Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
NATHAN
With only one more day before the annual fundraising gala, everything should be ready. The only thing left should be setting up tomorrow morning and the afternoon before seven rolls around.
That’s not the case. The office is a disaster zone, with everyone running around to extinguish the never-ending fires. Metaphorical fires. The one good thing right now is that nothing is literally on fire.
I put my head down on my desk for a minute, blocking out the chaos swirling around me. I take a few deep breaths and try to find my center. It may or may not exist, but at least some clouds in my mind are clearing.
I stand up quickly and start to bark orders at people. A wave of dizziness shoots through me, followed by a moment of fuzzy vision. Note to self: don’t stand up quite so fast. The moment passes, and I go back to giving out instructions. “Victoria, call the caterer and remind him we have a contract that includes vegetarian and vegan options.” How the man is trying to claim he didn’t see the last page of the order with the information for our vegan guests is beyond me. “Damien, please call the florist and ask if they can push the delivery time to early afternoon. We want them at the hotel after the tables are set. Otherwise, we’ll have to set up the arrangements ourselves.”
I stomp over to the fax machine as it whirs to life. Who still sends faxes? Why do we still have a fax machine? Those are questions I won’t be answering today. Other questions I can’t answer include why I am looking at a fax from the hotel threatening to cancel the entire thing because we never sent the last payment. “Evan,” I call. He sticks his head out of the office where he has been hiding. “Why does the hotel think we didn’t send the final payment? I double-checked with you about that on Monday.”
He gets a sheepish look on his face as he sucks a breath through his cheeks. “Oh shit. I had it all ready to go and got a call. I must’ve forgotten to hit the button.”
I take a few deep breaths, hoping they can bring my blood pressure down. My heart beats so forcefully I can hear it. At this rate, I won’t need to worry about the fundraiser because I’ll have a stroke before tomorrow night. “Get on the phone and fix it.” I shove the sheet of paper toward him, and he grabs it and disappears into his office.
I look around the room, and everyone pretends they aren’t listening to the entire exchange. Guess I’ll be the topic of office gossip for a few weeks. My stomach growls loudly, and I place a hand on it, willing it to quiet down. Maybe I should listen when Colt tells me that a cup of coffee doesn’t count as breakfast. In my defense, it’s never one cup of coffee. It’s more like four or five. Either way, it isn’t helping with the growing anxiety over the gala.
The morning continues this way until it starts to spill into the afternoon. I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit back down at my desk for a few minutes and try to catch up on some of my emails. They’re mainly from the various site directors checking in and saying they’re looking forward to the event on Saturday. We always ensure they attend to talk about the importance of their work to the donors. Sure, I can talk about it all day, but they have first-hand stories of seeing the kids that tug at the heartstrings and, if lucky, the purse strings.
“Hey, Nathan?” Victoria’s soft voice breaks through my concentration.
“Yeah,” I respond, a little too gruffly.
“Could you come look at something?” My head snaps up to look at her. “I swear it’s nothing bad,” she adds quickly. “Some seating arrangements look off, and I can’t figure out why.” Why is it that when someone says it’s nothing bad, it always is?
I nod my agreement. At this point, nothing out of my mouth will be agreeable. I need to talk to someone about that because it isn’t typical of me. I shouldn’t be this grumpy, especially when my personal life is going well. Colt’s been on me the last couple of weeks to relax. Maybe I can talk him into taking a vacation together. Somewhere warm so I can see him in a swimsuit.
I follow Victoria to her desk and stare over her shoulder at a map of tables with little name flags attached to each spot. It only takes me a second to work out what the issue is. “Victoria, is this the most recent layout from the hotel?”
“Um... I thought so?”
