Page 83 of Wait For It

I jerked again when Tsega loudly cleared her throat, but she was looking at something on her phone and didn’t seem to notice.

Georgia cut her eyes back over to me and patted my knee. “You know, I don’t believe I’ve told you how wonderful it is to finally hear your voice. Isn’t it nice, Tsega?”

“So nice.” Tsega agreed with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. As she’d been subjected to the sounds of my nonsensical whimpers echoing off the shower tiles, I couldn’t say I blamed her.

An odd look passed between the two of them—one that made me think they were up to something. And I had a feeling that something involved me.

Georgia’s voice moved up in pitch. “I haven’t seen your young man around lately. Why is that, Ariana?”

My stomach tightened at the mention of Killian, but as my last cry had only been an hour ago, I was granted a brief reprieve. “Did you really steal Margaret’s boyfriend?” I asked, sounding more defensive than I’d intended.

She let out a loud peal of laughter. “Heavens, Ariana. I imagined that you, of all people, would know you can’t believe everything you hear. I haven’t looked at another man since I lost Will.”

The needlepoint fell forgotten to my lap. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Georgia waved her hands as if shooing off my apology. “None of that. I’m actually glad you asked because it’s why I invited you for a visit.” She shared another strange look with Tsega, but neither one of them was smiling anymore.

“Will and I were so young, Ariana, and we fell in love quickly. My mother warned me it wouldn’t last, but I knew better—”

I released the breath I’d been holding. “But how did you know?”

It was the very thing I kept coming back to. Despite all the books I’d read and a kiss that would be forever ingrained in my memory, it felt like there was something I was missing.

How could a person willingly hand their heart over to someone else without a guarantee that it wouldn’t get broken?

Georgia considered my question. “Well, I can’t pinpoint a specific instance where I knew, but it was how he made me feel. When I was with him, I came alive. Most people considered me shy back then, but with Will in the room, it was like flipping a switch. I’d ramble about any and everything.”

“What about your fiancé?” Tsega crossed her arms over her chest. “Does he make you feel like that?”

It was apparent the two of them were setting me up to reveal something, but I didn’t question it. Instead, I forced myself to think of Brad, trying to determine if he’d ever made me feel alive. I’d been left feeling disgusted plenty of times, but never once had I become a more vibrant version of myself in his presence.

Only with Killian.

It had only ever been with Killian.

Georgia moved her wrinkled hand up to cover mine. “You seem troubled. I hope I haven’t upset you.”

I shook my head. “It’s just that I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone who makes me feel what you’re describing.”

Another lie.

I’d told so many now that it was becoming a struggle to keep them all straight.

“You know, neither had I until he came along. I’d met men who were nice enough, but they didn’t make me feel here.”

She released my hand, placing her palm over my chest. “You know that feeling when your heart is pumping violently against your ribs, reminding you that you’re alive? That’s how it was with Will. I hadn’t gone to college or anything like that. But just being around him filled me with a sense of purpose. Like maybe I’d been made to be his.”

I closed my eyes, swallowing against the sudden pang of loss. But, if I was honest with myself, Killian had never truly been mine. Maybe the signs were nothing more than the fantasies of an overactive imagination.

But for a brief moment in time, I’d been given a glimpse of what it was like to feel protected and safe. It might have been a mere fraction of what Georgia had with Will, but I was grateful for the experience. I couldn’t be selfish enough to demand anything more.

“Ariana,” Tsega said softly. “You don’t love him—”

They were going to ruin everything.

I pushed Georgia’s hand away and stood, glad I’d insisted on leaving the wheelchair back in my room. “Did Tiffani tell you this? Is that what I am to you—some form of gossip at the nurse’s station? Did you ever stop to consider that I might have feelings of my own—”

“Oh, for the love of Pete, sit down, Ariana!” Georgia snapped, pointing at the empty chair. “Not one person in this room is a gossip, but we are worried about you.”

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