Chapter 9
NINE
He never lets his family down.
BAILEY
A familiar face swam into view above my head. Blue-green eyes, fair eyebrows pinched together with a deep groove between, and a pair of soft, pink lips.
I might have enjoyed the sight, if I could breathe.
Instead, I grasped at my throat, wincing at the pain in my poor hands, but the urge to breathe was stronger. I tried to suck in air, but it wasn’t enough. My lungs were twin vacuums, and at any moment, I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen.
My chest tightened, and spots appeared in front of my eyes. I clawed my neck with my bandaged fingers, as if I could slice open my airway to save myself.
“Bailey.”
The voice was firm and calm. I refocused on the ocean eyes above me.
“It was just a dream. You’re at the medical center. You’re safe. Now, I need you to slow your breathing.”
What did he mean, slow my breathing? I couldn’t get enough air as it was. If I slowed down, I’d only pass out more quickly.
“You’re hyperventilating.” His hands encircled my wrists and tugged my fingers away from my throat. “I know it’s hard, but I want you to inhale to the count of four. Can you do that for me?”
I wanted to say no and that he was asking for too much, but this was Max. I trusted him not to lead me astray, so I tipped my head in a tired nod.
“Good. Breathe in. One, two, three, four.”
The air burst from me because even holding onto it for that long was a struggle.
“Breathe in. One, two, three, four. Hold it for a second.”
Gritting my teeth, I followed his instructions even though my mind screamed that I was going to die.
After repeating it several times, my terror began to subside, and the constriction around my airway eased.
“Thank you,” I panted. “What was that?”
“A panic attack.” Max touched me so gently that I wanted to roll into him and ask for more, but moving sounded hard, especially when I was so sore. “You were having a nightmare, and when I woke you, you panicked. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” I didn’t remember the nightmare, but I doubted I’d have wanted to stay in it. This sucked, too, but it was a lose-lose situation.
“Water?”
“Yes, please.”
He helped me drink, checked my pulse, and then stood as if to leave.
“Wait!” I cried out. “Don’t go.”
Slowly, he turned to me.
“I don’t want to be alone.” I felt and sounded pathetic, but if that got him to stay, then I didn’t care.
“Okay, Bailey. I have work to do, but I can bring my laptop in here. I have to leave for a minute to grab it, though.”
He waited for me to acknowledge that before striding out. I bit my tongue because it was the only way to stop myself from calling after him.
When he came back, he not only had his laptop but also a thick book with a pretty purple cover. He sat in the chair beside me and passed me the book.
“If you don’t want to sleep again, this might help keep your mind off things,” he said, his cheeks flushing. “It’s a fantasy novel. You know, dragons and magic and stuff.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t much of a reader, but based on the bookmark, this was something he was reading himself, and it was incredibly sweet of him to offer it to me. Maybe this was a good way to get closer to him. “Thank you.”
Max smiled warmly, and I stared back at him, captured by those beautiful eyes.
When he finally tore them away, he settled with his laptop and got to work.
I opened the book to the first page and tried to read.
It was slow going because my mind kept wandering and I had to reread the sentences a couple of times each.
Hopefully, that was because of my concussion and not a sign that I was just terrible at reading.
A couple of hours passed. Max left twice for appointments with patients, but he came straight back, and I was grateful for it, even if it was embarrassing for a grown woman to be scared of being alone.
As the light outside began to dim, I wondered whether I’d be spending the night here. I hadn’t thought to ask, but I didn’t know where else I would go. I hated the thought of being home by myself.
Fortunately, Summer whisked into the room a little before six and came straight over to plant a kiss in the center of my forehead.
“I’m so glad to see you awake,” she said, checking me over and raising an eyebrow at the book clasped in my bandaged hands. “You have two black eyes. Have you looked in a mirror?”
“Uh, no.”
Max had helped me out of bed so I could use the toilet earlier, but, honestly, I’d been scared to look at my reflection. I didn’t want to see the damage.
She grimaced. “I think it’s from when they broke your nose, or maybe from when the doctors in Queenstown rebroke it to put it back into place. Anyway, it might be just as well your mum couldn’t come today. When you call her, you should consider leaving the video off so she doesn’t freak out.”
Ugh. Just how bad was it?
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Anyway, Asher and I have a spare bed made up for you if you’d like to come and stay with us. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to be alone either here or at your place.”
I pressed my lips together as tears once more sprang to my eyes. Sniffing, I dabbed at them, doing my best not to reinjure myself. This was why Summer was my best friend.
“Thank you. That’s so sweet of you. I’d—”
“You should stay with me.”
My heart skipped a beat, and, as one, Summer and I turned to Max. His face was bright red.
“It would be best for you to be under a doctor’s care,” he continued, acting as if his face wasn’t rapidly becoming the color of a tomato. What was with that? “I live closer to the clinic, so you could come to work with me tomorrow if you don’t want to be on your own during the day.”
Summer deflated. “That’s a good point. You could come to the veterinary clinic with me, but we don’t have anywhere this comfortable for you to rest.”
My insides became squirmy. I didn’t like the fact they both thought I needed twenty-four-hour care, but they were also kind of right. The fact that I’d almost melted down when Max tried to leave earlier proved that.
Also, Max had invited me to his house!
I’d be a fool to turn down that invitation, and despite the good shaking my brain had experienced, I was no fool.
“I’ll stay with Max,” I said, trying not to sound too eager.
Summer smirked at me knowingly. “Max, can we have a moment to ourselves, please?”
Max frowned. “If you need. I’ll be in my office.”
He left but cast a glance over his shoulder, his brows furrowed again. Summer waited until the door was closed before speaking.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, keeping her voice soft so that no one could overhear us.
“Stay alone with Max, just the two of us? Uh, yeah.”
As if I’d ever pass that opportunity up.
She looked down at her hands. “Just be careful, okay? Max is a natural caretaker, so don’t read too much into his behavior."
My stomach sank. Of course. His insistence that I stay with him was just because of his need to take care of people, especially the ones who were within the wider circle of his family.
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t say that to discourage you. We’ll have the bed ready if you change your mind.”
I appreciated that, but I knew I wouldn’t, and I suspected she did too. I’d never get another chance like this to spend so much time with Max. I had to take advantage of it for as long as he was willing to keep me around.