Loved None But You

by Noelle Adams

  She should be the center of attention. Everyone should recognize how amazing she really was. But she never even attempted to claim the focus of the group. She seemed perfectly happy on the sidelines.

  It grated on him.

  Everything grated on him.

  Including his own stupidity.

  They ate steaks and grilled shrimp and pasta salad and bruschetta, and everyone declared it was the best meal they’d ever had. Between the group, they drank a lot of wine and beer, and everyone was relaxed and laughing a lot.

  When Riot disappeared for a few minutes, Robert didn’t think about it. The truth was he was relieved not to have her attached to his side for a while.

  She must have gone upstairs to change into her swimsuit because she appeared again on the second-floor balcony wearing a red bikini. She called down to them, leaning over the rail.

  They waved and greeted her, which was obviously what she wanted.

  “The pool looks amazing from up here,” she said, leaning farther over the rail than was entirely wise. “I can’t wait to get in.”

  “Then come down and do it,” Jane said, sounding calm and slightly impatient in a typical older-sister way.

  “I am. I bet I could jump into the pool from up here. I think the angle is right.” Riot was giggling and hanging over the rail now, her long hair drooping over her shoulders.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Jane said.

  The others looked away since the conversation seemed to be over, but a motion from above caught his attention about a minute later.

  Riot was climbing over the railing of the balcony.

  He stood up so abruptly he jarred his injured leg. “Riot, don’t!”

  Jane turned to look too. Then she cried, “Riot, don’t!”

  “Riot, don’t!” That was Liz, her warning following the other two in quick succession.

  “Stop bossing,” Riot said with an aggrieved frown. “I can do this.”

  A cry of unified fear and admonishment came from the group at the pool deck, but nothing could evidently stop Riot after she’d had a few drinks. She jumped from the balcony into the pool.

  She made it into the water, but she landed too close to the wall. Her head swung back to hit the concrete edge.

  Vince was first the reach the pool, and he dragged Riot out onto the pool deck. The water took most of the impact, so she wasn’t as injured as she could have been. If she hadn’t landed in the water, her head would be cracked open. As it was, there wasn’t even any blood.

  But she’d hit hard enough to knock her unconscious.

  They were all in crisis mode, and Jane was in tears. Robert knelt down next to his brother in an attempt to assess the damage and wake her up.

  She was alive. Breathing regularly. No bones seemed to be broken.

  But she didn’t regain consciousness immediately, and that wasn’t good.

  “Oh God, why didn’t she listen to us,” Liz murmured, her face twisting in concern. She reached to hold her sister’s hand.

  For no particular reason, Robert met Anne’s eyes across Riot’s body. Their gazes held for a little too long.

  It wasn’t so long ago that Robert had been sure Anne was wrong in not doing what she wanted, no matter what everyone else had told her.

  But doing exactly what you wanted wasn’t always the right thing to do.

  And one thing he knew about Anne was that she always—always—tried to do the right thing.

  Eight

  TWO HOURS LATER, THEY were all gathered in the emergency waiting room of a local hospital, waiting to see if Riot was going to be all right.

  She had regained consciousness on the way to the hospital, but she’d been weak and confused, drifting in and out of coherence.

  It was frightening, and the mood was bleak and tense as they sat in a grouping of uncomfortable chairs, breathing stale air and staying as far from people who looked contagious as possible.

  Jane had gone back with Riot when the nurse had called her, but Liz was sitting across from Anne, pale and leaning against Vince’s side. Em was beside Anne, and Robert and Charlie were sitting in chairs to their right.

  Robert was slouched down in his seat, his long legs extended and his eyes occasionally drifting over to her face.

  She had no idea what he was thinking or feeling. She’d thought she was able to read him fairly easily, but she couldn’t right now.

  She didn’t know if he was upset about Riot or upset about what she’d said to him this morning or if his leg was hurting him or all three at once.

  Every time she started brooding about Robert, she felt guilty. Because poor Riot might be seriously injured. She was the only thing Anne should be thinking about right now.

  “Why didn’t I see how much she’d drunk?” Liz asked out of the blue, her voice cracking. Her green eyes looked huge in her white face, and her thick hair was frizzing all around her face.

  Vince rubbed her back as Em said, “It wasn’t your fault, Liz.”

  “I know, but I should have—”

  “She hadn’t drunk that much,” Robert interrupted, surprising Anne since he’d been so quiet since they’d reached the hospital.

  “What do you mean?” Liz was usually the quickest thinker Anne had ever known, so her confusion was proof of how scared and upset she was.

  “I mean she’d only had a couple of glasses of wine. Maybe her senses were a little fuzzy, but she wasn’t truly drunk. She... she... I don’t know.”

  Anne understood exactly what Robert was trying to say and why he was reluctant to say it.

  Riot hadn’t jumped because she was drunk. She’d jumped because she was silly and willful and rarely thought things through before she did them. She’d jumped because she’d wanted to be the center of attention, as she always did.

  Anne wasn’t about to say it out loud either, but she saw the expressions on all their faces.

  They all understood.

  Even Liz.