My heart drops into my stomach as I realize this is my fault. I used the layout I got from the hotel when I met with the florists and the caterers but never shared it with the rest of the team. Panic sets in, and my body responds with a tingling sensation that spreads through my limbs. Taking deep breaths, I try to calm down, but my chest constricts, making breathing difficult. “We made a few changes from the original layout,” I manage to say, my hand moving in small circles over my tight chest to alleviate some of the tension. Struggling to steady myself against the desk, I reach out with my other hand. My vision begins to blur, and black spots threaten to take over as Victoria calls my name. She seems so far away, even though I know she’s in the room with me. “The updated version is on the company drive,” I try to explain, but my words are cut off as dizziness takes over and everything fades into darkness.
I try to open my eyes, but they refuse to obey. It’s so noisy. I need everyone to be quiet so I can go back to sleep.
“He’s over here,” someone yells.
Seriously, I would give anything for silence right now. My head is warm, and everything’s a little fuzzy.
“Can you tell me his name?” A voice I don’t recognize asks from right next to my ear.
“Nathan Winslow.” Victoria—I would recognize her voice anywhere—says. Her voice is shaky and far less shrill than usual.
“Hey, Nathan, can you open your eyes for me?”
I groan but try to open my eyes for the voice. They flutter open, but the light is too much, so I shut them again.
“That’s good. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I… I don’t...” I can’t find the end of the sentence.
“That’s okay. We’re going to get you to the hospital, and we’ll figure things out, okay? They’ll get you stitched up, too.”
Stitched up ? My eyes open, and my hand immediately reaches up, searching for a wound. Now that he mentions it, my head is throbbing. A firm grasp pulls my hand back to my side. “Nope, keep your hands down. It’s not a big cut, but you’ll need a couple of stitches on the back of your head.”
I want to argue with him but can’t find the energy. Instead, I close my eyes and drift away.
COLT
The phone in my office rings with a number I don’t recognize. “Hello, this is Colt. How can I help you?”
“Hi, Mr. Addington. I’m calling from the emergency department. We have a Mr. Nathan Winslow here, and he asked us to call you.” What’s Nathan doing here? And in the emergency department? Strange, but finding your way through the hospital is a challenge.
“Sure, can you tell him I’ll meet him in the lobby in five minutes?” My throat tightens. Something’s wrong if he’s here in the middle of a workday. Especially when they’re doing last-minute planning for tomorrow’s gala.
“Oh, I think you misunderstood. Mr. Winslow is here as a patient.” A knot forms in my stomach.
“Is he okay?” I manage to gasp out.
“You know I can’t tell you anything other than he’s here and asking for you.” She stresses the word asking. He’s awake and able to speak. That has to be a good thing. Please let it be a good thing.
“I’ll be right down.” I lock my computer but don’t bother with anything else in my office. I let the office assistant know that I won’t be back today. Please let him be okay. After all these years and all the work it took to find each other, I can’t imagine a world where we’re apart again. I barely hear anything as I take the elevator and find my way to the emergency department. I need to see him and touch him. Fuck, I’ve been trying to tell him how much he means to me for weeks now. What if I don’t get the chance?
I try to look calm as I walk up to the front desk. “I’m here for Nathan Winslow. I got a call that he was here.” My voice shakes as I talk to the woman at the front desk. I hope she doesn’t ask about my relationship with Nathan. Can I lie and pretend he’s my husband? Probably. But since I work here, that could get complicated. Maybe I can call in some favors? I grip the counter to keep myself steady while she stares at her computer.
“Name?”
“Colt Addington.” I hold up my badge in case it buys me some extra credibility.
“You’re on his list. He’s in room five. You can go on back.” She nods her head down the hallway.
I can’t decide if I’m moving too fast or too slow. I’m trying to make myself seem put together, but without any information, I have no idea what I’m walking into. My mind is dreaming up all sorts of worst-case scenarios. I keep reminding myself that he’s awake and talking.
I find the room with the curtain drawn across the door. “Nathan?” I manage to croak out as I pull the curtain aside. I spot him, eyes closed on the bed. His skin is pale.
“Hey.” He sits up a bit in the bed and straightens out the blanket.
“What happened?” I take his hand and look him over. There’s dried blood on the side of his neck, but the rest of him looks okay.
