by Holly Rayner
“He might not be allowed to use his phone,” Bianca said, as she searched her bag for a mint. “ICUs usually have really strict rules about that sort of thing.”
“Jackson would find a workaround if he wanted to,” Danielle insisted. “He always does. He should have gotten back to us by now. What’s taking so long?”
It could be any number of things, Bianca thought to herself. Maybe she had to be taken into emergency surgery. Maybe she’s coding right now, and the staff is administering CPR.
Maybe she died.
She didn’t voice any of these dark and worrisome thoughts. She knew it wouldn’t help Danielle at all. Instead she said, “I’m sure he’ll send word soon. He knows we’re here. He asked us to come.”
“Hours ago,” Danielle said. “This is killing me. Seriously. I’ve never been so—” She stopped short, and her expression, which was pinched with annoyance, turned blank. She stared at the doorway to the family lounge.
Bianca turned to see what she was looking at.
Jackson stood in the doorway. He’d removed the jacket of his tux. The sleeves of his button-up white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing tan, strong forearms. His bowtie hung loose around his neck, and his blond hair was a mess. He had one hand in his pocket. With his other, he propped himself against the doorway.
“Sorry for taking so long,” he said. “I tried to get out here earlier, but—”
Bianca stood.
Jackson looked at his sister first. Danielle hurried over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He patted her back. Danielle uttered a soft sob and then took a shuddering breath.
Bianca felt bad for being present during such a vulnerable moment. She averted her eyes.
What am I doing here? she thought. I’m not Jackson’s family. For all I know, I mean very little to him.
I helped by keeping Danielle company here for a few hours. Maybe it’s time for me to take my leave.
She heard Danielle cry again. Jackson murmured something inaudible.
“Is she okay?” Danielle said.
“She’s stable,” Jackson said. “They have her on IV medicine that’s keeping her blood pressure down. She wants to see you.”
Bianca picked up her purse. Jackson and Danielle will go to their mother’s side, she thought. I just have to excuse myself and wish them the best.
She sensed, suddenly, that Jackson was looking at her. A stillness filled the room. She finished looping her purse over her shoulder, and then she looked over at the man she’d confessed her feelings to earlier that day.
He was focused solely on her. They locked eyes.
“I’d better go,” Bianca said. “Your family needs some time together.”
“My mom would like to see you, too, Bianca,” Jackson said.
“Me?” Suddenly, Bianca felt nervous. For the past nearly six hours, since Mary’s collapse, Bianca had been worrying over the course of events. Mary forgot to take her medicine because the day was so busy and hectic—due to our wedding, she fretted. When she finds out it was all a sham, she’s going to be so angry!
Bianca placed a hand over her chest. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Jackson nodded. “She asked to see you, and I’d really like for you to come to her bedside, too. There’s something I have to say—to everyone.”
Bianca had no idea what that might be. Wordlessly, she followed Jackson and Danielle out of the family lounge, then through a set of heavy metal doors.
Once inside the ICU, Jackson walked quickly down one side of a U-shaped hallway. He paused in front of a room that was lined with glass walls.
Within the room, Bianca could see Mary lying on the complex hospital bed, surrounded by machines, tubes, and monitors.
Jackson pulled the door open and stepped inside, Danielle and Bianca following behind him.
Though Mary’s body looked frail, her expression was alert. Her dark eyes sparkled as they landed on her son.
Jackson reached her bedside. He turned his body, angling himself so that he was facing his mom as well as Danielle and Bianca.
“Mom,” he said. “I have to tell you something.” He reached for her hand.
“What is it, Jackson?” she said, furrowing her brow.
“It’s about the wedding.”
“The one I just ruined,” she said with a frown. “Will you be able to reschedule?”
Jackson shook his head. “No. We won’t. We won’t reschedule, because the wedding wasn’t real. It was fake. Bianca and I aren’t really getting married.”
Bianca frowned.
This was what she wanted. She’d been tired of lying. She wanted the truth to come out. But she didn’t expect it would feel so bad.
Jackson is finally telling the truth, she thought. Does this mean I’m never going to see him again? If we’re no longer bound by a contract, will that mean our lives are no longer connected?
Weariness overtook her. She wanted badly to sit. She looked around, but there were no chairs.
Chapter 20
Jackson
Jackson took a deep breath. He looked at Bianca and saw that she was frowning and searching the room, possibly for a seat. She looked tired, yet still so beautiful. Under the fluorescent hospital lights, her ivory skin looked almost as pale as the fabric of her wedding gown. Her green eyes looked darker than ever, and her hair shimmered in tousled waves.
Jackson spoke again. “We’re not engaged,” he said. “But we really are in love.”
Immediately, Bianca abandoned her search for a chair. She whipped her head up to look at Jackson. A stray strand of hair fell before her eyes, and she used her left hand to push it away.
As she did, he met her eyes and smiled. “I’m fairly certain we’ve been in love since we first met. That’s how I feel, anyway.” He felt an expansive sensation in his chest as he said this. It felt so good to finally tell the truth.
Bianca’s eyes glistened with tears. Jackson could tell, just like that, that she agreed with his statement.
