Page 44 of Tainted Rose

Mom chuckles. “Careful what you say, she’ll make you wear one.”

I wet my lips. “Okay, so maybe it was a bigger boo-boo.” At her worried look, I continue. “I hit my head. But I was wearing my helmet, so I’ll be okay. That’s why we make you wear your bike helmet, too. Because it keeps you safe.”

Mom comes over and kisses my forehead as she strokes the back of Janie’s head. “While I’d love to sit here with you all day, there’s someone out there who is very anxious to see you. Is it okay if I leave Janie in here and send her in?”

My body sags in relief. “She’s here?”

“Yes.” She pauses. “You know, you can bring her around more often. She seems like a really nice girl. I like her a lot.” She releases a careful exhale. “She’s been out of her mind with worry since Beau and Micah brought her to the waiting room.”

“Did she seem mad at me at all?”

“What? No. Why would you think that?”

“I just— I should have told her something and I didn’t. It’ll be fine.”

Mom pats my shoulder. “I’m sure it will be.” She pauses, and I can tell she’s contemplating asking something else.

“What? You can ask.”

“She’s important to you.”

“That’s not a question.” I give her a little smirk.

“Xander …”

“Yes. She’s really important to me. I’m falling for her, Mom.”

She tilts her head, studying me. “Good to know. I’ll go get her.”

Not a minute later, the door opens again. I hold my finger up to my lips when I see Scarlett and point at a sleeping Janie. Poor thing must have been stressed out with everything today and decided it was nap time while Mom and I were talking.

Scarlett nods her understanding and circles the foot of the bed to the other side. I hold out my hand to her and she takes it, kissing my knuckles as she leans her hip on the bed. Her gaze is riveted to Janie.

“Xander,” she murmurs. “She’s my sister.”

I breathe deeply. “Mine too. Weird, right?”

“A little.” She shrugs but reaches a careful hand out, sliding the back of her finger over Janie’s cheek.

I close my eyes for a second before I huff out a breath. “So, I hear someone was worried about me.” A smile curves my lips, seeing she’s still in her practice clothes. Hadn’t even bothered to change.

“I still am.” She brushes hair back from my forehead, then leans in and places a careful kiss on my lips. “You scared me. Don’t tease me about it.”

Her face hovers six inches in front of mine, and I gaze intently into those sparkling blue eyes of hers. I could so easily drown in them. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for last night, too.”

“You remember. I wasn’t sure after everything.” She catches her lip with her teeth and bows her head for a second. “I accept your apology. And I wanted to let you know—I do trust you.” She takes a deep breath and meets my gaze, a surrender of sorts clear in her eyes. “You’ll tell me when the time is right.”

I swallow hard. “I will. I promise.” A vision of the photo I found swims in my head. The anger in the note written on the back—I hope it was just the frustration borne of abandonment because the thought that Sebastian may have somehow used Amelia and gotten her pregnant … it preys on my mind. The wording leaves a lot to interpretation. And the scholarship? My guess is that he did it because he feels guilty. The question is, guilty about what?

---