by A. M. Myers
I shrug. “Um… I think so?”
“You sound really sure of yourself,” he answers, chuckling as he moves further into the room and sits on the edge of the bed. Just the feeling of him sinking into the mattress, knowing he’s that close to me, is driving me crazy. I think back to the way he held my hand at the accident and I wish he’d do it again.
“Well, they used very scary words like internal bleeding but no one seems all that concerned about it so I’ve decided to just go with it. Or maybe that’s the morphine talking.” I hold up the button Bonnie handed me and grin. He laughs, the kind of laugh that warms you all over and the hair on my arms stands on end.
“You’re a lightweight,” he teases and I nod.
“Oh, totally. I barely even drink.” Reaching across the sheets, I grab his hand because I can’t possibly resist anymore and he meets my gaze. Just like before, a spark of something races up my arm and my heart skips a beat. “Thank you, by the way. For coming to my rescue earlier and for waiting around all afternoon to make sure I was okay. I think you restored my faith in humanity.”
He nods. “Of course. I couldn't just leave you there like that piece of shit did.”
“I suppose I need to talk to the cops, huh?”
“Yeah,” he answers. “I have a buddy on the force and I would have asked him to handle this personally but he just lost someone close to him and he’s not really in a good place.”
“Oh, no. Please. You’ve already done so much for me.”
He shrugs. “It’s no big deal. I already talked to a detective and gave him my statement so they should catch the scumbag pretty fast.”
“Thank you.”
He grins and my insides turn to mush. God! He is so damn handsome. How the hell did I not notice that before? I mean, I know I’d just had my brain slightly scrambled but he’s not the kind of man that blends into a crowd with his impressive build and armfuls of colorful tattoos. Not to mention his eyes, which remind of the deepest, bluest ocean. Something about them just draws you in and makes you feel at ease. Or maybe that’s just me.
“You don’t need to keep thanking me. I'm just glad I could help you and your daughter. Speaking of which, how is she?”
“Good. Not a scratch on her, in fact. She’s home and sleeping soundly in her bed.”
He flashes me that damn smile again. “Good.”
“I'm sorry if we ruined any plans you had today,” I say, thinking of the hours he’s spent here. Shaking his head, he gives my hand a squeeze.
“Don’t worry about it. I think this turned out way better than my other plans.”
“Yeah?” I ask, fighting back a smile as he meets my eyes. “What were your other plans today?”
His face falls and I instantly regret asking the question. “I was going to look for my brother.”
Before I can ask him anything else, Bonnie steps into the room. When she spots Lucas perched on the edge of my bed, she flashes him a stern expression.
“Visiting hours are over, young man.”
He stands and gives my hand a squeeze like he regrets having to let go before he releases it. I feel weird without it and I’m just doped up enough to not care if I shouldn’t be thinking things like that.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll get out of your hair.”
Turning back to me, he smiles and I feel like I’m melting into the bed. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
He flashes me a look that makes it clear that he’ll be back tomorrow come hell or high water and I have a love/hate relationship with the way it makes me feel.
“Get some rest, okay?”
I nod. “Okay.”
He winks before turning and walking out of the room. Bonnie watches him leave before walking over to the bed and grinning at me.
“Girl, your man is fine as hell, no offense.”
“None taken,” I reply, shaking my head. “And he’s not my man.”
Her brow arches as she looks at the door. “You sure he knows that?”
“Yes. We just met today.”
She hums as she takes my vitals. “Stranger things have happened, my dear.”
Glancing back at the open doorway, I try not to give too much weight to her words but I'm already looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow.
Shit…
* * * *
Alice:
Any news yet?
Smirking, I shake my head. She’s so damn impatient that she’s been texting me since six this morning but I know how she worries.
Me:
No, not yet.
How’s Brooklyn?
Setting my phone down on the bed, I turn back to the TV and sigh. The only thing I’ve been able to find to hold my interest is HGTV and I’m getting a little tired of home renovation shows. The doctor came back this morning and they took me down for another scan but that was a while ago and I’m getting anxious to learn if things look better today. My entire body aches like nothing I’ve ever felt before and all I want to do is go home, take a nice long bath, and crawl into my own bed. My phone buzzes from the mattress and I scoop it up.
Alice:
Okay. She misses you, though.
Me:
Hopefully, I’ll be home soon.
After I set my phone down again, I lie back on the bed and close my eyes, trying desperately to not think about the last time I was at this very hospital. It was one of the very worst nights of my life and it wasn’t until I was alone last night that I realized where I was. The panic almost overwhelmed me but I was able to get a handle on things before they got out of hand. Now, I just want to get out of here and quite frankly, I’d be thrilled to never step foot in this place again. The memories from that night threaten to bury me and I focus on my breathing until I feel in control again, pushing the images from my mind temporarily.
