Chapter Seventeen
WHAT A DAY IT HAD been. I kept staring at Ian while they stitched my head, not sure what all this meant.
It was a lot easier to look at him now that the neck brace was off.
In other good news, my arm wasn’t broken.
Unfortunately, my shoulder really was dislocated.
The manipulation thing didn’t sound all that pleasant, even if they were going to do it under localized anesthesia.
I prayed it worked or they were going to have to put me under.
Maybe some general anesthesia wouldn’t be all that bad.
An hour with no thoughts at all. Thoughts like, what am I going to do about the way my boss was staring at me like Ian used to.
The stare that said, I’m crazy about you. I might go crazy after all this.
“Do I look like the bride of Frankenstein?” I asked Ian once the doctor was done stitching me up. I still hadn’t seen myself.
He kissed my hand. “Never.”
The doctor left, giving us another moment alone before the next procedure. It was a good time to ask, “Why did you tell them you were my husband?”
“I was afraid they wouldn’t let me come with you if we weren’t related.”
“I think you’ve watched too many TV shows, and even if that were true, you could have gone with brother or something.”
He moistened his lips. “I’ve never had a brotherly thought about you.”
My cheeks warmed. “What’s going on between us?”
“Kel.” He brought my hand up between his. “I—”
Dr. Ellis and a nurse named Janelle walked in, interrupting us.
Ian lowered my hand. My heart was racing and there was no hiding it. The machine monitoring my pulse broadcasted it.
Janelle went into nurse mode. “Don’t you worry, you’re not going to feel a thing.”
Oh, she had no idea. I was feeling things. Like all the things.
Ian’s lips twitched. He knew he was the cause of my erratic heartbeat. I hoped he wasn’t getting too cocky about it. I wasn’t sure about any of this, especially him. I wasn’t even sure I knew who he was. Was he Ian or Mr. Greyson?
Janelle started administering pain meds through my IV. I wanted to kiss her. My entire body ached. Dr. Ellis asked Ian to wait outside while they manipulated my shoulder. Before he left, he kissed me softly on the lips. My heart monitor told the story of how much it affected me.
“Mr. Greyson, I think we need to talk about your behavior,” I whispered. The pain meds were making me feel sleepy.
“Later,” was all he said before he left me feeling overwhelmingly confused and wonderful. I had missed his kisses like Charlie missed his squeaker toy.
“That’s so cute that you call him Mr. Greyson,” Janelle said.
Yes, it’s adorable, I thought.
And with that thought, the doctor began manipulating my shoulder back into its socket. All I had to say was, pain relievers were a gift from God, as were doctors. As soon as my shoulder was in its rightful place, I felt instantaneous relief. It still felt sore, but the throbbing pain was gone.
I thanked Dr. Ellis, and he gave me a list of instructions to follow, along with the best news of the day: I could go home that evening.
Hallelujah. I had no desire to stay overnight, but there was a caveat.
Someone needed to stay with me and monitor me, just in case.
That was going to be tricky with my sister and Holly both being out of town.
I wondered if Delfia would want to. We weren’t friends outside of the office, but there was no reason we couldn’t be.
It was just about this time that Janelle let Ian back in and, unfortunately, he caught the gist of the conversation. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a careful eye on my wife tonight.”
I wanted to challenge him right then and there, but if I had, I would have looked like a liar. And okay I was a liar. I was letting these people think I was married to my ex-boyfriend who was currently my boss.
As soon as the nurse and doctor left us alone, I turned to Mr. Greyson or whoever he was. “You can’t monitor me over night.”
“Why not?” He was surprised that I would disagree.
“Mr. Greyson, you’re my—”
He sat on the edge of my bed and placed his finger to my mouth “Please call me Ian.”
“Even at the office?”
He thought it over for a moment. As he mulled, I wondered why this was such a hard concession for him. What had happened to make him this cautious? I mean, he had always been cautious, but I had a feeling there was more to the story.
He ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “Even at the office,” he conceded.
I smiled at his concession, but he still wasn’t staying with me. “Okay then, Ian, I don’t think it’s appropriate if my boss spends the night with me.”
“Fine, I’ll quit right now.”
“Who says I would let you stay even if you weren’t my boss?”
