“I could use a kiss,” Colt suggested and puckered his wet lips.
“You’re trying to divert me,” Jace said, picking up the small cup of ice water, anchoring the straw in just the right position against his lips. Colt took a sip and pushed the straw out of his mouth before he pursed his lips again. The corners of Jace’s mouth curled into a smile. He relented and leaned across Colt, giving him a quick kiss. Jace looked deeply in his eyes, gave a small smile, and ran the pad of his thumb down Colt’s cheek in a soft caress. Colt loved that move the most. His heart stirred. No wonder he’d turned into such a love-sick teenage girl, his prince was just too perfect.
“We need to figure out what Mitch needs to do to reverse the marriage certificate. You can make your own decisions now,” Jace said absently, carefully sitting on the side of the bed, a bowl of broth balanced in his hand. He lifted a spoonful to Colt’s mouth. He had no choice but to open for the cold chicken soup.
“Why do we need to change it?” Colt asked after swallowing the first spoonful. Jace wasted no time in bringing a second spoonful to Colt’s lips. He immediately opened. He learned earlier, when he’d tried not opening for Jace, he ended up wearing the soup. Jace would then go nuts, trying to clean him up without causing pain, which was pretty impossible to do.
Apparently, his question earned him silence from his now chatty Jace. So quiet, things turned slightly awkward between them. What did that mean?
“We can leave it like it is, right?” Colt tried approaching the subject again before opening his mouth wide, encouraging Jace to participate in the feeding. Jace continued to sit there, staring at him. After a minute, Jace mechanically lifted the spoon and put the broth to his lips. Colt forced the bland liquid down. Cold chicken broth wasn’t on his list of favorite culinary delights and tasted worse when his boyfriend didn’t want to stay married to him. Damn.
“Isn’t a commitment what you wanted when you were leaving me?” Colt asked and tried to shift his position so he could see Jace’s face without straining his neck.
“I wasn’t leaving you,” Jace said.
“Really? I definitely think notes of goodbye forever and don’t contact me again constitute leaving me,” Colt said, arching his brow. Jace scoffed, and Colt couldn’t help the chuckle or the immediate curse when his ribs made sure he knew how much they disliked the movement the laughter caused.
“You deserve that, mister.” Jace smiled and continued watching him closely. “I guess I’d prefer a marriage not to be decided for you. You were forced into it,” Jace said, placing the bowl back on the tray and lifting the water glass back to his mouth. Jace angled the straw between his lips. Again, he was given no choice but to drink.
“Bring the hospital chaplain in. I’ll marry you right now,” Colt shot back, and just like he’d done about twenty-five times already today, Jace stood and began re-tucking the sheet back around Colt’s body.
“You’re not thinking right. You had a major traumatic accident four days ago. Your mind’s clouded and medicated, and you’re basing your decisions on events, not emotion,” Jace explained, reasonably.
Colt watched him for a couple of long moments. He hated he couldn’t get up and shake some sense into Jace. Even more frustrating, he needed to have this conversation face to face, not while lying flat on his back.
The doctor cast both his legs and his left arm earlier this morning, but his right arm was still wrapped and immobilized in a semi-cast. More surgeries were needed before the actual cast could be set. The gravity of the breaks to his throwing arm seemed to become a dark cloud looming over everyone who entered the hospital room. It didn’t weigh on Colt, though. He knew the odds were stacked solidly against being ready for football season this year, and if he wasn’t ready, he wouldn’t have to leave Jace for all those months. Colt couldn’t convince himself that was a bad thing.
“Babe, look at me,” Colt said. Jace kept his head turned away, obviously pretending to busy himself. “Jace, I’m serious, look at me,” Colt tried again.
Jace finally stopped, rose from fixing the sheets, and looked over at Colt. The raw emotion pouring from Jace’s gaze caught Colt by surprise. The clear sentiment reflected in his eyes caused Colt to take a sharp breath. They were exactly on the same page. Just as Colt’s heart lurched, so did his ribs, making him instantly regret the extra draw of air. Jace came back to the front of the bed, concerned about his discomfort, and the sweet gesture sealed the deal for Colt.
