For Her Amusement: Bid on Love: Bachelor #5

by Heather Anne

  His protectiveness shouldn’t give me the amount of hope it does.

  “We lost you for a second,” Kelsey’s voice breaks through the fog of pain.

  “I can’t look at it!” I close my eyes and she laughs. “Don’t worry it’s covered with an icepack and towel. As soon as Colton is done giving them hell, we’ll get you to the hospital,” the calming tone in her voice helps relieve some of the fear.

  “But they have to be at the atrium for the press conference.” My worry for Colton’s job weighs more on me than the worry of my foot and the impending surgery I know I’m going to need.

  “Let him deal with that,” she rubs my shoulder. Colton glances over at us, anger and concern have his blue eyes blazing.

  “Ok, the park has all of your information. They’re bringing over a golf cart to take you to my truck and I’ll get you to the hospital.”

  Everything blurs as people rush around me, the beeping of the cart is heard in the distance. My foot is throbbing, I close my eyes and let my tears fall for what seems like the thousandth time in the past three days.

  Colton lifts me with care, walks me over to back of the cart, setting me down gently.

  Kelsey comes over to me handing me my phone and my purse. “I put my number in your phone, please text me if you need anything. We’re in town till Tuesday.” She squeezes my hand.

  We take off towards the parking lot, the bumpy ride causing the pain in my mangled foot to worsen.

  “We’re almost there,” Colton soothes from behind me. We stop at the back of the truck, Colton hops off the golf cart, opening the passenger door of the truck. He barks instructions to the two park workers and they gently lift me into the truck, where Colton is hunched over the passenger seat. As he gently turns me so that I’m facing front, my foot bangs against the side of the door causing me to cry out.

  “For fuck’s sake watch her damn foot,” Colton yells, the workers mumble an apology.

  The ride to the hospital is fast and smooth. Colton uses extra caution when making turns and stops.

  When we pull up in front of the hospital, he jumps out of the truck, letting me know he’ll be right back. He disappears behind the automatic double doors, only to return moments later with a nurse pushing a wheel chair and two orderlies.

  Between Colt and the two men, I’m taken down from the truck without incident and placed into the wheelchair. The nurse fires off questions as she pushes me into the hospital, through the waiting area, ending up in a room in the emergency department. She types my answers on a tablet.

  “Are you in pain?” she asks.

  “What do you think?” Colton’s words are sharp as he starts pacing around the room.

  I give the nurse an apologetic look. “On a scale of one to ten it’s a thirty-two,” I try to joke, Colton growls.

  “Ok dear, I’m going to go get you something for the pain.” She pats my arm, giving Colton a dirty look as she walks by.

  Colton continues to pace furious steps around the room.

  “I’m sorry.” Those are the only words that come to my lips.

  “You have nothing to apologize for,” his attempt to placate me is futile.

  “Colton…”

  “Everleigh, it’s ok. Accidents happen.” I know he wants to add something about them always happening to clumsy me but he doesn’t.

  The silence that fills the room is the loudest noise I’ve ever heard.

  “Look, I have to get back.” Colton’s words shock me. Not that I was expecting much from him but leaving was something I couldn’t even see coming.

  “Ok.”

  “Feel better.” He looks at me like he wants to say something but takes a deep breath and heads towards the door, passing the nurse on his way out.

  “Your friend leaving?” she asks, seeing the tears welling in my eyes.

  “He’s not my friend. He’s my best friend’s brother.” My voice cracks at the admission. Colton leaving me when I need someone solidifies what I’ve always known. There isn’t anything thing between us, at least not on his end, and there never will be.

  I thought winning his date at the auction was a sign, an act of destiny even. The only thing it showed me is that whatever happened on the date, was nothing more than two people getting caught up in the moment. Fate slapped me in the face tonight, telling me in the harshest of ways, that it’s time to move on from this silly crush. Colton is not my other half. In time the memory will fade, my heart will heal and I’ll be able to move forward.

