Page 63 of Battle with a Billionaire

The man strode from the room, leaving the woman behind. Julia glanced at her, confusion reigning in her mind.

“It’s okay, Julia. I’m sure it’s just temporary. I’ll bet Doctor Whatever-his-name-is will be able to fix this.”

Julia tried to make sense of it and to search the far corners of her mind for any trace of this woman in her memory, but she found none. It alarmed her, and her heart monitor agreed.

The speaker in the hall crackled to life. “Paging Dr. Carter, paging Dr. Kyle Carter.”

She couldn’t remember the accident, however, the doctor said that was normal. She hadn’t realized at the time that she couldn’t remember anything at all. How had she forgotten she had gotten married?

Grant returned a moment later, his features still registering dismay. She shrank further down in the bed, feeling awkward with a man who knew her but she couldn’t remember.

“Did you find him?” Sierra asked.

“Yes, he’s coming right in.” He rubbed her shoulder, and she stared at his hand as though it was a wild animal. “It’s okay, Julia. We’ll get this figured out.”

Relief coursed through her as the dark-haired doctor rushed back into the room with his tablet in hand. Maybe now she’d get answers. She half-expected him to throw the other two out and tell her it was a joke.

“Okay, Julia, I hear you’re having a little trouble remembering things.”

“Apparently,” she answered.

“Okay, let’s take a look at your test results, first.” He tapped on the tablet before he paused, studying something. “Looks great. Do you still have a headache?”

“It’s dull, but still there.”

“Okay.” He pushed past Sierra and smiled down at her. “Let’s talk about this memory issue. Do you remember that your name is Julia?”

She shrugged. Did she or did she just believe them when they called her that? “I guess. Everyone’s been calling me that. It feels right, I guess.”

“Okay, how about your last name? Do you remember that?”

She chewed her lower lip as she tried to recall it. “Stanton.”

The doctor flicked his gaze to the man next to her. “That was her maiden name.”

“Okay, so that’s not terrible. You remember some things. But…you don’t remember this guy.” He poked a finger at Grant.

She stared at him again. “No.” Her voice broke as she choked out the word.

“Okay, there’s no reason to get upset. This is not uncommon. I’m just going to step outside with your family for a second, okay? You just try to relax.”

She nodded, her features pinching.

“Relax, don’t try to force anything with your memory, okay?” The doctor ushered the other two out of the room.

Alone, Julia wrapped her arms around her midriff. She tried to relax, but she worried about her memory.

Within a few minutes, the doctor shuffled back into the room. Grant and Sierra remained at the foot of her bed.

“Okay, Julia, I want you to try one last time,” Dr. Gray said. “Just…let your mind relax and let me know if there’s even a vague hint of recognition for your family. It doesn’t have to be a solid memory. Take your time.”

Julia swallowed hard as she stared at them both, hoping for some flicker of remembrance. She tried to force her heart rate to slow, and her brain to process their faces. Maybe it was simply panic and overwhelm that was blocking her.

She narrowed her eyes, pinching her eyebrows together. After a second, she flicked her gaze to the side as she wondered how she’d tell them she had no recollection of them at all when she caught sight of another man leaning against the door jamb.

Her eyebrows knit tighter as her lips parted. Images floated through her mind, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “You.”

All eyes turned to the doctor in her doorway.

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