34. Leo
Chapter thirty-four
Leo
Iblinked against the bright light, my head pounding as I came to.
“Follow my finger,” a voice said somewhere above me.
I was in the bridal suite with what looked like a paramedic hovering her finger inches from my face.
I groaned. “What…happened?”
“Derrick rocked your shit,” Chelsea said, way too playful for this situation.
I looked over at Cherise just in time to see her shoot Chelsea a look that could’ve melted steel.
Chelsea lifted both hands. “What? It’s true. He hit him with that one-hitter quitter.”
My memory came flooding back.
I pushed up on my elbows, ignoring the sharp protest in my head. “Where’s Derrick?”
“He’s gone,” Cherise said quickly. “Security escorted him out.”
Relief settled over me.
“Hey,” Cherise said quietly, crouching beside me as the paramedic packed her things and headed out. “Easy. You don’t need to move.”
I let myself fall back against the couch, exhaling. My jaw throbbed. My head felt like it had been split in two.
“How did I get here?”
“Miles and Milo carried you,” she said. “You went down hard.”
“Sounds about right.”
She gave me a small smile, then reached for an ice pack, pressing it gently against my temple.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
I looked at her. “For what?”
“For…that.” She gestured to the door. “No one has ever stood up for me like that.”
Chelsea made a loud, dramatic clearing of her throat.
Cherise rolled her eyes. “No man has ever stood up for me like that.”
“Damn right,” Chelsea agreed. “Because I definitely threw hands for you growing up.”
Cherise shot her another look.
Chelsea backed toward the door. “Alright, I’m gone.”
The door clicked shut behind her.
Silence filled the room.
Cherise adjusted the ice pack against my head, her fingers brushing my skin. “You need to stay here until you’re feeling better. Miles will check on you. When you’re ready, he’ll take you back to the villa.”
She kissed my forehead. Then she stood, smoothed her dress, and headed for the door.
I frowned. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the wedding. I made this mess; I need to clean it up.”
I slowly sat up. “Give me a second. I’m coming with you.”
“No. You're not, Leo.”
The words hurt more than Derrick’s punch.
“I can be there.” I pleaded. “We’re in this together.”
She shook her head. “Not anymore.”
Another punch to the gut.
“This was supposed to be one week,” she continued, her voice unsteady. “A favor. That’s it. I never meant for it to turn into…” She trailed off, then forced a breath. “I need to fix this. Alone.”
I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the way the room tilted. “So that’s it. It was just a week fling. Now you're already pulling away from me?”
She didn’t answer right away.
That told me everything.
“It has to be this way, Leo, and you know it. It’s what we agreed on, and hell, we already saw a piece of what us being together causes.
I refuse to live my life peeking over my shoulder, wondering if Derrick is going to pop up and clock you again, and I refuse to be the wedge that keeps you and Derrick apart. ”
“Derrick and I have been apart long before this trip ever happened.”
“Yeah? And something in my heart makes me feel like I am to blame for that, too.”
Now I was the quiet one.
“You need to get some rest,” she said, softer this time. “Please.”
She turned before I could say anything else and walked out.
I stared at the door, chest heavy, head throbbing for more reasons than one.
***
I lay there staring up at the ceiling.
Trying to process how everything went to hell in under ten minutes.
Because seriously? Who would have thought that Derrick would come busting up to the wedding uninvited?
Does this mean he wants her back?
Fuck.
I couldn’t go through that again.
I heard him. Heard him say he wanted to make things right. That he missed her.
Would she go for it?
After this week?
After us?
The thought alone made my stomach lurch.
A knock sounded at the door, pulling me out of my inner spiral.
“Yeah?”
The door cracked open, and Miles poked his head in.
“Uh… Leo, right?”
“In the flesh.”
He nodded once. “I’ve been assigned the very important job of making sure you don’t die. Mind if I come in?”
I chuckled. “Be my guest.”
He stepped in, shut the door behind him, and walked over, dragging a chair closer before sitting down.
“Any dizziness?” he asked, already in doctor mode.
“Just have whiplash from my entire life falling apart. Other than that, I’m good.”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “Headache?”
“Yeah.”
“Blurred vision?”
“No.”
“Nausea?”
“Only when I think about my brother.”
“Seems like you still have your sense of humor, that’s good,” he said, reaching over and gently tilting my chin to the side. “Pupils look even. You didn’t get knocked out for long?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good. You’re lucky. That could’ve been way worse.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Feels pretty bad, though.”
He sat back, studying me for a second.
“So,” he said casually, “you’re a twin?”
“Unfortunately.”
“And you flew across the country pretending to be your brother to help Cherise out.”
“Something like that.”
“She doesn’t know you’re in love with her, does she?”
My head snapped toward him.
“Wait—what?”
He shrugged. “It’s obvious, man. Anyone with eyes can see it.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, well…she can’t.”
“Or, maybe you haven’t told her?”
I ran a hand over my face. “It’s complicated.”
Miles leaned back in his chair, smirking.
“Complicated?” he repeated. “Yeah… I know a thing or two about complicated.”
I glanced at him. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” He crossed his arms. “Have you heard the story of how Tessa and I got together?”
“No.”
He nodded with a smile. “Well, I was told my chances of having a child on my own were slim to none. So, I made the courageous—or dumb, take your pick— decision to hire an anonymous surrogate and raise the baby as a single father.”
My brows lifted. “Um, I choose dumb.”
He laughs. “Wait, it gets better,” he said. “It happened around the same time that I met Tessa. New to town. Single mom of three. Drop dead gorgeous. Her youngest was my patient.”
I blinked. “Alright…”
“I overheard her talking about needing a place to stay,” he continued. “So, being the stand-up guy that I am, I offered her and her three kids to stay with me temporarily.”
My eyes widened. “You were terrified, weren’t you?”
He laughed. “Scared shitless. Three kids?”
“Yeah, that’s a lot to take in.”
“Tell me about it. My house turned into a full-fledged circus. Oddly… I learned to love the chaos. But nothing,” he said, leaning forward, “and I mean nothing, prepared me for finding out…” he paused, meanwhile, I was on the edge of my seat, “that Tessa…was my anonymous surrogate.”
My jaw dropped. “No way!”
“Oh, way.”
“Did she know?”
He shook his head. “No, and my dumb ass was too scared to tell her. I was already falling for her at that point, and I didn’t want that to scare her away.”
“Damn. So, what happened?” I asked, thoroughly invested in this story now.
“I kept waiting for the perfect moment to tell her that never came,” he said. “And I almost lost all of them because of it.”
Silence settled between us for a second.
“Wow,” I muttered. “Yeah… you win. That’s one hell of a story.”
He smiled, just a little. Then stood, handing me the ice pack.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” he said. “But one word of advice…don’t wait. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”
I nodded.
“Because if you do,” he added, “you might not get another shot.”
He gave my shoulder a firm pat.
Then headed for the door.
He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Leo?”
“Yeah?”
“Complicated doesn’t get easier by ignoring it.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
I lay back on the couch.
Staring at the ceiling.
Thinking about her.