“Baby, it’s not spur of the moment, and I’m thinking just fine. I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. We’ve already wasted too much time. Jace Montgomery, be mine forever. Marry me on our terms before we leave this island,” Colt implored. He couldn’t pull Jace to him, he couldn’t even get out of this damn bed and fall on one knee and ask Jace properly. All he could hope was that Jace would see the sincerity in his eyes and believe him.
“Just say yes. If I could move, I’d hold you, kiss you, beg you to say yes. Please, go find the chaplain and let’s do this thing, right now. I don’t want to destroy that marriage certificate. I want it to be real. I want to marry you. I want to say the words ‘I do’ in front of witnesses.”
“If you get back to the states and want out, I won’t hold it against you,” Jace replied softly, still right up in his face, exactly where Colt wanted him to be.
“Noted, now go get the chaplain, please. Tell him we have the marriage license, and now we want a ceremony. And call the nurse in here for me. Fuck! I hate being so useless,” Colt cursed his predicament. He’d gotten his agreement. Now all he needed was a little help from someone other than Jace, and he stared helplessly at the call button, willing the device to ring the nurse. Clearly his mental telepathy needed fine-tuning. He finally lifted his heavily casted left arm, intent on reaching out for the button.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Jace was right on him, pushing the button and tucking the covers back in around him.
“You go find the chaplain. I want the nurse to help me with my hair. I don’t wanna marry you with bed head.” That had Jace stopping in his tracks and glancing in his direction. The look on Jace’s face was comical.
“You look fine to me, pretty boy,” Jace responded with wink.
“Go, you’re stalling,” Colt barked and then gave him a grin. The nurse came through the door as Jace started to exit.
“Did you call?” The nurse looked from one to the other while carrying a small tray of his medicines into the room.
“I did. Jace, go!” Colt waited until Jace left the room before filling the nurse in on everything he had in mind. Her eager expression meant it might all actually work out!
Colt was barely cleaned and medicated before Jace came back through the hospital room door. He was smiling, talking, and laughing out loud at something someone behind him must have said. The last twenty-four hours of strain had magically faded away, leaving Jace looking years younger and devastatingly handsome. Colt was instantly taken with Jace, but again, Jace had always captured him body and soul. Colt couldn’t take his eyes off the man he loved. He was drawn to that smile, and even through the haze of medication, he felt his heart connect and his body stir. He loved Jace more than life itself. It was turning out to be a great day for a wedding.
Colt realized right then he’d give up everything, give his own life, to keep Jace safe. Thank God, he’d been in that car instead of Jace. The relief was staggering. He struggled to breathe even considering he may not have made it to Jace before he left the house that morning. The panic of the thought resolved his body’s stirring problem with a large dose of reality. Another big thank God! It wouldn’t do to have the hospital sheet tenting with a minister in the room.
“So this is who had me stopping everything to come to this room? He told me you were dying; you needed your last rites. You don’t look like you’re knocking on death’s door.” The minister’s voice boomed, and he chuckled at his own joke. His smile was equally as big as Jace’s, and
he walked around Jace to the right side of Colt’s bed. Jace took his usual spot on the left. This time Colt reached out to take Jace’s hand in his own.
“Is it safe for you to be up like this?” Jace asked, worry creasing his brow. Colt’s nurse had lifted the head of his bed at a better angle, not quite sitting, but up more, positioning his arms carefully under layers of pillows.
“Jace hovers,” Colt deadpanned to the minister.
“He needs to hover. You were badly injured,” the minister said. Colt could tell the minister wanted to reach out and pat him, but he stopped in mid-motion, rejecting the idea.
Colt had gotten his hair tamed and his teeth brushed, but the bruising was still dominant. He knew he was a sight, but what else could he do? He couldn’t help the yawn that slipped out, either. He was exhausted and the medication the nurse had given him made it even worse.
“He was injured badly, and he overdoes.” Jace seemed to clutch on to the minister’s words, gave Colt a look, and nodded, no doubt in total agreement with the minister. Jace was such a mother hen. Colt made a show of rolling his eyes.