Opening my eyes, my gaze drifts to the door and my heart sinks. Why do I keep checking the door for a man I don’t know? Especially since he’s already done so much for me. He owes me nothing but I’m eager to see him again. God, that’s stupid. So what if he does interest me? It’s not like I can do anything about it. Not right now, at least. I’m still a mess emotionally and even though I’m getting better each and every day, it’s not a good idea to let someone in. Burying my face in my hands, I groan. I wish I could just figure him out. He’s contradictory on every level and it’s been driving me crazy since the moment his eyes met mine. Maybe he should have scared me with his arms full of tattoos and his large, muscular frame but something about him put me at ease immediately - like I already knew him. Despite my past, I felt safe with him and that’s something I haven’t been able to say in two long years. Then he flashed me that easy going smile and my heart rate slowed despite the fact that I’d just been hit by a truck. Laying my head back, I sigh.
I’m absolutely hopeless.
“Quinn?” His voice warms me like a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon and I suck in a breath as I glance up, fighting back a smile.
“Lucas. You came.”
He walks into the room with a bouquet of flowers and that damn smile on his face as my heart beats a little faster. “I told you I was going to check in on you today.”
“Yeah,” I answer with a shrug. “But most people say a lot of things they don’t mean and you’ve already been so kind.”
“Well, let’s just get one thing straight now. I’m not most people and I never say things I don’t mean.”
I tilt my head to the side as I study him. Usually, I would assume that a statement like that was just a line but there is something about the way he says it that makes me believe him. “That’s refreshing.”
“Here,” he says, ignoring my comment as he hands the flowers to me. “These are for you.”
I take the bouquet and smile at the bright cheery sunflowers wrapped up in brown paper before bringing them to my nose. When I meet his gaze again, I smile.
“Thank you. I lov
e sunflowers.”
He nods, sitting in the chair next to the bed. “You’re welcome. I just wanted to get something to brighten your day. How are you feeling?”
“Sore and ready to go home.”
“Have they given you an update yet?”
I shake my head. “No. They took me for a scan earlier but I haven’t heard from anyone since then.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll keep you company until then.”
“No,” I blurt out, shaking my head. “You really don’t have to do that. I don’t want to intrude.”
His brow arches and he leans forward, meeting my eyes with his intense blue gaze and I suck in a breath. “Didn’t we go over this already? If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be. Besides,” he continues as he leans away from me and lies back in the chair, “I have some news for you.”
“Oh?”
He nods. “They caught the son of a bitch that hit you and he was still wasted when they arrested him last night.”
“Wow,” I whisper, lying back in the bed.
“You sound surprised.”
I glance over at him and as soon as our eyes connect, I feel it rocking through my whole body. What the hell is going on here? “I guess I assumed he was going to get away with it.”
“Hell, no. I wasn’t letting that happen.”
“You had something to do with this?” I ask, my brow arching.
“Well, I told you that my friend was unavailable but I pulled some strings to make sure that bastard ended up behind bars.”
Who is this man?
I see people everyday that can’t even be bothered to hold a door for someone and offer up a smile in passing but he’s been incredible since the moment we met.
“Why?”
His brows furrow. “Why what?”
“Why would you do all this for me? I mean, we don’t even know each other.”
He’s quiet for a moment as different emotions flicker across his face and finally, he sighs. “I don’t know why I’m doing it except that I feel compelled to. There’s something different about you, Quinn, and there are other things I could be doing right now but all I want to do is sit here and talk to you some more.”
“Well, I suppose I can do that,” I whisper, my heart racing in my chest. It’s scary and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing but he echoed something inside me that I was barely able to admit to myself and I can’t turn him away. At least not today.
“Miss Dawson?” Someone asks from the doorway and I pull my gaze from Lucas as the doctor walks into the room.
“Dr. Hudson, how do things look?”
He glances down at the chart in his hand as he nods. “Good. It looks like the bleeding has stopped.”
“Does that mean I get to go home now?”
He laughs. “Yes. I have Bonnie getting your discharge paperwork ready right now. There are a few things that I want to go over, though.”
“Okay.”
He sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m willing to let you go home on a few conditions. You need to remember that you’ve been in a serious car accident, okay? I want you to stay in bed for the most part over the next few days and then you’ll need to come back in for another scan to make sure things still look good.”
“I can do that,” I say even though the thought of being stuck in bed for days is unappealing.
“Good. I sent a prescription for pain meds down to the pharmacy and your friend can go pick them up whenever,” he says, glancing over at Lucas, who stands.
“On it.”
Before I can object, he leaves the room and Dr. Hudson flashes me a smile before making me promise to return for a follow-up scan in three days. Once he’s gone, I lie back in bed and sigh. I’m excited to go home and see my baby girl and I know Alice will be relieved that I didn’t need surgery. Grabbing my phone, I send her a text to let her know I’ll be discharged soon but she doesn’t reply right away so I toss it back down on the bed.
After a few minutes, Lucas comes back with a brown paper bag from the pharmacy and I smile at him as he sets it down on the table next to my bed and sits down in the chair again.
“Thank you for doing that.”
