Reckless Kisses (The Sterling Brothers #5)

Chapter Chapter One

Knox

“Why don’t you discharge me this evening? I feel perfectly fine.” I gave the blonde doctor one of my charming smiles. Usually, it got me exactly what I wanted, but from the way she raised her brow, it clearly wasn’t going to work on her.

I was feeling dizzy and out of sorts but was still hoping I could get the hell out of here soon.

“Mr. Sterling, you’ve been in an automobile accident. As I told you, we’re still waiting on some test results. You’re my patient. I decide when you go home, and it won’t be tonight.”

I dropped my head back on the pillow as a wave of nausea hit. The hospital bed wasn’t very comfortable, and I basically felt like shit.

“All right. It was worth a try. But doesn’t the fact that I’m exceedingly charming tell you that I feel fine?” I grinned.

She narrowed her eyes. “We have to rule out internal bleeding and a serious concussion. Those can show up hours after an accident.”

I sighed. “Okay, fine. How long are visiting hours?” My family was blowing up my phone, asking when they could come by.

“Until 10:00 p.m.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“If there’s anything else you need, press the red button.”

After she left, I grabbed my phone that was lying on the tray table, the movement almost making me puke.

After settling myself, I looked at the screen, and the image blurred in front of my eyes.

I had to blink several times to clear my vision.

The hot doctor was clearly right—it was safer to stay here.

The accident hadn’t even been that serious.

This morning, my brothers and I helped our dad move into Mom’s house.

When I left, I didn’t pay enough attention to a flashing red signal.

I’d stopped, then drove through, and someone slammed right into me.

The airbag blew up instantly, hitting my face and pushing me back in my seat.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t yet put my seat belt on, as I was too busy adjusting the air-conditioning on the car screen.

Maybe I did black out a bit, because the next thing I knew, I was being loaded into an ambulance. They brought me to the nearest hospital, and I’d been here for about two hours. As soon as my vision was good enough to type, I texted my brother Finn.

Knox: Got a green light for visits until 10 PM.

I’d intended to message my parents and my other brothers as well, but a headache was beginning, and I knew Finn would tell everyone else. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what the hell actually happened, but it was all a blur.

Tomorrow morning, they’d better discharge me early. I ran my own company, so I could do as I pleased, but I liked to start the week hitting the ground running.

On Monday mornings, I also had a weekly brainstorming session with my brothers.

We were the owners and board members of Sterling Investments.

My oldest brother, Chase, set it up when I was still in college.

I joined him after graduating and coded most of the software for our online platforms. But now that Sterling Investments had grown by leaps and bounds, we’d added others to the board, as well as a large management team.

Chase and Duncan were co-CEOs and were still involved in day-to-day operations, but the rest of us had a consulting role for the most part.

“I think this is where he is.” Mom’s voice resounded from the corridor.

That was fast, I thought, glad to see them as they stepped inside my private room. Mom immediately came to my side of the bed.

“Were you camping out in front of the hospital?” I asked them.

“Obviously,” Dad replied. “As soon as we found out, we all rushed inside.”

“Which drove everyone insane,” Chase replied. “I tried everything in my power to get them to tell me what was going on, but no one relented.”

“They’re all very resistant to the Sterling charm,” I agreed, trying not to wince. Damn, my head was banging like a drum.

“How are you feeling?” Mom asked.

“Fine,” I fibbed.

She looked at me intently. I didn’t look fine. I knew that much. The left side of my face had taken the full brunt of the airbag. I was sure I’d have a black eye tomorrow if I didn’t already.

“What happened?” Finn asked.

My brother and I looked a lot alike. Dad often joked that we should have been twins.

We were both big, even taller than our four older brothers, though we all had brown hair in various shades.

Finn was usually like me in personality too.

Nothing could stress him out. But right now, he looked unnerved.

“No one gave us any details except that you’re stable,” he went on.

I quickly explained to them what happened—as much as I remembered, anyway—and everyone seemed to relax at once. Dad told me the guy who hit me left without a scratch, so I guess I took the brunt of it all. Regardless, my insurance would cover any liability.

