Page 38 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

So, she didn’t. She stayed until the door to his room opened. Diving behind his bed so she wouldn’t get caught and in trouble with yet another nurse, she hid out until his check-in was complete and they were the only two left in the room. There’d been a moment in there she was tempted to kick Jonah’s bed because he’d started to snicker about her lame hiding technique. But, hey, no one had caught her so she figured she’d done just fine.

After that, she didn’t let his big brown begging eyes get to her. Well, not completely. She only stayed five minutes longer, most of which was spent kissing each other goodbye. His mouth was becoming downright addictive, which was probably going to be another problem.

But she’d worry about that later.

It wasn’t until she was sneaking out of his room that she realized her hiding technique truly did suck.

“Hey!”

She had no idea why she’d been easing out of his room back first, maybe so she could face him and see him for as long as possible before she was in the hall. But at the sharp call, she yelped out a muffled scream and whirled around.

“Oh, my God,” she gasped as the nurse who’d scolded her for being on Jonah’s bed marched toward her. Pressing her hand to her heart, she winced, bracing herself for a new lecture. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I totally lost track of time and—”

The nurse waved her concerns aside. “Are you his girlfriend?” she asked, not really sounding accusatory but not sounding all that friendly either.

Oh, boy.

Tess barely controlled herself from wincing. “Um…” For some reason, lying to a nurse felt about as bad as lying to a priest. So, instead of admitting anything verbally, she merely gave a vague nod of her head.

When the nurse’s face bloomed into a bright smile, Tess was instantly befuddled. “I’m Kari,” the nurse said, sticking out her hand. “And I just wanted to thank you for being here for him. You cannot imagine how much your presence has helped him in the past few days. Before you came along, he was—” she blew out a breath as if relieved that time was over “—completely unmanageable. No one wanted to deal with him. But now he actually has a couple of friendly moments between all the crabbiness.”

Tess blinked at her, not sure what to say. It was hard to believe she’d had that much influence on anyone. But beyond the disbelief was warmth and tenderness…and a load of guilt. Despite how much she was doing this for a good cause, she didn’t want to deceive him anymore. And yet, hearing the nurse say what she’d just said, she was convinced more than ever that she should stay on this dishonest path.

“I…” When her voice cracked, she licked her lips and tried again. “Thank you.”

Nurse Kari’s smile was sincere when she patted Tess’s shoulder. “But, seriously, don’t bother hiding the next time you stay late. I saw you the moment I walked in. And do be careful when you crawl on the bed with him again. He’s still very fragile. The risk of him getting an infection truly does exist.”

Tess wisely shut her trap, cleared her throat, and nodded. Face flaming hot with embarrassment, she waved goodbye to Kari and darted toward the exit.

Chapter Ten

JONAH’S STOMACH WOULDN’T STOP swirling over the indigestion he was giving himself. The day he would learn whether he could walk had finally come. Though he’d been impatient for it to arrive, now that it was here, he wouldn’t mind waiting awhile longer.

What if it ended up he couldn’t walk? What if—

He shook his head, refusing to think about that. He was going to have to walk. That was all there was to it.

The door to his room swung open. He schooled his expression to hide all the panic and anxiety crowding through his system. People had been popping in all morning to make sure he was ready. And with every visit, his apprehensions rose. The last visitor, a nurse, had told him his physical therapist had arrived and had decided to put Jonah last on his rounds so he could spend more time with him. Jonah was sure he was about to hyperventilate.

His face already felt tense when he glanced up, but seeing Tess stroll into his room sent him over the edge. Shit.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, utterly alarmed. She might calm him down and cheer him up every other time she visited, but today…today he didn’t want her here. He didn’t want her to watch him fail. She’d be more likely to leave a failure behind and never come back.

She jerked to a stop, looking surprised and a little hurt by the harshness in his voice. And he immediately wanted to kick himself. He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

“I…I…couldn’t stay away. I had to know how you did today.”

He tried to calm his tone. “But…don’t you have classes?”

Her shoulders relaxed, and a soft smile lit her face as she snorted. “As if I’d actually be able to concentrate in any of them while you’re here, doing this. This is the only day I’ve skipped, anyway. One day can’t hurt anything.”

“You…” But he couldn’t think of anything to say. It just threw him totally off balance to know she cared enough to be here while he experienced one of the biggest, possibly most life-altering moments of his life.

Giving up on words, he held out his hand. She skipped forward, her face filled with joy, and suddenly, he was glad she was here, relieved he had a hand to hold as he waited. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.”

He gazed at her, continually amazed that she returned every day, just to see him, to be here for him. Emotion filled his throat, but he swallowed it back down. Dropping his gaze, he watched his thumb move over her soft knuckles.

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