Page 91 of Heart of Stone
I didn’t know what her ex was facing—I truly didn’t care—but after learning what happened to her, I wasn’t sure there wasanything he could endure that would be severe enough to make up for all that he’d put her through.
“Reid, I?—”
“Shh,” I whispered, holding her hand without the IV in my own. “Don’t worry about anything right now. You just rest. I’m going to be here with you until it’s time to take you home.”
Natalia didn’t argue. She was far too exhausted.
Her eyes drifted shut, and she was asleep in seconds.
Seated in a chair beside her bed, I watched her for hours. Cole had picked up some food around dinnertime and brought it in for me. And I’d made a call to both my dad and Danielle to let them know what had happened.
Danielle rushed over to check on her, and my father had done the same. I took that time to bring them both up to speed on the details, but through it all, Natalia slept.
Before my father went back home to my mom, I said, “You and I needed to have a conversation about this, but it can no longer wait. When Natalia wakes up, I’m telling her the truth about the contract. I’m telling her what my intention was from the start and how my plans have changed. If you still want me to take ownership of the retreat, I will, but it will stay running as it always has. I’m not taking that place away from her, away from any of them.”
He smiled at me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and squeezed. “Welcome home, Son.”
“I didn’t say I was moving back here.”
“Are you telling me that you’re not?” He jerked his chin toward Natalia’s bed. “Are you planning to leave her?”
I’d wanted to tell Natalia first, but it didn’t seem anything was going in the right order today. “I have some things to figure out with my business, but no, I’m not leaving her.”
“I didn’t think so. You were always a better man than I was, Reid. She’s lucky to have you.”
If only I could have believed that was true…
When everyone left for the night, I remained vigil at Natalia’s side. Because the moment she woke up and was no longer disoriented, I needed her to hear the truth.
I needed her to know that I loved her and wanted to give her everything.
Natalia
I didn’t know how long I’d been here, but judging by the light filtering into the room, I could only assume it was morning.
I only hoped it was just the next morning and not days later.
Reid was sitting where I last saw him, right beside my bed, and his hand, that was now red, cut up, and swollen, was covering mine protectively. His body was hunched over, his head resting on the edge of the mattress.
I closed my eyes and recalled everything that had happened from the time I left lunch with Danielle until now, and despite the fact I was in the hospital right now, I wasn’t quite sure what I felt the worst about.
Was it that my ex-boyfriend had known for more than a month now where I was living and had decided to attack me there? Or was knowing that Reid had kept such critical information from me worse?
Physically speaking, the answer was obvious.
But when it came to my heart, I couldn’t ignore how hurt I was by Reid’s choices.
My fingers twitched in his, and Reid’s head shot up. He blinked the exhaustion away and said, “Hey. You’re awake. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
I took a moment to consider the state of my body. “It aches.”
“Where?”
“All over.”
He nodded his understanding. “We can call the nurse in and see if they can give you something for the pain.”
“Can we talk first? I don’t want to risk them giving me something that’s going to make me drowsy.”