  I wince in pain as the nurse starts an IV in my arm, feeling a warmth course through my veins as she injects something into the tube. “This will help the pain. It will probably put you to sleep, which is for the best, considering you’ll be taken down to x-ray shortly.”

  “Can you hand me my bag before you go, please?”

  “Sure thing, dear.”

  She places my purse next to me. Careful of the tubes coming from my arm, I get my phone out. Ignoring the fact there’s still nothing from Paul, I scroll through my contacts until I find the one person I’m looking for. She picks up after one ring, her perky voice, causing the pain in my heart to be stronger than the pain in my foot.

  “Sen,” I croak out on a sob.

  “Ev? What’s wrong?”

  “I need you. I’m at Memorial Hospital, emergency room five”

  “What the fuck Ev? Where’s my brother?”

  “Back at the park.” Another sob makes its escape and the tears fall freely down my cheeks.

  “Son of a bitch. I’ll be there in fifteen.”

  Chapter Eleven

  EVERLEIGH

  I wake up to the sound of beeping, not quite sure where I am. I open my eyes, the harsh light above me, has my eyes closing in reflex. Memories start racing through my mind; Paul, the auction, Colton, kisses, the Ferris wheel. I shoot up with a gasp, crying out at the pain the sudden movement sends shooting pain through my foot.

  “Shhh.” The soft voice is soothing. I look over to see Sienna leaning over the bed.

  “My foot,” I say, a little disoriented, not quite sure of what’s going on.

  “The surgery went well, babe. You have a few pins in your foot, so you better watch out going through airport security,” she smirks.

  The last thing I remember is Colton leaving me scared and alone. I frown at the thought.

  “Colton?” I try not sound hopeful.

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know, girl. He hasn’t returned any of my calls or texts, but I swear to God when I finally talk to him…” She’s so pissed.

  “Sienna, don’t,” I plead.

  “What the hell happened?”

  I must blush because she squeals “Shut up!”

  I shrug, deciding to tell her the events of the evening, leaving out the part where he gave me an orgasm in public. Tears fill my eyes as I recount the memories, knowing that I kind of had him, even if just for a brief moment.

  “And then he left.” I finish the story with a sigh.

  “That’s it? He just left you here?” I nod.

  “Just please, leave it alone. He made it perfectly clear that the problem is that you and I are best friends. I guess he thinks getting involved with me could somehow ruin it and if you say anything, then you prove him right.”

  “I’m not making promises because you know I hate lying. I will try to keep my mouth shut, but you know me,” she says with a sheepish smile.

  I let out a laugh. “Good enough for me.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m sorry he did that to you. I’ve been rooting for you to for a long time.”

  “Me too,” I sigh “I’ll be ok. When I get out of here there’s a pint of salted caramel frozen yogurt in my freezer just waiting for me to drown my sorrows into it.”

  She laughs. “I’m in, but you need to do that before Tuesday.” A wide grin crosses her face, while I narrow my eyes in confusion.

  “I’m picking your brother up from the airport that morning,”
she beams.

  “Oh my God! You talked to Paul?”

  “He called your cell phone right after I got here, and you were zonked out from the meds.”

  I’m disappointed that I missed his call, but so relieved he’s finally coming home.

  “How is he? Did he sound okay?”

  “He was in good spirits. Said his shoulder hurts like a bitch but was more concerned for you,” her smile is soft.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Just that you were out with my brother, had a clumsy moment as usual. He wasn’t happy when I told him Colton left you here.”

  “Shit. You don’t have to worry about killing your brother, Paul will do it instead,” I laugh at the protectiveness I can picture in my head.

  Just then a nurse comes in, checks my vitals, adjusts my pains meds, and lets me know I’ll be able to go home first thing in the morning.

  The last thing I picture, before the meds kick in, is the look in Colton’s eyes right before he kissed me. It was a look like nothing I’ve had directed at me before. It was lust, want, and so much more in a single glance.