Bianca nodded, ever so subtly. That small nod made Jackson’s heart soar.
A grin began to spread across Bianca’s lips. “Yes,” she murmured. “That’s right. Ever since we met each other.”
“I knew it!” Danielle said. “I knew when you talked about her, that’s how you felt, Jackson. You could have never feigned the emotion in your voice. So what was the deal with the fake wedding?”
“Fake wedding?” Mary repeated.
Jackson looked down at his mother. “I’m so sorry, Mom. We made up the wedding. I wanted you to be proud of me. I wanted you to approve of my life. I figured if you knew that I was settling down, you might see me in a new light.”
“I don’t understand,” Mary said.
Danielle stepped forward. “They lied,” she said. “The wedding wasn’t real, Mom. It was all a show—for you.”
“For me? But why?”
Jackson spoke up. “It was my fault,” he said. “I heard you were going to give the house away, and I couldn’t stand the thought of it. That’s the house we grew up in… I guess I wanted to keep the house in the Wylde family.”
“Oh, Jackson,” Mary said.
Jackson felt her cool, knobby hand turn in his, so her palm was aligned with his own palm. She gave his hand a squeeze.
It was a comforting gesture, and he returned it.
“I was wrong to be so consumed with my desire to own the house,” he said. “I see that clearly now. It wasn’t the right thing to focus on. I just couldn’t let it go. I think—” He felt himself choke up a little bit.
He had to take a breath in order to center himself again. He had to say what was on his mind. He’d kept it in for far too long. And tonight, I almost lost the opportunity to say it, he thought. I have to say it now. Before it’s too late.
“I think that in some way, I thought that holding onto the house would help me hold onto my childhood,” he said. “But I have to let it go. Mom, I forgive you for everything that happ
ened back then. For a long time, I was angry. When you left, that broke my heart.”
“I’m so sorry, Jackson,” Mary said. Tears pooled in her eyes and then overflowed down her cheeks.
Jackson felt her fingers wrap tighter around his hand. He leaned down over her. He wrapped his arms around her bony shoulders, being careful to avoid the many tubes and wires connected to her body. The faint whiff of her perfume mixed with the freshly laundered smell of the hospital gown she wore. He held onto her as she continued to cry.
“I’ve made many mistakes,” she whispered. “I really have. I’m so sorry.”
Jackson choked up again. It felt so good to hug his mother without reservation. For so many years, he’d believed that he would never embrace his mom in this way again.
He sensed that there was no longer any anger or resentment between them. Only love.
After a moment, he pulled away. She gave his hand one more squeeze, then released it.
Jackson stepped away. He moved toward Bianca, who now had tears glistening in her eyes as well.
“I thought that having the house would give me a way to preserve my past,” he said. “But now I get it…”
“Get what?” Bianca asked. Her voice sounded so soft—barely a whisper.
Jackson stepped in closer to her. “Holding onto the past isn’t as important as living in the present,” he said. “I never should have asked you to go in on that contract with me. I put you in a difficult position.”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I really am. Bianca, you’re the most beautiful, kind-hearted woman I’ve ever met. When I’m with you, I know for sure what it is to be happy. I love you.”
“You do?” Her nose crinkled slightly, and her lips curled up in a spontaneous smile. “You really do?” Her eyes shimmered, reflecting the hospital lights.
“Really,” he said.
“I love you, too,” she told him.
He stepped closer, and she opened up her slender arms and wrapped them around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her, slipping his arms around her waist.
The corset of her dress felt stiff and silky beneath his touch. For a brief moment, he reflected on the irony of the situation. Here he was, finally revealing his feelings to Bianca, while she wore a wedding dress.
Maybe one day, I’ll kiss her like this while she wears the white gown she’ll actually marry me in, he thought. Then, he became lost in the blissful sensations of her kiss.
Her cheeks were flushed when they parted. Her lips were cherubic, glistening pink. Her green eyes alight with energy and happiness.
I’m going to marry this woman one day, Jackson promised himself in that moment.
“Bianca, I want to be with you,” he said. “I want us to try this for real… a real relationship. What do you say?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “That’s exactly what I want, too.”
Jackson was surprised when he heard his sister’s sharp, no-nonsense tone. He’d almost forgotten that he and Bianca were not the only ones in the room. “You did all that—the whole fake marriage—just for that old house?”
“It’s a charming house,” Mary countered.
“But it’s not worth much,” Danielle said. “And these two went to so much trouble. Jackson. I don’t get it.”
“You don’t have to,” Jackson said. “It’s all over now. Mom, you can do whatever you want to do with the house. That’s up to you. I know what’s important now.”
He looked back to Bianca. As he looked down at her, he felt sure he was the luckiest man in the world. He couldn’t help it—he leaned down and kissed her again.
Chapter 21
Bianca
A sensation of giddy happiness filled Bianca as Jackson wrapped his strong arms around her. The fatigue she’d struggled with just moments before was gone, and she felt like she was waking up after a good night’s sleep, not standing in an ICU after a catastrophic day!