“I don’t know,” Nathan says, his hoarse voice barely above a whisper.
I grab the chair and pull it over close to his bed. Reaching over, I grab his hand again and pull it close. I need to be touching him. “What do you mean you don’t know?” The adrenaline is wearing off slowly now that I’m here.
He’s okay. We’re okay.
“I was at work trying to get through the list for the fundraiser and started feeling weird. The next thing I know, I was lying on the ground with a bunch of people around me, and they’d called an ambulance.” He closes his eyes and swallows hard. “They said I passed out. I guess I hit my head on the edge of a filing cabinet and got a nice gash.” He tentatively reaches for a spot on the back of his head but pulls his hand away.
I knew why. He’d been working himself to death these last few months. I’m guessing he hadn’t eaten anything today, either. I’d left early for work this morning, or I would’ve forced him to eat breakfast like I did yesterday. “Okay. I’m sure we’ll work it out. Rest right now.” I lean down and kiss his temple. He leans into me and closes his eyes. Seeing him in this hospital bed is killing me. I want to crawl into the bed beside him and hold him close.
“Will you stay?” Nathan whispers.
Would I stay? They’d have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming. “Of course. I’ll be right here.” He hums but lets his eyes drift close again. It’s overwhelming being here like this. The words I love you are on the tip of my tongue. I have to bite my lip to keep them from spilling out. This isn’t the right time or place.
My eyes never leave his face until the doctor comes into the room.
“Dr. Andrews,” he said, sticking his hand to me.
“Colt.” I shake his hand and nudge Nathan. He opens his eyes, but they’re glassy and won’t focus.
“He might be like that for a while. He was a little agitated and in pain from his wound, so we gave him some meds to help him relax.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“He should be fine, but he does need to work on taking care of himself. Nathan probably passed out from low blood sugar from not eating. He should follow up with his primary physician, but the stitches will need to stay in for ten to fourteen days to make sure it heals up okay.”
“When can he go home?” My shoulders relax for the first time since that phone call.
He’s okay.
“We’ll get his paperwork together, and as soon as it gets processed, you can take him home. Someone does need to stay with him tonight, just to be safe. He doesn’t appear to have a concussion, but if he starts showing signs of confusion, you should bring him back right away.”
“No problem.” There’s no way I’d leave him alone right now anyway.
“He’ll probably sleep a lot because of the medication. Otherwise, if you can get him to eat something or drink some water, that would be good.” He turns back toward Nathan. “As long as you slow down and care for yourself, I don’t expect to see you back anytime soon.”
“Thanks,” Nathan and I say at the same time.
We wait another hour before they discharge him. I run to the employee garage and pull my car around to the patient pick-up area in front of the Emergency Department. The parking enforcement people there don’t look happy with my plea to leave the car for a minute while I get Nathan, but they don’t tell me no.
I dash back inside and find him in the waiting area. Wheeling him out to my car in the hospital-mandated wheelchair feels surreal. He looks so tiny my heart hurts. I kick myself for not saying something sooner. Anyone could see Nathan was overdoing it and not taking proper care of himself. Not again. I will not let the man I love do this to himself, even if I have to become the biggest pain in his ass ever.
The man I love.
I grip the wheelchair’s handles tightly as I roll the phrase around in my mind. I have always loved and cared for Nathan, but I fell deeply in love with him somewhere along the way.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asks, putting a hand on mine.
“What?”
“You’re staring off into the distance.” I park the wheelchair next to my car and go to help him up. He tries to wave off my hand, but I don’t budge.
“Sorry. Just thinking about a few things.”
“Can we go home? I’m embarrassed and want to put this day behind me.”
“Of course. Let’s get you home and in bed.” I help him into the car and let one of the attendants take the wheelchair away. Deep breath . I need to keep it together for Nathan right now. “You ready?” I look him over at him as I climb into the car. He nods and leans his head back against the headrest. “Okay, time to go home.”