Chapter 40
Everett
Istood outside the curtained off cubicle at the hospital while a nurse treated Piper’s wounds. She’d been given the all clear by the doctors. She had minor smoke inhalation and a lump on the back of her head where Corvo had hit her. No permanent damage and no concussion.
Alive and healthy.
Releasing a breath, I leaned back against the wall. Things could have gone very differently today.
I could have lost her.
“I don’t need any painkillers,” Piper said.
“You might change your mind later,” the nurse said curtly.
“I won’t.”
I shook my head and peered through the gap in the curtain. She’d lost her ruined coat and was currently wearing my flannel shirt. The one she claimed had saved her life. She was refusing to take it off even though it smelled like smoke.
“Ice pack.” The nurse pushed it to Piper’s swollen cheek.
Piper gave a long-suffering sigh. “When can I leave?”
“When I say.”
Alive.
I’d never forget Corvo telling me that he had her, that it was too late. Those moments had been filled with pure terror.
“Everett, you all right?”
I looked up to see Ro and Caden. I hadn’t even clocked them approaching. I straightened and nodded. “She’s alive.”
Ro’s expression filled with understanding. “It’s damn hard when they’re in danger, especially when they hold your heart.”
“I’m in love with her.”
His lips twitched. “I heard. We all heard.” He clapped a hand to my shoulder. “Take a few days off. Both of you. Rest and recover.”
“Thanks, Ro. My team—”
“Will survive a few days without you. And despite what Piper thinks, Langston Hotels will run perfectly okay without her for a few days.”
I snorted. “She’ll want to get back to work. Especially with the setback to the construction.”
“Luckily, I’m the boss and I’m ordering her to take a few days off.” He smiled. “Plus, I’m sure you can think of a few ways to distract her.”
“Corvo is in police custody,” Caden added. “With everything he did, he’s at a minimum facing arson and attempted murder charges. He won’t be seeing daylight any time soon.”
“Good.” I couldn’t give a single fuck about Hugo Corvo.
Behind the curtain, the bickering between Piper and the nurse intensified.
Ro looked like he was trying not to laugh. “We’ll catch up with you both later.”
I nudged the curtain aside. “Take the painkillers.”
Piper pouted, holding an ice pack to her cheek. “Everett—”
She was a disheveled mess, in my flannel with no shoes, her blonde hair tangled and her skin streaked with bruises, scrapes, and soot. I thought she looked beautiful.
“I’m perfectly healthy.” She lowered the ice pack. “What I need is a shower, a change of clothes, and then time to mourn the loss of my Prada coat and my favorite pair of Gucci heels.”
“I’ll get you new heels.”
She cocked her head. “They weren’t cheap.”
“I know. I’ll still get them for you.”
She smiled.
Yep, beautiful.
“Take the pills and I’ll sort out your discharge papers,” the nurse said.
“Fine.” Piper ungratefully took the pills.
I stepped in front of her and brushed my fingers over her swollen cheek. I wanted to punch Corvo all over again. I lowered my head and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheekbone. She let out a small sigh, her hands gripping my arms.
I cupped her jaw. “Tell me again.”
She didn’t need to ask what. “I’m falling in love with you, Everett Murray.”
I took my time kissing her lips. Then I said, “I’m coming with you.”
At the same time, she said, “I’m staying.”
We both frowned at each other.
“You have an important job, Piper. You love it and it takes you all around the world. I’m not holding you back. I’m coming with you. I’ll find some engineering work I can do remotely, or something. As long as I’m with you, I don’t care.”
She gripped the lapels of my shirt. “No. Everett, no. You love it here. Windward is in your blood. Your dad is here, you do wonderful work, and you love your woodworking. And Windward is…”
I raised a brow.
“I…well…”
“Piper?”
“Windward has grown on me.”
I stilled.
“I like the boutiques, the restaurants aren’t bad, especially now we’ve hired Harden.
And Tessa, Allie, Sierra, and Jazz are here, and I really like cocktail nights.
” She pulled in a quick breath. “I like having friends. I never expected that. And I like the Langston Windward and what we’re doing here.
It’s not too far to Chicago to visit Mom and Gram, plus I know they’ll love to visit here.
” Her lips twitched. “I won’t lie, I’m happy that Denver isn’t too far away.
” She fingered my flannel shirt. “But most of all, I love being with you. Here. I like what we have. I’ll still need to do some travel, but with Ro and Caden now based here, it’ll make doing my job here easier. ”
I kissed her. Hard, deep, pouring everything I felt into it.
She was breathless when I lifted my head. Her eyes were sparkling.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “You really would have left for me?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Warmth filled her face.
“We doing this?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“You mine?”
“Yes. I’ve never had anyone who was mine. Who looked after me like you do.”
“Now, you’ll always have that. You going to move in with me?”
“Yes. And soon, we’re going to get a dog. A golden retriever.” This time, she kissed me.
I curled an arm around her, pulling her closer. She let out a husky whimper.
“Oh, my eyes.”
I looked up to see Chance hovering by the curtain. He was in a hospital gown, still looked a little pale and a lot bruised. He was smiling, but I saw the worry on his face. He shot me a nervous glance before his gaze locked on his sister.
“Chance,” Piper said.
“I heard you’d been brought in. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Corvo tried to kill her,” I told him.
Her brother looked stricken.
Piper held out a hand to her brother. “I’m not dead, thankfully.”
“He’s been arrested,” I added.
Chance took his sister’s hand, and she held on.
“I promise I’m fine.” She looked at me. “Better than fine.”
And I planned to keep her that way. Always. For the rest of our lives.