give her a chance to explain.”
“It’s actually my fault. I was pushing too hard, and it was wrong of me to give Reid her address. I thought you knew about him, and I just hoped there would be one person who could talk some sense into her and make her take her health seriously.”
“How long were they together?”
“They met in college, stayed together until about a year ago. But want to hear a secret? I always knew they wouldn’t last. A mother knows these things, Rome, and Reid and my daughter, they would’ve never worked. She knew that all along. It just took her a few years to get the courage to leave. Want to hear something else? She’s never looked at anyone the way she looks at you.”
Her words pierce my heart.
We grab our coffees in silence. I get the sense she’s giving me a moment to process this information. Lisa Hales is a lot of things—she’s vibrant, full of life, and so much like her daughter; yet, she’s entirely different. You never really know what you’re going to get from the woman.
“I never told her I loved her.”
Lisa hooks her arm through mine. “You’ll still get to tell her, Rome. I have every faith that my daughter is going to pull through this.”
I look down at the small woman, a frown wrecking my features. “How can you be so sure?”
She grins up at me, though the smile is wobbly and her eyes are red-rimmed. “Because I know my daughter, and she’s a fighter. She always has been. She’ll pull through this just to show us that she could, just to prove us all wrong, and when that happens? You both are giving me a busload of grandchildren, for taking ten years off my life.”
A surprise laugh bursts from my chest. The scariest part of everything she just said is that I’m not even fazed by the idea of having a busload of children with Olivia.
When a doctor comes out to give us news, regarding Olivia’s condition, everyone is on edge. The man is about the same age as Olivia’s parents, maybe even a little older. With a weathered face and a head of silver hair, the doctor clears his throat, his gaze sweeping across each of us, settling on Lisa and Ethan.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hales?” They reach for each other’s hands, nodding, waiting to hear more. “Your daughter is stable.” At this news, everyone blows out a deep sigh of relief. “The atrioventricular valve needed repairing from the swelling. It was causing loss of blood flow to the heart. She went a little while with stalled heartbeats, but after a successful defibrillation, we were able to mimic and restart the pumping and ease the swelling. She’s going to be out of it for the next few days. I’ll need to keep her here until I can be sure the swelling stays under control. I’ll be adding a dose of captopril to her medication to reduce the resistance to blood flow. Just for preventative measures. This isn’t a fix by any means, but hopefully, this will be the last episode. The heart is a very complex organ, but your daughter is a fighter. Her heart may not be the strongest, but it’s hanging in there, just like she is. She should be awake soon. I’ll have a nurse swing by, once they have her set up in a room.”
I sit there, thanking every lucky star in the goddamn sky that she’s okay.
She’s going to be okay.
She’s going to be okay.
After her parents and her brother visit with her, I walk into her room, absolutely hating the sight of her in that hospital bed. A handful of machines surround her with tubes connected to her hands and chest.
I pause just over the threshold, surprised to see she’s awake. Her skin is pale, not as filled with life, as it usually is. There are dark circles under her eyes that aren’t usually there either, but goddammit, she still looks beautiful. A softness enters her eyes when our gazes clash. Even from here, I can see the slight tremble in her chin, her way of trying to keep her emotions in check.
“You came,” she chokes out.
I step farther into the room, unable to take my eyes off her. “Did you really think, for one second, that I wouldn’t come?”
A tear slides down her cheek, and I