27 Cora #2
Diana shook her head. “I’m not sure which nurse you talked to, but Jax was the one who made this happen.” She pushed through
swinging doors on the other end. “Typically we would’ve waited until she had been transferred, especially since you’re not
the spouse. But he insisted we let you see her now.” She shot Cora a knowing look. “And Jax can be pretty convincing if he
wants to be.”
“Jax did this?” Cora was completely shocked. How did Jax get involved in this?
“You can wait here or out in the courtyard, and I’ll come find you when she’s in her room,” Diana said. She gently rubbed
Cora’s shoulder, then disappeared behind a different set of doors.
Cora stood in stunned silence, trying to make her sluggish brain decide where to sit, when Bianca blurted out, “I’m sorry.”
She let out a tired sigh. “I thought we weren’t doing this right now.”
“I know that’s what you said, but for what it’s worth, I never meant to hurt you.”
Cora glared at her sister. “And this is the place you want to have that conversation?”
Bianca didn’t back down. “I’m willing to do this wherever you’ll listen.”
“Fine. Talk.”
“I know it sounds stupid, but I honestly thought it would be harmless. I never, ever thought you’d fall for him.”
“Why? Because I have a heart of stone?”
“No.” Bianca dropped her gaze to her feet, her shoulders slumping with guilt. “I just thought you didn’t do love. Like maybe
it wasn’t your thing.”
“I’ve been in love before.” Cora didn’t bother to hide the offense in her voice.
“I know,” Bianca said. “At least, I know the story. But I wasn’t there. You were in Texas, and I was in high school dealing
with moving from Mom’s house to Dad’s apartment and trying to manage graduation parties with Mom’s chemo schedule. Your life,
and you in general, were...” Bianca paused for a second as if deciding on a word, then shrugged. “Distant.”
The confession hit Cora like a slap to the face, surprising and stinging.
For so long she’d been so busy pointing a finger at everyone else that she’d missed all the fingers pointed back at her.
She’d never thought about what that season of life must have been like for Bianca. She had been completely occupied with trying
to manage her own life of building a business, being engaged and flying in and out of Atlanta when she was needed. It was
such a painful season for Cora, and she realized now that she used the distance as an excuse to not have to think about how
hard it must’ve been for her sisters, especially Bianca.
“I’m so sorry,” Cora said. “You’re right. I should’ve been there for you more.”
Bianca shrugged. “It was fine. I had Savannah and Dad.”
“But you didn’t have me. And you should have.” She let that truth settle for a moment. “But you didn’t miss anything by not
getting to know Leo. He was a jerk.”
Bianca cracked a smile. “That’s what I hear. How did you end up engaged to him, anyway?”
Cora shook her head, thinking of all the things that had led up to that moment. All the warning flags she’d missed. “A lot of bad decisions and being blinded by love. I promised myself I would never let it happen again.”
It was how she had lived her life ever since. She’d blocked out every relationship that had the potential to blindside her,
and not just the romantic ones. That meant she’d blocked out pretty much everyone, even keeping her sisters at arm’s length.
But not Jax. Somehow Jax managed to break through the barrier, which was baffling. How, when she was so determined to keep
everyone else out, had he managed to get in?
“For the record, the relationship might have started out fake for him, but that’s not how it ended up. His feelings for you
are real.”
Cora crossed her arms in front of her chest. Maybe she’d forgive her sister, but she wasn’t about to forgive Jax. He’d used
her. He’d tricked her. And even worse, she’d let him.
Nope. When it came to Jax, she was out.
“He used me.”
“Maybe.” Bianca twisted her mouth to the side, as if considering the whole situation. “But you know what they say. Those in
glass houses...”
That hit a little close to home. But she hadn’t been playing with his heart. She hadn’t been trying to make him fall in love
with her. In fact, she was trying to prove that he couldn’t fall in love with her.
Bianca lifted her gaze to her sister’s. “Are we good?”
Cora nodded. “Yeah. We’re good.”
“Is this where we hug it out?” Bianca held her arms out.
Cora looked at her sister’s outstretched arms skeptically. “I—”
But before she could get an argument out, Bianca wrapped Cora up in a tight embrace. Cora gave in and let the healing power
of a hug seep into her body.
They stood like that for several seconds before Bianca mumbled, “Oh, good grief.”
Cora stepped away from the hug and turned in the direction Bianca was staring.
Zander was at the hospital information desk, and even from all the way across the lobby, she could see him flexing his pecs through his too-tight dress shirt.
Bianca had a disgusted look on her face. “To think I almost lost my sisters over him .”
“He is a sad, strange little man,” Cora said, quoting Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story , one of their favorite childhood movies.
Bianca laughed. “You can say that again.”
She felt for her sister, because she’d been there. She knew about wanting something so badly that you started to dismiss all
the reasons you needed to let it go. “Being blinded by love is a real thing, you know.”
“I was blinded by something, all right.” She shook her head at her own ridiculousness. “Excuse me while I fix another mistake.”
Cora was watching Bianca meet up with Zander so they could “talk” when she spotted her own mistake on the far side of the
room. Since it seemed to be fix-it hour, she headed over to do a little repair work of her own.
“I guess I should say thank you for driving Bianca here. And for getting us in to see Savannah. She’s doing fine, by the way.”
Her voice was flat, almost annoyed as she delivered the obligated appreciation.
“I’m glad to hear she’s doing well. They wouldn’t actually give me any information.”
Cora crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You’ve done your good deed. Why are you still here?”
“Because no one should have to go through a moment like this by themselves.” His tone was gentle and caring, and yes, there
was probably compassion in his eyes. But it wasn’t enough. What he had done was inexcusable.
“And you assume you’re the person I’d want here with me?”
“Probably not. But I’m still not willing to let you go through it alone. I’ll sit over there, out of your way. Just know that
you have someone on your side. You’re not alone.”
She shrugged. “Fine. Whatever.”
He held up a bag. “And I thought you might want this.”
She stared at the bag like it was one of his sad playboy tricks to try to win her back. “What is that?”
“Clothes.” He held it out to her. “I thought if you were sticking around here for a while, you might want to change into something
more comfortable.”
“You brought me clothes?”
“Yes.” He looked at the bag. “Although to be completely honest, they’re my sister’s clothes. She picked them out. I’m not
entirely sure what she put in there, but I think you’re close enough to the same size. Since I had no idea about your shoe
size, I just put some of the slippers we have at the hotel in there. Not an ideal solution, but I figured they would be more
comfortable than what you had on.”
Cora took the bag from him and looked inside. There, on top of the folded clothes, was a note that said Our prayers are with you in loopy, feminine handwriting. Along with two hair ties.
“This does not mean you are forgiven.”
Jax shook his head. “Of course not. I get it.”
“But thank you for this, too.” She took out one of the hair ties and immediately pulled her hair into a ponytail.
“I’ll be over here.” Jax nodded toward the chairs on the far side of the room. “If you need anything else, just text me. Or,
if you already blocked my number, just tell the hospital staff, and they can pass it on. Or write it down and send it by paper
airplane. You know, whatever.”
Despite being so mad, she couldn’t help the hint of a chuckle.
Her dumb, traitorous heart.
“And for the record,” he said, looking into her eyes, “it may have started out as a bet, but somewhere along the way I fell
for you. Everything I said, everything from tonight—that was all real.”
If only that were enough.