Page 149 of Nothing Like the Movies

With tears and whining.

So I had no choice but to wait.

“Once he’s stabilized and the doctor has seen him,thenI can call the nurse and see if someone can take you back.” The lady looked at me like I was the most annoying person on the planet. “For now, just take a seat.”

“I can’t sit,” I said to myself, stepping away from the desk.

There was a waiting room full of chairs, but I couldn’t just plop down in between strangers and sit still like everything was fine.Nothing is fine.I looked around, searching for a place to pace without driving the other waitees nuts, but then I heard, “Liz?”

I turned around, and Coach Ross was walking toward me.

I didn’t know the guy, and we’d never spoken, so it was a little jarring hearing him say my name. He had a reputation for being… well,hot, but I saw nothing but the crease between his eyebrows and the serious expression on his face.

“How is he?” I asked, running to meet him. “Is he okay?”

He looked past me, at the other people in the waiting room, before saying, “Why don’t you come back with me?”

My stomach clenched when he said that, because he said it like he didn’t want to have to tell me bad news in front of strangers. He put his hand on my lower back and led me through the locked doors—which the desk lady unlocked forhimwith a smile—and I wanted to scream.

As soon as we cleared the doors, he gestured toward a tiny waiting room. “Lilith called and told me you were on the way, so I thought you might prefer waiting back here.”

“We can’t go see him?” I asked, craning my neck to see down the hallway of exam rooms, not wanting to go into some empty little room where Weswasn’t.

“They gave him some pain meds, so he’s resting while they wait on the blood-work results.”

“Bloodwork?” I pushed back my hair. “Why would they need to do blood work?”

He smiled at me, like he thought I was funny, and said, “Jesus, will you relax? He’s going to be fine.”

“He is?” I stared at him and couldn’t tell if he was messing with me or not. “Really?”

“He’s got some bruised ribs and doesn’t particularly enjoy taking deep breaths right now, but he’s okay,” Ross said, smirking like he’d been amused by Wes’s discomfort. “The blood work is just to make sure his heart is functioning properly, but everything looks good on the X-rays and CT scan. They’re just going to keep him overnight for observation.”

“Oh, thank God,” I said, feeling so relieved I was actually lightheaded. I blinked fast, not wanting to bawl anymore, and needed to sit even though there was no way in hell I was going to sit. “I have to see him. I promise not to wake him up or anything, but I really cannot wai—”

“Room eight,” he interrupted, tilting his head and looking at me like I was downright pathetic. “At the end of the hall.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

“The truth is I gave my heart away a long time ago, my whole heart, and I never really got it back.”

—Sweet Home Alabama

Wes

I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, trying my damnedest to function without breathing, because every time I took a breath, it felt like I was being kicked in the chest. The nurse gave me something for the pain before leaving to get my transfer paperwork going, but so far it wasn’t doing a thing.

And I needed to use the facilities.

Now, I knew if I hit the call button for help as per my nurse’s instructions, not only would that lady be holding my hand for the hallway stroll, but she’d also be joining me in the men’s room for the entire urinal visit. Yes, it was her job, but I just wasn’t in the mood for that kind ofup-close-and-personal.

So I gritted my teeth and sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

I literally saw stars as the pain in my chest burned, and I put my hand on the spot in an attempt to absorb the pressure when I kept going, forcing my body into a standing position.

“Oh, holyshit,” I bit out, leaning down and puttingbothhands over the spot as pain stabbed at me like a hot knife. I was still shocked the hit hadn’t shattered each and every one of my ribs, because it felt like that ball had been shot out of a cannon.

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