by Tara Rose
When the door opened she glanced up expecting Zach, but it was Olivia. Gina rose and hugged her friend, and because Olivia was still crying, Gina started to again. “He’s in surgery already. He’s gonna be okay.”
“What happened?” asked Olivia.
Gina gave her the short version, omitting the part where she’d run back into the alley to see what was going on, or how they’d ended up there in the first place.
“You know, when you have a family member who’s a cop, you live with this fear every single day. But after a while you tell yourself that it won’t happen to them. Especially in this town.”
They sat side-by-side and Gina held Olivia’s hand, knowing there was nothing to be said.
“I called Mom and Dad. They should be here soon.”
“Zach went to get me coffee. Should I text him and ask him to bring you some, too?”
Olivia shook her head. “It would only make me shake, but thanks. I’ve already called in sick tomorrow.”
“Shit,” Gina whispered. “I have to do that. I forgot.” She opened her cell phone and called Bernie, silently cursing all the demons of hell. How she wished there was some other way to let them all know she wasn’t going to be there tomorrow. And right now, she also wished she and Zach hadn’t joked about it. Talk about bad karma. How on earth would she ever explain why she needed to be here for Harrison Kelly, without Bernie asking a million questions?
“Bernie, it’s Gina Santori. A very good friend of mine has been shot and is in surgery. Harrison Kelly. I’m taking tomorrow off.”
“I just heard about that. Did they catch the guy?”
News travels fast in Racy. Gina didn’t miss the obvious. Bernie hadn’t asked about Harrison, only whether the man who’d probably set both fires had been apprehended yet. “I’m not sure. But I just wanted to let you know I won’t be in tomorrow. I’ll call Tina as well so my staff knows.” Tina Gaughan was the administrative assistant for the IT department and she reported directly to Gina.
“I didn’t realize you were such good friends with this cop.”
Bernie was fishing. Gina recognized the tone in his voice, but she couldn’t deal with that bullshit right now. “His sister Olivia is one of my best friends. I know their entire family.” It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. She’d met Olivia’s parents. Once.
“Will you be in Wednesday?”
“I hope so, Bernie. I’ll let you know. Good night.” Gina disconnected the call before she blew her stack and told the pompous windbag where to shove it. She needed this job. Then she called Tina and got her voice mail, but left her a message letting her know what had happened.
“Nice of him to ask about my brother,” said Olivia.
Gina sighed and shook her head. There was no polite response to that, and Bernie was her boss, so she let it go. The door opened again and Olivia’s parents, Molly and Patrick, walked in. Zach followed, balancing coffee cups in a cardboard tray and talking to Sean. Gina was relieved to see Sean. Maybe now she could get more information.
Zach and Sean took a seat in the row of chairs to Gina’s right. After she greeted Molly and Patrick, Gina joined the men. “Sean, please tell me this wasn’t all in vain. Please tell me you have more info on this guy than you did earlier.”
Zach handed her a cup of coffee, and Gina couldn’t help but notice the admiration in his eyes.
“Gina, we do actually. We got a very good look at him and now have a description out to every police force within two hundred miles of here.”
Gina could have kissed him. The relief flooding through her was like soaking in a warm bath, chasing away the worries and cares of the day, and relaxing all her muscles. She leaned against Zach’s arm that he’d placed around her shoulder and sipped her coffee. It wasn’t Starbucks, but it would keep her awake until Harrison got out of surgery.
Sean went over to talk to Harrison’s parents and Gina gazed into Zach’s eyes, wondering how on earth she could have gone through this without his strength and support. “I called in sick.”
Zach chuckled softly. “Yeah, me, too. I wish now we hadn’t joked about it earlier. It’s like we put it out there in the universe, you know?”
She nodded. “I thought the same thing. But I’m just so glad to know that at least something good came out of this. They’re going to catch this guy. They have to.”
They sat quietly, making small talk with Olivia, her parents, and Sean, until a physician came to tell them that Harrison was in the recovery room. The bullet had gone straight through the muscles on the left side of his upper chest, missed his lung and major arteries, and passed just below his collarbone. He wouldn’t be using that arm for a while, but in time he would make a full recovery.
Gina was so relieved that she started to cry again, but this time they were tears of joy. She asked when they could see him, and was told a nurse would come out to get them when he was awake from the anesthesia and ready for visitors. Sean left to go call some other cops to spread the word, and Gina leaned into Zach’s strong embrace and offered up a silent prayer of thanks. He was going to be all right. And maybe now she could forgive herself for the way this evening had turned out.
Chapter Seventeen
An hour after the surgeon had come out to tell them that Harrison was going to be all right, a nurse came into the waiting room and let them know that Harrison was ready to receive visitors. Zach asked Gina if she wanted to go in first, but she shook her head with a glance toward Harrison’s family.
“Go on. Zach and I will go when you come back.”
Zach felt that odd shift again as he watched her face. He knew she was dying to see Harrison and that it must have been difficult to do what she’d just done. “May I ask you a question?” he asked quietly.
“Of course.”
