Page 47 of Dreaming of You

"I'm a little thirsty."

She picked up the glass with the straw that had been set next to the bed at some point. She had a feeling she'd missed a lot of what had been going on during the night.

After her grandmother took a few sips, she set the cup back down on the table. "Better?"

"Yes. Your grandpa said you insisted on spending the night here."

"Neither of us wanted you to be alone when you woke up. Grandpa wasn't sure how much you would remember."

"It is fuzzy," she said. "But I know it wasn't your grandfather's fault."

"That's what I understand."

"He said your boyfriend drove him home last night. Did I hear that right? I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

"Barrett is not my boyfriend, and I told Grandpa that. He just didn't want to hear me."

A gleam of amusement appeared in her grandmother's eyes. "That's what he said you said, but he didn't believe you."

"Well, he should have. Barrett is just a friend—barely that." She paused as a nurse entered the room, along with a different doctor than the one she'd spoken to the night before. They asked her to step outside for a few moments, so she told her grandmother she'd be back soon.

Once in the hallway, she checked her phone for the time. It was almost seven thirty. She would have liked to go home and catch a nap before the day started, but her meeting with the Hunts had been changed from Friday to today at ten o'clock, and she really didn't want to reschedule.

Thankfully, her grandmother seemed to be fine, and she would be able to leave without worrying something major was going to go wrong while she was at work. But she'd feel better once the doctor finished his exam.

She ran through her emails for a few moments, noting one from Jana, her disgruntled bride from the day before. It seemed like a lifetime since all that had happened. Apparently, Jana had gone straight home, spoken to her mother and decided to fire her.

She let out a sigh that was mixed with both disappointment and relief. While she would hate to lose the deposit, Jana Davis had been a very difficult bride so far, and probably in the long run, this was the best thing that could happen. Jana didn't know what she wanted, and she was going to drive everyone crazy trying to figure it out. It irked her that Jana's decision had been spurred on by Barrett's fighting clients but given how much he'd gone out of his way to make that up to her, she could hardly blame him for it.

In fact, the last thing she was feeling right now for Barrett was anger.

She wasn't mad at him at all, not even with this email reminder.

She was missing him, wishing he was here, wishing she could hear his husky voice, see his quirky smile that could be mocking but could also be warm and genuine, and those green eyes of his—so mysterious, so sexy, so penetrating. Just thinking about him sent a shiver down her spine.

She needed to get a grip. Barrett had been a good friend last night. Even before that, he'd been a good dinner companion. She'd been surprised at how easy it was to talk to him, how much more they had in common than she'd first thought.

And he'd opened up to her. He'd told her about Vanessa, about his family, and she doubted that had been easy for him. She didn't think he was a man who liked to fail, and in his eyes, his marriage had been a huge failure. It was why he was so adamant about not ever doing that again. She wanted to believe his opinions would change with time and the right woman, but was that just a foolish daydream? At the end of the day, they were still on opposing ends when it came to love, weddings, and marriage, and she couldn't see that changing any time soon. Getting further involved with Barrett was not a smart idea. She already liked him too much. She needed to get things back on a business-level footing.

As the doctor and nurse exited her grandmother's room, she straightened. "How is she?"

"Doing very well," the doctor replied. "We'd like to keep her another day, possibly two, for recovery and observation, but all her vital signs are good. She should be able to go home by Sunday."

"I'm so relieved."

"She's a strong woman. We'll run more tests later today, but otherwise, I'd expect she'll make a full recovery."

"Thank you."

As the doctor moved down the hall, she saw her grandfather step off the elevator, followed by someone she had not expected to see—Barrett.

He was wearing the same clothes he'd been in the day before, and her stomach twisted with all kinds of mixed emotions.

Her grandfather rushed toward her. "Bess?"

"She's doing well. The doctor just examined her and thinks she can come home by Sunday."

"Thank goodness," he murmured, then pushed his way into the room.

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