He pressed his lips together. “You know, it wouldn’t be the first time we spent the night under the same roof.”
I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. He spoke the truth. We had spent five days together at his parents’ place. I had slept in his old room, and he slept on the pull-out couch that had a sprung spring. Those were some of the best days of my life.
I bit my lip.
“I’ll stay on your couch or even the floor,” he said it like that settled the matter.
I shook my head. Well, as much as I could. My head was still pounding. “What’s going on with you?”
He brushed my hair back. “Seeing you hurt and unable to move today reminded me how short life is, and I’ve already wasted so much time.”
I was about to ask for clarification on that statement. But his phone rang. It was his insurance company, and he was arranging a rental car with them. I had forgotten we were both without transportation.
He shoved his phone back in his pocket. “I need to go, but I’ll be back to take you home.”
It was then that I remembered my keys were at the office. “Could you stop by the office and get my keys and laptop?” I wasn’t too worried about my car. Our office was in a good part of town, so it could wait until tomorrow.
“Of course. I need to take care of something there anyway.”
“And . . . can you ask Delfia if she can stay with me tonight?”
“Sure.” He grinned. Why did I think he wouldn’t be asking her?
He kissed my forehead before leaving, which left me feeling all sorts of weird, and it wasn’t from the drugs that were pumping through my veins.
As soon as he left, I called Janelle back in so she could help me to the restroom. It was time to take a look at the damage that had been done to me. I knew there was some, I could feel it. She helped me walk over while wheeling the IV.
Once I was left alone, I faced the mirror, and it wasn’t pretty.
The entire right side of my face was already beginning to bruise, and my right eye was slightly swollen.
The stitch line on my forehead was going to leave a nice scar.
I was suddenly grateful I had decided last year to get bangs.
It looked like I would always be keeping them.
I chanced to look down at my lovely hospital-issued attire and found more bruising down my right side.
I was surprised Ian hadn’t mentioned how horrible I looked, but it did explain the look of concern in those chocolate eyes of his.
I couldn’t stand for too long. I wasn’t sure if it was the trauma or medication, but I really didn’t feel all that hot, and Ian wasn’t helping with him being all Ian.
If I thought I was confused before, there was no comparison to the way I felt now.
I was beginning to think Zane and Amanda were right, even though it made no sense at all.
I mean, we’d spent thirteen years apart.
And he told me coming here was all about business, but he sure wasn’t acting professional.
I’ll admit, there was a part of me that welcomed it, but how did I reconcile the years of separation and pain? And what about trust?
Janelle settled me in my bed once I was finished in the bathroom. She took my vitals, all while making small talk. “How long have you been married?”
Grrr, Ian. He was turning me into a liar. “Not long at all.” Was that kind of the truth?
“Oh, newlyweds,” she squealed.
I had a feeling she would like to be one. The cute perky nurse had that new-love aura around her.
“Do you have anyone special in your life?” I asked while she took my pulse.
My assessment of her was dead on. She began to gush about Carson. “We’ve been dating for three months, and I know that isn’t very long, but I know he’s the one. I mean, is that even possible? How did you know your husband was the one?”
I thought about her question, and at least I didn’t have to lie. “It’s like drowning in pure intelligence,” I said. “You have this peaceful, all-encompassing feeling that says you’ve come home.”
She sighed like a Disney Princess. She didn’t have to say anything, I knew she understood exactly what I had said, and even more, I knew she felt it. I only hoped her story ended better than mine, and that her Carson felt the same way she did.
She let me be and turned down the lights. “Try and get some rest, we’ll monitor you for the next little while, and if everything looks good, you can go home early this evening.”
I closed my eyes and let the medication take me over.
I fell into a fitful sleep. The medication seemed to be fighting my mind for control, it was saying sleep, and my mind was saying let’s overanalyze everything Ian has said or done in the past two months.
Heck, even the past fourteen years. Eventually the two did seem to make a compromise.
I went to sleep, but my dreams were laced with Ian.
I was almost grateful when the pain meds wore off and I woke up, even if I did hurt all over.
I found, though, that I wasn’t alone, and my dreams had suddenly become reality. There Ian was, on the edge of my bed, holding my hand. He had changed out of his suit that had some of my blood on it. He was now casual, in jeans and a polo shirt, looking more like the Ian I used to know.