Zach inhaled and then blew out a loud breath, debating. It was probably the worst possible time to ask her something like this, but he’d never seen her so afraid. Of course, her reactions tonight could also be due to stress, a lack of sleep, and the fact that she’d made a major change to her sexual lifestyle recently, but he still wanted to ask. If he had no chance with her, he’d rather know that now than later.
“Are you in love with him, Gina? It’s none of my business, but I would really like to know.”
Zach held his breath while he waited for Gina’s answer. She gazed at the floor for several seconds. Finally she looked him right in the eyes. “I don’t know, Zach. I have very strong feelings already for both of you.” She spoke so softly that he had to strain to hear her. “Whatever I feel for him, I feel just as much for you, if that helps at all. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more definitive answer than that right now.”
She placed her coffee cup on a nearby table and leaned over the wooden railings separating his chair from hers. Then she took his hands. Her skin was still cool, but the worry lines around her mouth seemed to have disappeared.
“Zach, I’ve never felt this way about any man, let alone two at the same time. In all honesty, I’m a bit afraid of it. I keep waiting for the bottom to drop out, you know? But I want you to know that I care for you both, very much. It’s crazy…feeling this much for two guys at once, but I don’t mind it, you know? I like it. And right now”—she gave his hands a squeeze—“I’m just so happy that Harrison is going to be all right, and that you’re here with me. Thank you.”
How could he ask for more than that, especially under the circumstances? He kissed the back of both her hands and smiled at her, wishing they were someplace else right now. Despite everything that had just happened tonight, the urge to hold her and kiss her was overwhelming.
As soon as Olivia and Harrison’s parents came into the room, Zach knew that Harrison was truly going to be okay. All three were smiling. He and Gina walked to the post-op area holding hands, and as soon as they were shown in and Harrison spotted them, he waved.
Gina laughed and sprinted next to his bed, beaming. “You scared the shit out of us.”
“
It’s what I live for.”
“Are you in pain?” Zach never knew what to say to people lying in hospital beds. He hated anything to do with sickness or death. It was so uncomfortable. His maternal grandmother had been ill for years with cancer and then an infection in her leg after a fall that never really healed. Each time Zach went with his parents to see her in the skilled nursing facility, Zach was overcome with emotion at the sight of her and the other patients, so frail and debilitated. He’d felt helpless, and Zach didn’t like feeling that way.
“Are you kidding, man? With the drugs they’ve given me?” Harrison’s voice and the glaze in his eyes gave the appearance he was high as a kite. Zach wondered how much of this conversation he’d even remember.
Gina flagged down a nurse. “How long will he have to stay here?”
“At least overnight. We’re moving him to a room as soon as one is ready.”
Zach and Gina asked Harrison a few more questions, but it was obvious he needed to sleep, so they finally left. In the waiting room, Gina took Olivia aside for a few moments, and then she returned to where Zach was waiting.
“Do you want to stay at the hospital?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. He’s okay. Olivia promised to call if there’s any update. I’d rather try and get some sleep then come back to see him in the morning.”
“I’ll drive you home.”
Once they were out in the hallway, Gina placed her hand on his arm, and looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes. “Zach, may I stay with you tonight instead?” She glanced around, but they were alone. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. Truthfully, I’m not sure I’m in the right frame of mind tonight. But I don’t want to be alone.”
How could he say “no” to that?
* * * *
Tuesday morning, Gina woke up and at first couldn’t remember where she was. Zach was on his stomach next to her, snoring softly. He’d held her last night until she fell asleep. No one had ever done that for her. She glanced at the clock on his dresser across the room and was surprised to see it was already ten in the morning. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept that late, even on a weekend.
She crawled out of bed carefully so she didn’t wake Zach, and checked her cell phone. One text from Olivia, telling her which room Harrison was in, that he’d slept a bit last night, and was asking about her. She wanted to go and see him, but her car was at home. She hated to wake Zach, but she needed a change of clothes before she went anywhere. It was weird not to be at work, and she hoped she wouldn’t return to a complete disaster tomorrow.
As soon as she emerged from the bathroom, Zach was awake, and she smelled coffee. “Good morning. Any word?”
She showed him the text Olivia had sent.
“He didn’t ask about me?” Zach was smiling, but as soon as Gina recalled what he’d asked her the night before, she felt uncomfortable.
“I’m sure he did, Zach. Do you mind taking me home so I can shower and change before we go see him?”
Zach pulled her close. “On one condition, Gina.”
“What’s that?”
“Spend the day with me. With both of us. We’ll hang out in Harrison’s hospital room until they kick us out.”
That was exactly what she’d been hoping for. She pulled away to look into eyes. “It’s a deal.”
* * * *
Harrison looked like a completely different person this morning than he had last night. A large bandage covered his left shoulder, but when she and Zach walked into his room he was sitting up, eating a lunch that consisted of green Jell-O, broth, and something in a Styrofoam cup that was thick and smelled faintly of vanilla.
He smiled brightly as they walked in, and held out his arms, only to wince in pain and put his left one back on the bed. “Not supposed to do that,” he said.
Gina spotted the sling next to his leg. She picked it up. “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing this?”
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Yep.”
She shook her head and helped him put it back on, hardly able to tear her gaze away from his eyes. “How are you feeling?”
