Page 113 of Mensa's Match

Riley crossed her arms. “Haveyouseen how happy she is with him? Hell, before they got together, did you see the way each of them looked at the other when theythoughtnobody else was watching? Seriously. Everyone of us knew they were meant for each other. Give Whitney a chance to be happy with someone who isn’t using her for once.”

“Riley,” Mensa muttered.

She dropped her hands to her hips. “Oh, no. I’m not breaking the girl code right now, though I’m pretty close. I knew the two of you were meant to be, but Finn wouldn’t let me say anything. All that ‘it’s not your business’ stuff that he says.”

She’d dropped her voice an octave to imitate Finn, and Mensa would have laughed, except this wasn’t the time or place.

Wyatt kept quiet for a moment. “Didshetell you her last boyfriend was using her?”

Riley shot a coy grin at Wyatt. “That’s part of the girl-code I won’t break.”

“He wasn’t using her.”

Riley arched a brow. “He didn’t help her, either, and that’s shitty enough on its own.”

Finn came to Riley’s side and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Babe, let’s go get some coffee for everybody.”

Wyatt watched them walk away. “I’m surprised you have a woman who’s so vocal on your behalf.”

“She’s my cousin, and everything she said is true. It’d be nice if you can open your mind and give me a chance to prove myself.”

At five-fifteen, a nurse led Mensa into the ICU department. Nadia and Wyatt had already visited, and Mensa’s time was limited to forty-five minutes because visiting hours for the ICU ended at six. He couldn’t decide what alarmed him more: how pale her skin was or how frail she appeared.

“Is… this normal?” he croaked out.

The nurse tinkered with a monitor at Whitney’s bedside. “I’m sorry, is what normal?”

“Her being so pale. The doctor said she had a transfusion.”

With a patient smile, the nurse nodded. “Yes, sir. It’s normal, so don’t let it worry you. She’s on the mend, even if it doesn’t look that way to you.”

Mensa nodded. “This will sound crazy, but with this kind of injury… is there anything she won’t be able to lift?”

The nurse chuckled. “Well, I don’t see her doing any weight-lifting competitions in the next year, but if she does what the doctors tell her, I don’t really think so. Is there something specific you had in mind?”

“A baby? Really, more like a toddler or small child?”

A tender look stole over the nurse’s face. “Yeah. If her recovery goes well, she should be able to pick up your children in a few months. I’ll leave you alone. You don’t have much time before I have to kick you out.”

Mensa didn’t get a chance to correct her, but the image of their children flitted through his mind. Whitney holding a little boy or a little girl with dark, wavy hair, but Whitney’s striking blue eyes gave him something to hope for…something he knew he wanted the same way he knew he wanted to be part of the Riot.

He positioned the wheeled-stool close to the bed, perched his ass on it, and grabbed Whitney’s hand. “You gotta get better, Blume. I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you and get you pregnant – and I don’t care which order that happens in either.”

The bedside monitor maintained a steady rhythm of her heartbeat.

“Your brother really doesn’t fuckin’ like me. Gonna need you to help me out with that, babe,” he murmured.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He’d never been good at talking to himself, which surprised many people since he was an only child. Seemed everyone expected him to talk to himself all the time. He might be good with his own company, but he didn’t like talking without any response from the person he was talking to.

“Love you so much, Whit. They’re gonna kick me out of here soon, otherwise I wouldn’t leave your side… no matter how much it would bug your twin.”

He swallowed down a chuckle and muttered, “Then again, bugging Wyatt would only make it that much better.”

The rhythmic beeping shifted ever so slightly.

A small smile curled his lips. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “Sounds like I get to meet your parents tomorrow. I really hope you’re awake when that happens, baby.”

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