“I understand I’m needed to perform a marriage ceremony. Is that right?” The chaplain broke the silence.
“Yes, sir,” Colt said. His voice was strong, clear, and decisive. He hoped Jace heard it that way.
“And you were married before this? You understand this is not a legal ceremony?” the minster asked, looking between Jace and Colt. He was serious now.
“Yes, sir,” they both answered in unison. There was a knock at the door and the nurse came through the doorway, followed by others from ICU, all holding bouquets of flowers.
“Perfect timing,” Colt grinned, tightening his hold on Jace’s hand. “It wasn’t much, but I asked her to buy whatever was appropriate from the gift store.” The nurses placed the flowers everywhere. Happy faces regarded him curiously, including Jace’s. No one looked like they wanted to leave.
“Thank you,” Jace leaned in and gave Colt a soft peck in front of others. Colt beamed like a man in love, which technically hit the mark.
“You’re our favorite patient,” one of the ICU nurses said, shrugging, taking a step back, clearly ready to watch the ceremony.
“I’m good with you staying. Are you good with it?” Colt asked, glancing at Jace.
“I am,” Jace said.
“Well, that’s good, because you didn’t see us asking, did you?” That caused a laugh and the chaplain wasted no more time. It took about five minutes of happy emotional overload before Colt got to say his “I do” and have Jace say the words back, and then he got to kiss his groom. The clapping only penetrated after Colt slid his tongue over Jace’s lips, gained entrance, and was retreating. Jace pulled away with a blush while Colt grinned ear to ear.
“My husband,” Colt sighed, his focus fixed on only one person in the room. Yeah, like he was ever going to be able to hide Jace away from anyone. What had he even been thinking saying something as dumb as that. Besides, regardless of Colt’s past, he believed in the sanctity of the union and planned to stay married to Jace for the rest of his life. Thank God Dr. Knox intervened in his life again. “I love saying those words.”
“I love hearing those words.” Jace leaned down and brushed his lips softly across his. The cheering started again as everyone congratulated them. Over the next few hours, Colt thought the entire hospital staff might have stopped by. Dinner consisted of two fully packed cafeteria trays, with two large pieces of white cake for each of them.
While they ate dinner Mitch stopped by. He came as part of the investigation, doing a full question and answer session with Colt. He wanted every detail of the accident, but Colt wasn’t a huge help. Most of the accident was just still too blurry to remember. He knew there had been a male in the truck who drove him off the road, but he couldn’t identify the face in his mind. Mitch never pushed him or got frustrated and truly believed the information would all come back to Colt in time. He seemed willing to wait. Mitch sat there, quietly talking to them when his father entered the room sometime later.
“Everyone’s buzzing about this room,” Dr. Knox said from the door. He walked to the bedside, grinning.
“He married me,” Colt said, stifling a yawn. He was tired, exhausted really, and the yawn won out. Hearing a noise in the hallway, Colt turned his attention toward the open doorway and groaned when he spotted another nurse entering his room, carrying a tray full of medicine.
“Here we go,” she said cheerfully, going through the motions of entering his medicines into a computer as she handed each one to him.
“I’m glad for you two, but I think you overdid today,” Dr. Knox said as he started to examine Colt. The doctor pulled a pen light from his pocket and shined it in Colt’s eyes.
“He did!” both the nurse and Jace said in agreement.
“Hey,” Colt started, but the nurse shoved the last pill in his mouth, silencing him.
“You’ll be asleep soon with that one, sweetie,” she said with a smile. Colt could almost see her and Jace doing a mental high five.
“Good, he needs to sleep,” Jace piped in. “I keep trying to remind Mr. Hardhead that he was just in a really bad automobile accident.”
“You should go home to sleep,” Colt said, ignoring them all as he looked over at Jace and gave him a nod to affirm his statement, before giving in to another yawn.
“I’m not going home,” Jace protested, shaking his head.
“I’m with Colt on this one, Jace. We have a flight scheduled at six in the morning,” Dr. Knox said.