“Great. I want to go home.”
“Why?” asked Zach, settling back in the lounge chair as if he planned on staying a while. “Three squares a day, and you get to stay in bed with nothing to do. Sounds pretty good to me.” He winked at Gina.
“Sounds more like prison,” said Harrison.
“Harrison, I am so sorry this happened to you. And I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you last night about staying put.”
Harrison glanced at Zach. “Didn’t you tell her what I said?”
Zach raised his eyebrows. “What did you say?”
“Last night, after I had surgery. We had a long conversation about Gina. I told you to tell her that I wasn’t upset about any of that, remember?”
The corners of Zach’s mouth turned up. “Ah, hate to tell you this bro, but we didn’t have a conversation about Gina after you got out of surgery.”
“Fuck,” whispered Harrison. He looked totally confused now. “Man. Those pain meds are messed up. Who the hell did I say all that to?”
Zach was laughing now, and although Gina tried not to, she simply couldn’t help it. The image of Harrison saying God only knew what to someone he thought was Zach was just too funny.
“Fuck.”
“Don’t worry,” said Zach. “I’m sure whoever it was won’t breathe a word of what you said.”
“I didn’t say anything like that. At least, I don’t think I did…”
Zach wiped the corners of his eyes. “Oh man. I don’t even want to think about the possibilities here.”
“Well, anyway, Gina, I’m not upset about last night, okay? I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”
“And I’m glad you’re going to be okay.” She kissed his mouth quickly, wondering why she felt so self-conscious doing so with Zach there. She’d certainly done a lot more than that to Harrison in front of Zach.
Harrison smiled into her eyes for a few seconds, and then another look of confusion passed over his face. “Why aren’t you two at work? What day is it?”
“It’s Tuesday. We called in sick.”
“For real?”
Gina chuckled. “Yeah. Talk about weird. We were joking about it last night and now here we are, playing hookey.”
“Glad I could make your wish come true,” said Harrison.
“Well, don’t do it again,” said Gina. “And try to remember what you said about me to some stranger last night.”
“He probably had the conversation with his IV pump or his heart monitor,” said Zach, grinning.
“Well, if I did, they answered me.”
“Right. I can almost hear the conversation now…Hey, Zach, isn’t Gina a fox, man? Beep! Beep! Yeah, I know, right? She’s so sexy! Beep! Beep!”
Gina was laughing so hard from Zach’s comments that she had to sit down. Tears ran down her face.
“Fuck you, Zach.”
“I don’t think you’re allowed to say that in here. They’ll take away your lime Jell-O.”
Harrison tossed the half-empty Jell-O container toward Zach, but he ducked in time. The container landed on the floor behind Zach with a splashing sound. Gina started laughing all over again. Zach started to clean up the mess, and Gina rose to help him.
“We’re going to get kicked out of here,” she said, glancing toward the half-open door.
“Yeah, but it’s still more fun than being at work.”
She smiled as she wiped up the Jell-O, still amazed by how much fun they both were. Zach’s question from the night before came back to her. Had he been asking about her feelings only for Harrison, or for both of them? That possibility hadn’t occurred to her until now. How did she truly feel? Was it possible to fall in love with two men at the same time?
Gina took a seat again on one side of the bed and Zach scooted his chair closer to the opposite side, after placing Harrison’s lunch
tray on the counter. Zach pulled a deck of cards out of his jeans pocket. “I brought entertainment.”
“Oh, good,” said Harrison. “I can watch you lose at Solitaire.” He glanced at Gina. “Did you know Zach won’t play Solitaire on the computer? He still uses real cards.”
“You want the rest of your broth? If not I could throw that on the floor, too.” Zach winked at Gina. “I thought we could try and teach Gina how to play poker.”
“You told him about that?”
Both men snorted. “He didn’t have to,” said Harrison. “Olivia and I already had this conversation. She said you’re the worst card player on the planet.”
“Remind me to thank her for telling you that.”
As Gina listened to Harrison’s explanation of the finer points of the game, she knew it didn’t matter which one of them tried to teach it to her. She’d never master it. She also reflected that although she wished Harrison hadn’t been shot, there was no place on the planet that she’d rather be at that precise moment. If she wasn’t in love with both men, she soon would be. How on earth could she resist it? And why would she want to?
Chapter Eighteen
After Harrison was given the go-ahead later in the afternoon to advance to solid foods, Gina called Vito and then asked to borrow Zach’s car. She drove to Gino’s Ristoranti and picked up a feast for the three of them and brought it back to the hospital room. The only thing missing was the wine, and they both promised Harrison they’d make that up to him as soon as he was home.
“They said I can probably go home tomorrow, but I’ll be on strict desk duty for at least six weeks.”
“What about sex?” asked Gina, smiling at him.
“You would ask about that,” said Zach, his mouth full of food.
“Complaining?”
Zach gave her a droll look. “Yeah. Right. I hate having sex with you, Gina. It’s terrible.”
“Good,” said Harrison, putting his uninjured arm around her. “More for me.”
Zach tossed a breadstick at Harrison. “Shut up and eat.”