  I wake up the next morning, alone in the hospital room. The medicine did a great job of knocking me out. The same nurse that was there the night I was brought in, comes into my room. I take a good look at her, her name is Pam, she has gray shoulder-length hair, laugh lines, and the warmest smile.

  “How are you feeling, dear?” She starts to take my vitals.

  “A little sore but I’m ok. Whatever you put in there knocked me out,” I say pointing to the IV.

  “Yes, Dilaudid will do that to you, but this is coming out now. The doctor has a prescription for Percocet and an antibiotic that will be called into your pharmacy.”

  I thank her and watch as she starts to shut down the heart rate monitor.

  As she starts to take the needle out of my arm, she looks at me with honesty and hope.

  “I’m not sure what happened with that grumpy, young man that brought you in here the other night, but whatever it is, it’s not over.” Her voice is filled with conviction.

  “How do you know?” I say trying not to get my hopes up for the millionth time. History has proven whenever I do, the blow to my heart gets harder and harder to take.

  “No one looks at someone the way he looked at you when there’s nothing there,” she affirms.

  “It’s complicated,” I sigh.

  “The good ones usually are,” she winks.

  “Alright dear, I’m going to help you into the bathroom. Your friend left a change of clothes and toiletries for you. She’ll be back soon.” She approaches my bed with a wheelchair, lifts me out of the bed into the chair, placing a bag of clothes in my lap.

  “Thank you,” I look behind me up at her.

  I opt out of showering and allow Pam to help me dress. Not being able to care for yourself is humbling. I’m grateful that Sienna put my favorite pair of sweats in the bag with one of Paul’s worn out army t-shirts.

  Pam asks me about the shirt and we talk about Paul, his injury, and the fact that he’s coming home in two days.

  She smiles, making a joke of who is going to take care of who with our injuries.

  When we get back into the room, both Sienna and the doctor are there waiting.

  “How are you feeling, Miss Mason?” the doctor asks.

  “Okay. A little sore, though,” I admit.

  “That’s to be expected. You needed to have hardware put into your foot to ensure the bones stay in place. Your fifth metatarsal went through your skin, so we went in that way to limit scarring and any nerve damage. Your fourth and fifth toe were dislocated and fractured. Those were reset along with your fourth metatarsal. Right now, you are non-weight bearing, which means you need to stay off it. Don’t even attempt to walk, we need the hardware to set properly and any shift could result in a second surgery.”

  “Yes, Doctor.” He goes on to explain the medications, the crutches, and advises that my insurance approved a scooter to help me get around.

  “Thank you so much.”

  “I’ll see you in my office in a week for a post-op follow up,” he states.

  I thank him again, he smiles with a nod and leaves the room.

  Pam is there with a clipboard sign the discharge papers and she wheels down to the lobby where Sienna’s car is waiting in front.

  Once we get back to my house, she helps out of the car and into my house. Tears fill my eyes when I notice the changes that have been made to my living room. There’s a hospital type of tray on wheels on the chaise lounge side of the oversized sectional. Underneath the table is a mini fridge. On top of the tray is a bag of cotton candy and a stack of paperback books underneath a stuffed panda.

  I hobble over to the couch and sit down, being sure to keep my foot up. Leaning over, I pick up the soft panda and give it a squeeze. I place it next to me on the couch and thumb through the paperbacks. I’m surprised to see that all of the books are Kelsey’s paperbacks, including her newest one that hasn’t even been released yet.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you did this. Thank you so much.”

  Her mouth is opened in shock.

  “Ev, I didn’t do this,” she admits.

  “Did Kelsey do this? These are her books.”

  “It wasn’t Kelsey either.” She hands me a Post-it Note that was stuck to the bag of candy with the word ‘Sorry’ and a frowning face scrawled on it. “This has my brother written all over it,” she deadpans.

  “No way.” I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Colton would go out of his way to do something like this for me, especially with the way things were left the last time I saw him.

