Page 121 of Love Me Reckless

“You don’t have to come into the room with me,” she says as I pull into the parking lot. Her hand has tightened in my grip. “Grayson will be there too.”

“Do you want me there?”

“Yes.” She chews on her bottom lip. “But when we get to her room, I think I’ll go in alone first.”

“You got it.”

Opening her door, her pretty face framed inside the cab is like opening a present, and when she slips her delicate hand into mine, her warmth spreads through me like a shock wave. It’s impossible not to pull her into my arms and hold her close. She hugs me back and I try to savor this feeling—that this is the beginning of something good.

These past two days have been the best of my life. How many more of them do we have?

I think about that shooting star burning through the atmosphere, the gold flash brightest in the instant before it snuffs out.

Kirilee releases a soft sigh like she’s happy, then smiles up at me, her cheeks flushing pink in the cold.

Inside the spacious hospital entryway, we stop for guest passes then take the elevator to the third floor. I don’t let go of Kirilee’s hand, but it’s for my sake as much as hers.

I’ve only been to a hospital once, and I’ve avoided them ever since. The lights are too bright, and the smell… like bleach and death. Add in nosy doctors and nurses who boss everyone around and it’s no wonder I feel like I’m walking into a trap.

We pass the nurse’s station, where two men in scrubs are hunched over a computer screen. They give our badges a quick glance before resuming their conversation.

At the room, Kirilee pulls me into a tight hug.

“I’ll be right outside,” I say, drawing her rich cocoa scent deep into my senses. I don’t like being more than two feet away from her, especially in this unfriendly place, but I tell myself she’ll be safe with her mom and brother.

Kirilee slips from my embrace and disappears into the room. I glance through the window, spotting Grayson, looking casual in apair of jeans and a thick wool sweater, rise to greet her. As he hugs Kirilee, his bloodshot eyes lock with mine. His haggard face reveals what’s likely been a sleepless night. It’s yet another reminder of the turbulence all around us, that the little cocoon Kirilee and I created at the vacation rental is temporary.

Swallowing my rising discomfort, I settle with my back against the wall.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a text from Zach with a link to a news article.

FINN RIVER RANCH INVESTORS RETRACT SUPPORT

Shit.

I skim the Boise Statesman story. There’s no mention of Kirilee and the wedding she ditched, which brings up several questions in my mind. How did they keep that tidbit out of the news? And why? Is it to protect Kirilee? The word is definitely out that her partnership to Birch is in jeopardy—but do they believe she’s coming back? One of the investors, a venture capitalist from Chicago, has apparently withdrawn a twenty-million-dollar pledge which would have been used to support the green energy infrastructure Birch planned to build.

While I don’t want Kirilee bearing the weight of her family’s business collapse, the danger is real. There has to be a way to address whatever got the investors so nervous. One that isn’t tied to a doomed wedding.

“You have some nerve.”

Douche date strides down the hall, his fancy shoes making snappy little taps on the linoleum.

I slip my phone into my back pocket. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to visit my mother-in-law. And my fiancée.”

I push off the wall and step in front of the door. “You’ve been ex-communicated.”

“By you?” He arches an eyebrow, like we’re playing some cute game of wits and he’s just scored a point.

“By her.”

His gaze flicks past me to the room, then back to my face. “She’ll come to her senses.”

“She already did. News flash. You’re on the outside now.”

“Not for long. Now step aside.”

---