“Did you talk to the team?” Colt asked, changing the subject.
“I did. I’ve spent most of the day on the phone with them and the medical staff in Dallas, preparing for your arrival.”
“How did they take it?” Colt asked. He wasn’t near as concerned about his medical care as he was the attitude. He needed to know what faced him when he returned to the mainland.
“As well as expected,” Dr. Knox said, leaving everything right there, not offering anything more. For Jace’s worrywart sake, Colt didn’t ask further. He could read between those lines. The owners of the team couldn’t have been pleased with any of this, especially the impending investigation of Colt’s accident, all right after their big Super Bowl win. Colt figured they questioned whether his alcoholism played a part in the crash. It had to be assumed he’d been drunk driving during the accident. Damn, why hadn’t he considered that before now? Colt didn’t voice any of his concerns, instead turning toward Jace.
“Doc, tell him to go home and get some rest,” he said, tightening his grip on Jace’s hand, but Jace wouldn’t look at him.
“Jace, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I did take the liberty to ask Mitch to arrange secured transportation for you to go home, pack, close up your beach house. I can stay with Colt while you’re gone,” Dr. Knox offered.
“That’s a great point. We don’t know when we’ll be back. And you could sleep a few hours,” Colt suggested again. He could feel his eyes already drooping, the drugs taking effect. It had been a big day. A wonderful day, probably too big for his injuries, but he’d married the man of his dreams.
“It would be easier if we could leave from here in the morning,” Dr. Knox offered. Colt nodded and his eyes slipped closed. After a minute, he managed to pop them open again.
“Sleep, Colt. If you’re certain you can stay, I’ll go get our stuff together and lock up the house, but I’ll be back soon.” Jace leaned in for a kiss and tenderly brushed a strand of hair off Colt’s forehead; Jace held his position and remained right in his face. “I love you.”
“I love you.” Colt kissed Jace again and then grinned. “My husband,” he whispered. He tried to put up a valiant fight, but he couldn’t hold his eyes open any longer.
“I wanted Mitch to destroy the marriage license,” Jace said immediately to both of them while he covered Colt up.
“I didn’t think he’d do it,” Dr. Knox said, taking
a seat on the long sofa Jace had called home since they had arrived in this room.
“No, but he’s not thinking right. I won’t hold him to it,” Jace said, busying himself with cleaning up their dinner plates. He wouldn’t make eye contact with either Mitch or Dr. Knox. There were too many conflicting emotions rolling through him, and he pushed them all aside. This wasn’t about him, only about Colt. Nothing mattered in how he felt about anything. At this point, they were all about Colt and his recovery. No way would he do anything to cause resentment between them, yet if he forced this marriage, it most definitely would.
“I think he’s done with that other world, without you it holds nothing for him. He loves you. And he knows the deal, and he seems fine with it,” Mitch quietly said, rising, fishing the keys out of his jeans.
“What’s that deal?” Jace asked, and for the first time, turned to Dr. Knox.
“It would be speculating at this point,” Dr. Knox said, staring him directly in the eyes.
“Please speculate then. I need to know what to prepare for. Colt certainly won’t tell me until it’s gotten too out of hand,” Jace said, moving to stand in front of Dr. Knox.
“Well, I’m sure New York’s already been on the phone with their second string quarterback, going through everything trying to find an angle to take on someone new. Public relations is already on overload with his drinking and partying, not to mention his last highly televised relationship. Public records will show him married to you for a couple of weeks now. So he’s a recovering alcoholic with a sordid past and now a homosexual,” Dr. Knox said, finally rising to stand in front of Jace. Mitch came to his side. All of them spoke in hushed tones so not to bother Colt.
“This investigation will filter through every part of their organization. I’m taking this personally, and I don’t have any filters. It’s gonna be a lot for Colt to bounce back from. They’ll stand by him for a while, Jace. Maybe indefinitely if he keeps his nose clean and does what he’s supposed to do,” Mitch said.
Nice Guys Collection With Added Bonus Material Page 26