“Not a problem. Has the nurse been by with the discharge paperwork yet?”
I shake my head. “No, not yet, and I can’t get ahold of my sister to come pick me up.”
“I’ve got you covered, Darlin’.”
I watch him for a moment but decide not to fight it since he’d probably just win anyway. As I nod, I grab my phone and text the new plan to Alice. She replies right away to tell me she’ll have things ready for me.
“Thank you. Again.”
He laughs, crossing his legs as he leans back in the chair. “You don’t have to keep thanking me, Quinn. Like I said, I want to be here.”
“Don’t you have a boring job to get back to?” I ask, recalling a memory from the accident and he laughs again.
“Usually, yes, but things are slow at the moment.”
“Oh, I see,” I muse, fighting back a smile. “You’re just bored.”
His blue eyes sparkle as he nods. “Painfully. You’re actually saving me here.”
“I suppose I don’t have anything else to do today.”
He laughs, that deep, rich laugh that warms me to my very core and makes me feel all bubbly. Before he can respond, Bonnie walks in with a handful of paperwork.
“All right, Honey. Let’s get you out of here.”
I sit up as she pulls the table over to the bed and sets the forms down on top. She goes through everything the doctor already told me before having me sign in a few places and Lucas leaves to pull his truck up to the entrance as Bonnie helps me get dressed. Each movement hurts and I hiss and whine the whole time before blowing out a breath as I collapse into the wheelchair.
“So, I notice your not man is back again today,” Bonnie muses as she pushes me out of my room and I laugh.
“Yes, you’re very observant.”
She playfully slaps my shoulder. “Don’t sass me, young lady. You going to tell me the story behind the two of you?”
“He was there when the truck crashed into me yesterday and he sat with me until the ambulance got there and on the ride to the hospital.”
“Hmm,” she hums and I drop my head back to look up at her.
“What?”
She shakes her head and I look forward again. “Sounds like a mighty fine man to me. Those don’t come along everyday, you know.”
“I do know,” I whisper, my mind flashing back to the last relationship I was in. God, I can’t believe it’s been just over two years since that relationship ended. Things were so different back then and sometimes, I wish I could go back to a time when my life was so much simpler but then I wouldn’t have my baby girl and she’s worth any hell I had to trudge through.
“You going to go out with him?” Bonnie asks, bringing me back to the present as we slowly make our way down the hallway to the entrance.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I blurt out before I get a chance to consider the option. “Besides, he hasn’t even asked me.”
“He will,” she replies, sounding so certain and I laugh.
“How long have you been on shift, Bonnie? I think you might need some rest.”
She scoffs but when I glance up, there’s a hint of a smile on her face. “Girl, I could work seventy-two hours straight and I would still see the way that man looks at you. Besides, when you do what I do, you really start to understand people and I bet money that he asks you out.”
“Don’t you mean you would bet money that he’ll ask me out?”
“Hell, no! I put fifty bucks on it with the other nurses so you have to come back and tell me when I win my money.”
I laugh as she rolls me out into the bright sunlight and Lucas climbs out of his gorgeous blue truck before rounding the hood and opening the passenger door for me. Bonnie helps me stand and I wince as I walk the few steps to the truck and climb inside.
Damn, maybe I got more banged up than I realized.
Once I’m comfortable, Lucas leans into the car and grabs my seat belt, holding it up as he silently asks for permission to help me. I nod and he leans in further, securing it near my other hip and his scent surrounds me. He smells so damn good but it’s subtle enough that I want to lean into him for a better sniff. I barely resist the urge and when he pulls back, I see Bonnie grinning behind him.
“You good?” he whispers, his face just inches in front of mine and I wonder how it would feel to lean in and kiss him. It’s been so long since I’ve kissed anyone but then again, it’s never been this tempting either.
“Yes.”
Nodding, he drops his gaze to my lips before taking a step back and once he’s gone, I suck in a breath. Clean air fills my lungs and my senses slowly return as I glance over at Bonnie. She winks at me as Lucas shuts the truck door and I roll my eyes. With a business to run and a daughter to raise, this is the last thing I need to be thinking about, but damn if he doesn’t look good rounding the hood of the truck and slipping behind the wheel.
“Okay?” he asks as he puts the truck in gear and I nod, not willing to rip my gaze from his. He’s the one to finally look away as we pull out of the hospital parking lot and slowly roll down the street. He hands me his phone and I scowl. “Go ahead and put your address in the GPS for me.”
I nod and pull up the GPS on his phone before typing my address in the search bar. Once it’s directing us, I hand the phone back to him. He glances over at me with a grin.
“Thanks.”
I nod, peeking over at the speedometer. “You can go faster, you know.”
He glances over at me. “You sure? I didn’t want to hit a bump and hurt you.”
“I think that’s something I’m just going to have to deal with. Besides, I’d like to get home sometime this week.”
“Okay,” he says but he doesn’t sound convinced. He speeds up a little and turns to me again. “You want to listen to music?”
I nod. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Any preference?”
