“You are,” I said simply. She was the sister of my heart.
“Anyway, the nurse looked like she was going to tell him to stay out of your room, and he about bit her head off.” She leaned close, a look of concern crossing her features. “I think he might have anger issues, Talie. How well do you know him?”
If she only knew.
“The doctor… Stitch appeared and intervened, telling the nurse that he was the one who brought you in. After that, they seemed to back off.” Claire finished.
“But he wasn’t in here when I woke up.”
“No, because some of your tests results came back and he was hounding Stitch for an update on your condition.”
I had a moment of panic that maybe he knew about the baby already. Stitch said he didn’t tell him, that he couldn’t. It wasn’t like I didn’t want him to know. I was going to tell him. This was his baby too. But I wanted to be the one to tell him. I wanted to witness his initial reaction because that was the one that would tell me if he truly wanted to be a part of this child’s life or not.
“But he was in here before that?”
“He didn’t leave your side. Every time you so much as breathed heavily, he was up and checking all the monitors and IV.”
Why would he do that? Why would he tell me he didn’t love me, tell me to go home, and then come take up vigil at my bedside?
“What’s going on between you two?” Claire asked. “Are you sleeping with him?”
I felt my face flush because, oh yes, I was sleeping with him, and oh yes, it was the best sex of my entire life.
Gavin entered, looking just as haggard and wrinkled as before. His blue eyes found me and held, skimming over my body like he was making sure I was okay.
I glanced at Claire. “Would you give us a while?”
She lifted her eyebrow.
“Please.”
“Of course. I’ll just go down to the cafeteria.”
“Actually, why don’t you go check on Salty?” I hated thinking of him being alone.
She looked at me like I lost my mind. “Did they get my purse out of the car?” I asked her.
“Yeah, it’s over there.”
“Would you please grab me some clothes somewhere? One of the surf shops or something? Unless of course they got my suitcase out of the wreckage too?” I glanced at Gavin since he was the one at the scene with me.
He shook his head. “That part was already underwater when I got you out.”
Oh. Would I have sunk to the bottom of the sound if he hadn’t showed up when he did? The thought made me shudder.
Gavin strode across the room to a small closet-looking cabinet and pulled out a white no-nonsense blanket and brought it over to me, draping it around my body.
The gesture melted my heart.
“There is cash in my purse,” I told Claire.
She went to the door, bypassing my purse. “You can just pay me back later,” she called.
“I’ll be back later. I’ll bring you some real food.”
“Thanks, Claire.”
When she was gone, Gavin said, “She’s not really your sister, is she?”
“My best friend.”
“What the hell were doing out driving, Talie? The weather was awful.”
“What were you doing out surfing?” I countered.
He scowled. “That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t almost die!” he shot out.
His little outburst rendered me momentarily speechless. It also hurt my already pounding head.
Before I could respond, he was moving, coming forward to sweep both arms around me and pull me up against his chest.
He was so warm and he smelled just like he always did. I buried my face in his neck as his hand pressed the back of my head even closer against him. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
“When I saw your car flip and then disappear over the side of the road, I swear to God my heart almost stopped beating,” he murmured, clutching me against him.
“You saw?” I replied, my words trapped against his chest.
I didn’t think he heard me. He held me for long moments and then gently pulled me back to cover my mouth with his. The kiss wasn’t like the ones we shared in the past. There was nothing urgent and hot about this kiss. There was nothing insistent and wild.
But it wielded more power than all the other ones combined.
He brushed his lips over me, and I felt it right down to my very soul. There was something utterly tender about the way he caressed my lips with his, like they were something fragile and he was deathly afraid I might shatter. His hand cupped the back of my head, supporting my weight, and his other arm slid around the small of my back, lifting me off the bed and against his firm body. When at last his tongue dipped into my mouth, it was like he was tasting me for the first time. He groaned at the slight contact and licked a little bit deeper, tangling us together in the most delicious way.
He took his time, kissing me how he never had before. With more emotion than he ever gave. Usually there was a part of him he always held back, but right now, as our mouths moved as one, I felt like I was finally getting to experience all of him.
And damn, it was devastating.
When he finally broke the kiss, he lifted his head just a fraction of an inch above mine and then came back for a soft, quick graze in the center of my mouth.
His eyes opened, and I struggled to focus on him because everything in my world was suddenly hazy.
“Did I hurt you, sweetheart?” he asked, swiping at a rogue tear with the pad of his thumb.
I shook my head no.
How was I supposed to be kissed like that—by him—and not cry?
“Did Stitch give you some pain meds?”
“No,” I rasped as he pulled away.
He looked at me sharply. “No?”
“I told him I didn’t want any. I wanted to stay clearheaded.”
He frowned. “You’re going to be even more sore tomorrow. I’ll tell him you changed your mind.”
I didn’t argue. He could tell Stitch what he wanted, but I wasn’t taking any meds. Yeah, now would have been a good time to tell him about the baby, but I wasn’t ready yet. We had things to discuss first.
“You saw my accident?”
He pulled away slowly and snagged the chair with his foot, dragging it right up beside the bed. Once he was sitting in it, he leaned forward, running a hand through his already wild hair.
“I didn’t see all of it, just the car flipping and disappearing from sight. I didn’t see it roll.” He paled a little as he spoke.