  Liz’s expression tightened. “Why can’t we ever stop her from being stupid?” She hid her face against Vince’s sleeve and cried in a few quiet, repressed sobs.

  Vince wrapped both arms around her, evidently unconcerned about the armrests between them. “She’s going to be all right.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  “The water took most of her impact,” Robert said, clearly trying to be as comforting as his brother. “She has a concussion, but those don’t usually have lasting effects. Let’s just wait until we hear from the doctor before we assume the worst.”

  Liz pulled away from Vince, nodding and controlling herself.

  Em reached out to squeeze her hand.

  Anne wished she could do something helpful, but there was nothing to be done.

  All they could do was wait.

  They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Anne simply had to get up. Take some sort of action. She stood, her legs strangely sore and weak. “Does anyone want some coffee? I saw a machine in the hall.”

  Em perked up. “I’ll have some.”

  “Me too,” Vince said, his worried eyes on Liz. “You want some, Liz?”

  “Just water if you can find any.”

  Anne nodded and turned toward Charlie.

  “Thanks. Coffee would be great. I can help if—”

  “I’ll help,” Robert broke in, standing up and wincing as he put weight on his bad leg. “I need to move anyway.”

  “Okay.” Anne was torn between pleasure and discomfort at Robert joining her. “Thanks. We’ll be right back.”

  She and Robert walked through the waiting room until they’d reached the wide hallway with four different vending machines.

  Robert pulled out his billfold and peeled off several one-dollar bills.

  “I’ve got some too,” she said.

  “I think I probably have enough, even with the ridiculous prices. Two dollars for a bottle of water?” His voice was dry as he studied the machine.

  “Hey. What do you expe
ct? They know people will pay it. I’ll start working on the coffee. Did you want some?”

  “I better stick with water. I had too much beer earlier.”

  Anne took the bills he handed her and started feeding them into the coffee machine. There was cappuccino and flavored coffee, but she figured they were safer sticking to the basic stuff.

  “How’s your leg?” she asked, glancing over at Robert’s back. His broad shoulders and upright posture were familiar, comforting.

  “Fine.”

  “It looked like it was hurting you.”

  Robert paused as a bottle of water tumbled out of the vending machine. He leaned over to get it. “It’s a little sore. Sitting in one position too long.”

  “You should walk around a little.” She wasn’t sure why she was saying that. It wasn’t her business. But the worry and strange situation had lowered her defenses, and things were coming out that wouldn’t normally.

  He made a wordless grunt that could have meant anything and stepped over to help her with the cups of coffee.

  She was unreasonably annoyed with him as they finished and brought the drinks over to their friends.

  If his leg was hurting, he should stretch it. He shouldn’t sit there suffering.

  When they’d passed out the coffee and accepted the thanks, she saw Robert was about to sit down again.

  “Come walk with me,” she said before he did.

  He turned in surprise, his eyebrows lifted slightly.

  She arched her eyebrows back at him. “I need to walk a little. Come with me.”

  He rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. He stepped over beside her.

  “We won’t be long,” she told Em, who was looking at her in interest.

  Robert was silent until they reached the hallway again. “My leg is fine.”

  “Okay, good. Then you shouldn’t have any problems walking with me.”

  “I know exactly what you’re doing.”

  She wasn’t in the mood to acknowledge his grumpy tone, so she gave him a blithe smile. “Do you? Since all I’m doing is walking, it’s not surprising you can recognize it.”

  “When did you get so stubborn?” He was walking beside her, obviously trying not to limp but not entirely successful.

  She gave his expression a quick look. “Maybe I was always like this.”

  He was watching her now as they walked. His blue eyes were almost soft, and they were doing crazy things to her heart and her belly. “Maybe you were,” he murmured at last. “Maybe I was just too stupid to see.”

  She didn’t know what he meant by that.

  She didn’t know if the words meant what she thought they did.

  She didn’t know if she had any reason for the leap of excitement she experienced in her chest.

  Because she didn’t know what to feel or say, she didn’t say anything. She walked down the hall, avoiding the doctors, patients, and guests, and making sure she kept pace with Robert’s limping stride.

  They walked the long hallway and then turned around and came back, and they didn’t speak again.

  But the silence wasn’t awkward. It was full. Deep.

  It felt like, for this moment, they completely understood each other.

  When they got back to the waiting room, Em had moved over to sit next to Charlie, so Robert took Em’s old seat right beside Anne.

  When Anne glanced over, Em was watching her. A familiar knowing look.

  Anne gave her friend a discreet frown to tell her to stop conniving, but she didn’t feel offended or annoyed.

  She liked having Robert sit beside her.

  No doubt about that.

  She’d gone so many years without him.

  Before she could process the bittersweet ache of that last thought, Jane came out of the double doors.

  Liz and Charlie jumped up, and then the others got up as Jane drew near.

  Jane looked tired and lovely and serious but not devastated, so surely that meant the news wasn’t terrible.

  She confirmed Anne’s suspicion when she said, “They think she’ll be okay.”

  Liz made a little noise in her throat and buried her face in Vince’s shirt for just a moment, and Em closed her eyes and said, “Thank God.”