My family was so big that the small room was uncomfortably full. Especially now that all of my brothers, except for Finn, had a significant other. At least Jeremy—Duncan’s son—was at a friend’s house tonight. I wouldn’t want to worry him.

“So, they should be discharging you soon, right?” Duncan asked.

I was surprised he hadn’t managed to boss anyone around to find out if that was the case or not.

Out of all of us, he was the most serious, always logical, and trying to do things the right way. To his credit, he usually had fantastic arguments—but apparently none of those worked on the hospital staff.

“No,” I said carefully. I wished they’d all just relax. I didn’t want them to worry. “We’re still waiting on some test results.”

Mom’s expression turned stony. “What kind of tests?”

“An MRI, or maybe a CT. Honestly, it’s all a blur. Not really sure what went on when I arrived.”

“You were unconscious?” Finn asked incredulously. His voice was tense.

“I was a bit out of sorts... I wasn’t wearing a seat belt,” I confessed. I’d purposefully kept this detail from them before because it was a stupid-ass move, and I knew it.

“For fuck’s sake, Knox. How many times do I have to tell you it’s against the law?” Duncan said.

“I’ll be more careful from now on.” Usually, I would tease him for being such a stickler for the rules, but he was right. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want to put it on, I was just too late.

“Fuck yes, you should be,” Duncan agreed.

I cleared my throat. “The airbag shoved my head and chest into the back of the seat, and they wanted to make sure all was good. I think they’re overreacting.”

Duncan shook his head. “I’ll just text Jeremy that you’re fine.”

“Why did you even tell him?” I asked.

Duncan cocked a brow.

Riley laughed, kissing my brother’s cheek. “Easy there. I told you Knox wouldn’t want Jeremy to know.”

“My son, my decision,” he said, looking straight at me.

“All right, I don’t think this visit is productive,” I said, glancing around the room as I schooled my features.

Hannah, Chase’s wife, hadn’t said anything. Griffin and Phoebe were suspiciously quiet too. Wyatt usually gave me a piece of his mind no matter what but was oddly silent. Probably because Kinley was keeping an eye on him.

“Cat swallowed your tongue, bro?” I asked Wyatt.

“No. I’m just happy this wasn’t more serious.”

For some reason, I felt five years old again.

Wyatt was two years older than me. I’d always been able to hide my intentions and fool everyone in the family—except him. As a kid, I’d been convinced he could read my thoughts. Now I had that exact same impression.

There was a knock on the open door. Glancing over, I fully expected the doctor to come in and tell me they needed to do more tests, but to my surprise, Amy came in. She and I had been friends since our college days and had kept in touch over the years.

“Hey,” she said in an uncharacteristically shy voice.

“Hi, Amy! How did you even know I was here?” I looked at my family, cocking a brow. Amy lived in the same neighborhood as Mom. She’d dropped by Mom and Dad’s this morning, too, but she’d left before I did.

“Just so I know, does everyone know about the accident?” I asked no one in particular as I glanced around the room.

“Don’t be silly, darling,” Mom said. “Amy texted to ask me if your dad or I needed anything else, so I told her.”

“Know what?” Dad said. “We’ve been here long enough. Let’s all go. Knox needs his rest, and we can see him again in the morning.”

Mom nodded. “Sure.” Then she looked at me. “You need to get some sleep, dear. Let your body heal.”

“Oh no, don’t leave on my account,” Amy said. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t want to bother you all. I just figured...” She swallowed hard, running her hand through her hair.

She did that when she wasn’t sure what to say. I took her in as she stood in the cramped room. Amy had always been attractive, but she’d become sexier over the years. Her blonde hair was even longer than usual, and it suited her.

“It’s not because you’re here, Amy,” Dad assured her. “But it’s not good for Knox to have so many visitors at once, and we’ve been here long enough. It’s your turn now.” He looked at me. “Son, will you let us know if we can help with anything?”

I nodded once, not wanting to move my head too much. “Sure, Dad. Don’t worry, I’ll convince the doctor to let me go home tonight.”

“Ha ha. Fat chance,” Finn said. “That woman is sexy as hell and looks like the friendliest person on the planet, but...” His smile dropped. “She’s not. I tried to persuade her to let us in earlier, and she refused.”