Her stomach fluttered with butterflies and her heart pounded out a happy rhythm as she let herself melt into Jackson’s strong chest. He reached for her hand once they parted and wove his fingers between hers as they walked together toward the hospital bed.
Danielle grinned. “Good for you two,” she said. “Maybe the whole wedding hoax was a good thing, after all. It gave my little brother here a chance to get to know you.”
Bianca nodded. “I think so,” she said. “But I’m sorry that you traveled all this way for nothing.”
“Not for nothing,” Danielle said, with a shake of her head. She reached over and smoothed the edge of the blanket that covered Mary.
Bianca noticed, for the first time, that Mary’s eyes were closed. She was breathing in a slow, steady manner. It was obvious that she’d drifted off to sleep.
“It’s good to see her after so many years,” Danielle said in a hushed tone. “If it weren’t for you two dreaming all of this up, I might not have made the trip.”
Just then, a man in a white doctor’s coat stepped through the doorway. He held a file folder in his hands. “Mary Wylde?” he said.
Danielle spoke up. “She just fell asleep a few seconds ago.”
“Ah, I see,” the doctor said. “We can let her rest. She’s been through a lot today.” He eyed the monitor at her side. Bianca took a peek at the numbers, too, and quickly noticed that Mary was stable. Her blood pressure and pulse were both within normal limits.
“The medicine seems to be working well for her,” the doctor said. “I’d like to move her out of the ICU in the morning, to our cardiac unit for further monitoring. Are you her family?”
Mary stirred in the bed, but then settled down again.
Danielle raised her hand. “I’m her daughter. This is her son.” She gestured to Jackson.
The doctor nodded. His voice was quieter as he spoke again. “Would you two mind stepping out into the hallway with me? I’d like to talk to you about a few of her test results and our plan for moving forward.”
“Of course,” Danielle said.
“Sure,” Jackson seconded. He gave Bianca’s hand a squeeze.
Bianca felt happier than she had in ages as she watched him step out into the hallway. He loves me! she thought giddily. She knew she’d be reminding herself of that little nugget of information frequently over the next few days.
A nurse entered the room and bustled around the many monitors. When she noticed Bianca standing, she darted out into the hallway and returned with a chair, which she set by Mary’s bed. “Here you go,” she said. “And how about a drink? We have water, juice, sodas…”
“I’m all set,” Bianca said. “Thank you.”
On her way out of the room, the nurse turned off one set of lights and dimmed another. In the absence of the harsh, bright fluorescent lighting, the room took on a new feel. It no longer felt like a cold, sterile hospital room. A row of glowing, yellow-gold lights along one wall gave off a residential atmosphere.
When the nurse pulled the door partially closed behind her, Bianca sank gratefully down into the chair. She was reading numbers on the monitor by Mary’s bed and watching the bright green symbol of a heart flash rhythmically, when she heard Mary clear her throat.
“Oh!” Bianca let out a little utterance of surprise as she looked over and saw that Mary had woken up. “I thought you were asleep. Are you feeling all right?”
“Fine,” Mary said. She studied Bianca for a moment.
Bianca began to feel uncomfortable. She shifted slightly in her seat. “You know, I’m really sorry about all of this,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the whole staged wedding, you might not have forgotten to take your medicine.”
“Ha,” Mary said. “I wish that was the truth. But honestly, I tend to forget now and then regardless of what’s going on. It just caught up with me; that’s all.”
“Still,” Bianca said. “This day turned into such a crazy disaster. Your Christmas was ruined. I’m truly sorry.”
“Please don’t
apologize,” Mary said.
To Bianca’s surprise, Mary actually smiled.
“In fact, I should be thanking you,” Mary said. “This has been the best Christmas I’ve had in years.”
Bianca raised her eyebrows. “Really?” she said. “With the fake wedding and everything?”
Mary laughed again. “Yes, with the fake wedding and everything. You see, for the first time in ages, I feel close to my children. That’s worth so much… I was blind to that for a long time. I’m glad that now I can finally see it clearly.”
Mary’s focus changed, and Bianca realized that the elderly woman was no longer looking at her. She’d shifted her gaze to the side of the room. Bianca turned and noticed that she could see three figures standing outside in the bright hallway.
The doctor was speaking. Danielle, standing across from him, nodded as she listened. Jackson, who was slightly off to the side, paid close attention to the doctor’s words as well. Only his profile was visible. Bianca was struck yet again by what a handsome profile he had.
“They’re special, those two,” Mary said softly. “I was a fool to move so far away. I missed decades with them.”
“You’re here now,” Bianca said gently.
“Yes. I am,” Mary said. She turned her gaze back to Bianca. “It’s clear to me that Jackson adores you. I’m so glad he’s found someone. You two make quite the pair.”
“Thank you,” Bianca said, blushing.
“I want you to know something,” Mary said. She lowered her voice slightly, even though she and Bianca were the only two in the room. “I’m going to give him the house. I can’t live there on my own anymore—today proved that. What if this had happened and no one had been around to help?” She shook her head. “No. I can’t risk it. And Jackson is right—that house is so rich with memories. If he wants it, he should have it.”
“Oh, Mary,” Bianca said happily. “Jackson will be so happy to hear this!”