  “They’re not sure yet, but they think it’s just a bad concussion. But they want to keep her at least twenty-four hours to observe her.”

  “Is she awake?” Liz asked.

  “Sort of. She goes in and out. And she still seems kind of confused. The doctor said she might need some therapy afterward since sometimes an impact to the brain like that can mess up thinking abilities. But he doesn’t think there will be any permanent damage. We’ll know more at this time tomorrow.”

  “So she’ll stay in the hospital?”

  “Yes. They’re moving her to a room. I thought I’d stay the night with her, so you all can go back to the house and get some rest.”

  “I want to stay with her too,” Liz objected.

  “I’m not going to leave you here,” Charlie said at the same time.

  “There’s no sense in more than a couple of us staying,” Jane said, her eyes moving between Liz and Charlie. “Why doesn’t Charlie stay with me tonight. Then he and I are going to have to go back home tomorrow because he has to teach on Monday morning. You can take over after that, if you and Vince don’t have to be back on Monday.”

  “We don’t,” Liz said, glancing at Vince for affirmation. When he nodded, she continued, “The stores can do without us for another day or two. So that’s a good idea. You and Charlie stay tonight, and then we’ll take over after that.”

  “Good. It’s settled. Now you all go home and get some rest.” Jane smiled, and it was good to see.

  Riot might not be out of the woods yet, but things could have been so much worse than they were.

  They gathered up their empty coffee cups and water bottles and then started to leave. As they turned toward the door, Robert put his hand on the small of Anne’s back.

  She tried not to react, tried not to convey how the little gesture felt.

  But it felt good.

  So good.

  Intimate and possessive and tender and protective.

  All the things she’d always wanted Robert to feel for her.

  And she’d believed he’d never feel again.

  ROBERT’S EMOTIONS WERE in an intense uproar as they filed back into the beach house. It was after midnight, and the world was dark and silent.

  The house felt strange and foreign—like years had passed since they’d left it.

  Liz collapsed onto one of the sofas in the main living room, looking worn and exhausted. Vince lowered himself beside her, wrapping an arm around her in a comforting gesture.

  Em said she was going to the bathroom and would be right back, and Anne looked from Liz on the couch to Robert, who was standing beside her, waiting to see what she would do.

  “I’m going to clean up some,” she murmured after a minute. “We left all the food and everything outside earlier, and I don’t want the others to have to mess with it tomorrow.”

  Of course that was what Anne would do. She was always thinking of other people. Never asking anything for herself.

  “I’ll help,” he said.

  Together, they brought the leftover food and dishes back into the kitchen, rinsed them out, and loaded the dishwasher. Then they sat down on the couch positioned at an angle from the one Liz and Vince were cuddled together on. Em had helped put things away in the kitchen, and now she was sitting in a chair nearby.

  They stared at each other for a minute.

  “Things are as good as they can be,” Em said at last. “It sounds like Riot will be all right.”

  “It might take her a while to recover,” Liz said.

  “Yes, but as long as she recovers, that’s all right. Think how much worse it could have been.”

  “I am.” Liz cleared her throat, obviously trying to control her expression. She swiped one tear away. “I keep think
ing about how much worse it could have been. And how I would feel if the last thing I was thinking about Riot was how embarrassing it was to be her sister.”

  “Oh, Liz, don’t,” Vince murmured, tightening his arm around her. “She’s going to be all right.”

  “And we all think things like that sometimes about people we love,” Anne added, looking worried, concerned. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “I just wish she would learn to listen,” Liz said, sounding tired, softer, not so much like she was on the edge of tears. “She always does exactly what she wants, even when everyone in the world tells her it’s stupid.”

  “She’ll grow up eventually,” Robert said, trying to do his part to comfort Liz. Not just because she was his brother’s fiancée but because he genuinely liked her. “She’s got a good heart.”

  “She does,” Liz said, wiping away one more tear. “Sometimes it’s hard to see it, but she really does. Maybe this will actually... actually help. It sounds terrible, but maybe she needed something like this to... to finally grow up.”

  “Maybe.” Em looked uncharacteristically sober. “Things like this do change people. They make you think about... about how fragile we all really are. How short a time we really have.” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to call Ward and then go to bed. Just wake me up if anyone needs me.”

  “Good night,” Anne said. She glanced over toward Liz, and Robert could see she was waiting to see if Liz wanted to hang out any longer.

  Liz sighed and stood up. “We should get some rest too. Thanks for sticking with me. And for the support.”

  Anne hugged Liz hard. “What else would we do?”

  Vince gave Robert a soft punch in the shoulder. “You going to bed too?”

  “Yeah. It’s late.” He couldn’t help but let his gaze drift over to Anne.

  He was exhausted, but he didn’t want to leave her, didn’t want to be away from her.

  Em was right. Things like this made you think about how short life was and who you wanted to spend it with.

  And Robert didn’t want another night to go by in his life without Anne beside him.

  “I’ll see you all in the morning,” Anne said. She went to the stairs and glanced back once at Robert over her shoulder.