I chuckled. “Good to know she’s not only resisting my charm but yours too. I was starting to think the accident had affected my flirting skills.”

“Well, not to be a downer, Knox, but that shiner you’re sporting is gonna get worse in time,” Finn said with a wince.

“Enough of this,” Dad said. “Let’s all head out.”

It was bizarre to see my dad as the head of the family again. He and Mom had divorced when we were kids, but now they’d gotten back together—not married, but living in the same house. Some days, I still couldn’t wrap my head around that. Judging by Finn’s reluctant expression, neither could he.

Amy stood by as they all left the room. As soon as we were alone, she asked, “They’re not leaving on my account, are they? Maybe I should go too.”

“Have you met the Sterlings before?” I joked. “They don’t do anything on anyone else’s behalf.” She laughed, and I said, “Stay awhile. I’m waiting to hear some test results, so you’ll help make the time go by.”

She rushed to the side of my bed, sitting down on it. “Okay, then. How are you feeling?”

I didn’t want to lie to her. Amy and I had been very close friends in college, but lately, we hadn’t seen each other much. It had been pure happenstance that I’d run into her this morning at my parents’.

“I’m okay, but not perfect. My vision’s swimming when I read. And if I move too much, I feel a little dizzy.”

“That sucks.” Her phone beeped just then. She glanced at it quickly before putting it in her bag.

“Need to go?”

“No, no. That was just my date.”

Fuck! I’d forgotten about her date. This morning, I’d asked her to spend the afternoon together, and she said she couldn’t make it because she had plans. They must’ve been out when she heard about my accident and rushed here.

“How did that go?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Boring as hell. Honestly, I was looking for an excuse to leave early, and when I found out about the accident after I’d texted your mom, I seized the chance and left.

” She then told me where they’d gone, and I could see why she wanted to get away.

That bar used to be popular, but now it’s a dump.

“Good to know my being in a hospital is an acceptable excuse to ditch your date.” I winked at her, and she blushed. Actually blushed!

“It sounds terrible when you put it like that.”

I felt victorious! Which surprised me. What the hell? Amy and I had known each other for about eleven years, and we’d always been friends. Just friends. I’d wanted to cross the line more than once, but I’d always kept my distance because Amy wasn’t like me. She wanted different things in life.

So why was I happy that she’d abandoned her date?

“I guess I should have taken you up on your offer to spend the afternoon together. That way you wouldn’t have gotten into an accident.”

“And you wouldn’t have had a bad date.”

“That’s debatable,” she teased. “Who said you’d be good company?”

“I’m always good company,” I replied.

She threw her head back, laughing. I’d always liked the sound of her laughter.

“Oh, you’re doing fine, Knox Sterling. I’m sure those tests will—”

Just then, the doctor walked in. “Pardon me, but I’ve got some of your test results back.”

“Come on in. Give it to me straight, Doc. If you let me out of the hospital tonight, I’ll wait for your shift to end and buy you a drink. Or dinner. Whatever you prefer.” I grinned.

She cocked a brow. “Neither.”

Yeah, my flirting skills were definitely not up to par.

“I’m just here to update you.” She looked pointedly at Amy.

“Amy can hear anything you have to say,” I said.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll leave the two of you. I need to use the bathroom anyway.” Amy rushed out of the room.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” I stated once she was gone.

The doctor nodded. “All right. So, it looks like you have a concussion. Nothing too serious, but it seals my decision to keep you here overnight. My colleague, Dr. Wayland, will be here for the night shift. I’ll inform him of everything so he’s up-to-date.”

“A concussion. What does that mean?” I asked.

“You should take it easy for a few days.”

“Define ‘take it easy.’”

“Pause any physical workouts. If possible, pause anything that causes a headache. Too much reading, computer work, that sort of thing.”

I groaned. “I tried to send a few messages earlier. My vision blurred.”

“Your body will tell you when you’re pushing it. Just listen to it.”

I stared at her. “I was pushing it by sending text messages? I don’t think so.”

“Mr. Sterling, I need you to take this seriously. I’m your doctor, not the other way around.” Her tone brooked no argument.

“You’re right. Fire away, then. I’m listening to all of your instructions.”

And damn, did she have a list of them!