  “This is his handwriting, Everleigh,” she states.

  I can’t even respond, the wheels in my head spinning at what seems like a thousand rotations per second.

  “What do I do, Sienna?”

  “Nothing. He doesn’t even deserve a thank you.” Anger coats her voice.

  “Sen…”

  “Not after what he did. If it were me, it would take a lot more than this,” she waves her hands around my living room, “to get me to accept his apology.”

  I don’t say anything because she’s angry and won’t get the meaning behind this all.

  Sienna leaves to go pick up my prescription, get my laptop from the shop, so I can work from home, and check in on Kaitlyn.

  I pick up the panda and examine it, noticing the Thunder Park logo embroidered on one of the feet and I can’t stop the tears from falling.

  How can someone that seemed so closed off to the possibility of us being together, do something so sweet? I was examining the panda in one of the gift shops on our date, going on and on about how they are my favorite animals. They look so cuddly and fun!

  I pick up the cotton candy and open the bag of blue, sugary goodness, the smell envelops me and I’m brought back to the first time he kissed me. I can still taste his unique taste mixed in with sugar on my tongue.

  As I wait for Sienna to return, I replay the entire night in my head over and over again, trying to figure out what I did wrong. I’m baffled as I can’t see where anything could be my fault. The flirting was mutual. The kissing was mutual. The attraction and chemistry were like something I’ve only read about in books like the ones Kelsey writes.

  Metal exhaustion consumes me. I take the blanket off the back of the couch; Colton’s scent still lingers on it from the other night. I turn on the TV, clutching Mr. Panda until sleep takes me under.

  I get woken up my Sienna who has my pills waiting for me. I take them with a big glass of cool water.

  She fulfills her promise of healing me with the salted caramel frozen yogurt. The pain pills knock me out, I swear I haven’t slept this much in years.

  I wake up the next morning to find a note from Sienna on the tray. Operation Pick Up Paul is underway. See you soon! P.S. I don’t care if they make you sleepy, take the medicine!

  I laugh at her instructions. I hobble
on my crutches to the bathroom and then to the kitchen. I manage to make myself a cup of coffee, but then realize I have no way of getting it back to the couch. I lean on one foot, against the counter, and down the warm liquid.

  As I make my way back to the living the room, the front door opens, and I sob when my brother walks through the door. He looks tired but so good even with a blue sling around his left shoulder.

  I hobble as fast as I can on these metal death traps and he rushes to me. He takes me in his arms and I just sob. Breathing him in, so grateful he made it home. We cling to each other for dear life.

  He pulls back, and I get a good look at him. He looks exhausted but good. His blond hair is in a buzz cut and his smile contagious.

  “Hey sis!”

  “It’s so good to see you, alive,” I cry out.

  “It’s good to see you too. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m ok. I listened to Nurse Sienna and took the pain medicine before I even attempted to get up off the couch,” I laugh.

  “Good girl,” Sienna chides from her spot by the front door, her eyes wet from witnessing the brother/sister reunion.

  “I’m going to head out, give you guys some time to catch up. I’ll check on both of you later.” She waves as she disappears.

  I hobble over to the couch and sit down on the chaise lounge, keeping my foot elevated.

  “So, Sienna told me what happened. McDaniels huh?”

  “Apparently not,” I say, taking the stuffed panda into my lap.

  “She said you’re pretty broken up over it.” His hazel eyes fill with concern.

  “I’ll get over it. It’s not like we were together or anything.”

  “Did he get that for you?” he nods toward the black and white ball of cuteness.

  I nod, adding, “And the books.” I gesture toward the tray.

  “Someone is feeling guilty,” he states in a matter of fact tone.

  “Maybe. It doesn’t matter. It was one date. There won’t be another.” My voice fails at hiding my disappointment.

  “Just try not to read into it, okay?”

  “I nod. I’ll be alright. You don’t need to worry about this,”

  “Where you and Colton are concerned, there is always a need to worry.”