I looked down at Nina's sister. "I can certainly understand your concern, Kim, but she belongs in her own home. With me."
Kim stood and folded her arms across her chest. "You keep saying belongs, like she's something you own. I'm not some small town rube like my sister. She may think you're something special, but I don't think so. She's not going to stay with some strange man. Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Well, you don't," I said as I crossed my arms.
"I'm not just some fool you can boss around. My husband is a lawyer. You don't think I'll just let you take her without having something to say about it, do you?" Kim asked, her eyes blazing her anger.
Stepping toward her, I smiled. "And I have a battalion of lawyers, all paid to be at my beck and call to do my bidding. You can try to fight me on this, Kim, but you'll lose. Nina is coming home with me. There's no more discussion on that."
"Really? Well, how do you plan to handle Nina's depression, which is sure to rear its ugly head any minute now?"
I knew my face showed that I had no idea what Kim was talking about. Thankfully, Jordan interrupted. "Kim, you don't know that. Nina's been really good for a long time. She might not get down this time."
Kim spun around to glare at Jordan. "Get down? Is that what we're calling it now? The last time she 'got down' she spent months crying holed up in her room. And I think when someone threatens to kill themselves, Jordan, it's a little more than feeling down."
Jordan quickly looked at me for my reaction and then back at Kim. "That's not fair and you know it. Cal broke her heart. And saying you want to kill yourself is different than actually trying to. She never tried to."
"Fine. If I have no say in this, then I have no reason to be here anymore."
Kim stormed out of the room, leaving me with Jordan, whose face had settled into a frown. Standing, she began to explain what Kim might be feeling.
"I don't care. I've heard how she talks to Nina. The woman is lying in a hospital bed, and her sister is chastising her for getting into a car accident."
Jordan nodded. "I know. She's always been tough on Nina, especially since their father's death. And that thing she said about Nina wanting to kill herself wasn't true, Tristan. Nina was just really sad one time and said a few things she didn't mean."
Shaking my head, I said, "You don't have to worry about me not caring about Nina because of that. I understand."
I didn't care that she'd felt depressed and said things about killing herself. The only part that bothered me about that whole thing was that she probably remembered that fucking Cal who'd broken her heart but didn't remember me.
Jordan looked up at me, her green eyes intently staring into mine. "I need to know you're doing this because you care about her. I need to know this isn't some kind of power thing or I swear, Tristan, I might not have all the money to pay lawyers, but I'll make sure she comes home with me. Tell me you're doing this because you love her."
"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt that I'm crazy about her? Have I ever not shown in everything I do that her happiness is the only thing I think of?"
"No, but she's doubted your feelings, so I needed to ask."
I couldn't hide the surprise I felt at Jordan's words. Nina had truly doubted that I cared for her?
"Didn't know she doubted you, did you? Well, she did a few times."
Leaning back against the wall, I shook my head. "Why?"
"Because you're everything she could ever want. It all seemed to good to be true. I don't know what happened the night she got into the accident, but I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you had a fight about her not feeling that she was worthy of being with someone like you."
Quietly, I answered, "No, it wasn't that. But every time she ever said anything like that to me, I told her how wrong she was. I don't care about the money or anything else. I care about her and want her to see that we were in love. Still are, as far as I'm concerned."
Touching my arm, Jordan smiled. "Okay. You've convinced me. Now all you have to do is wait for her to figure it out. She will. As I always tell her, good things happen to good people, and I'm including you in our group of good people who deserve those things."
I wasn't sure I deserved to be in Jordan's Good People group, but from that point on, I planned on doing whatever was necessary to be worthy of Nina and all the good things that came with her.
Nina was sitting up in a chair next to her bed when I finally got back to her room. Kim had likely given her opinion on her coming home with me, but the smile Nina gave me as I entered her room didn't indicate she was upset.
I sat down beside her and thought about what to say. Unsure anything would sound right, I just said what I had to and hoped it came out the way I meant it. "Nina, you're going to be released tomorrow. I'm going to take you home."
She nodded and said, "I hear my sister wasn't crazy about that idea, but I trust Jordan with my life and she says that I'd want to go with you. She's told me everything you've done for me since I've been in here. I guess you're a pretty nice boss if you're willing to take care of all my hospital bills."
"I guess." This wasn't going exactly the way I'd hoped it would.
"I just have one question to ask. Did I move in with you after we got engaged or before?"
"Before. You've lived with me since you began working for me as my private curator."
Tears filled her eyes and she brought her hands up to her face. "I'm a curator? I wish my father had gotten to see that."
I hung my head and said quietly, "I do too."
We sat together saying nothing for a long time, but then she touched my arm softly and said, "I don't know if I'll ever remember our time together, but I hope I do."
I knew it wasn't the perfect situation, but I didn't care. Nina would be coming home and even though she didn't remember everything we were, I had the chance to show her why she'd agreed to marry me while we rediscovered each other. The problems that had threatened to tear us apart still lurked out there, and I'd have to deal with them if I ever expected Nina to be mine again.
We'd been given a second chance. Now it was up to me to prove to her I was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.