Page 46 of Reputation (Tempt)

I covered my face with my hands. “I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said, gently peeling them away. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m—” I slid my hand down my throat, assessing. “I’m okay. I hope Brooklyn wasn’t too traumatized. I can’t thank her enough for what she did.”

He smiled, pride infusing his words when he said, “I’m glad she did.”

A whisper of a memory floated through my mind. Something about Nate telling me how worried she’d been—but there’d been a look in his eyes. Something that made me think he was actually talking about himself. Surely I’d imagined it.

I glanced around for my phone, but there was no sign of it anywhere. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep. “I don’t even know what time it is.”

He glanced at his watch. “Almost seven.”

I sighed, though I supposed the phone was the least of my worries. My dad was going to freak out when he heard about this. And I didn’t even want to think of how much this little overnight stay was going to cost.

“I…” I opened my mouth then closed it.

“What?” he asked.

“I guess I’m just surprised you’re here.” Of all the people I would’ve expected to see sleeping in the hospital chair at my bedside, Nate wouldn’t have been one of them. My dad, yes. But he was still in Aspen with the rest of my family.

At least, I assumed he was. I hadn’t called him yet, and the hospital probably hadn’t either. Thanks to Kendall’s experience with her mom, I knew they only called the emergency contact if it was “serious.” While the definition of “serious” often varied from hospital to hospital, I had to assume my dad’s absence meant my case wasn’t considered “serious.”

“Brooklyn was worried,” Nate said as if that explained his presence.

“Right, but, um—” I chewed on my lower lip. “What if someone recognizes you?”

I knew how hard Nate tried to live a normal life. To fly under the radar. I saw what it cost him at times, going out in public. Which begged the question—what had he been thinking coming here?

Before he could answer, there was a knock at the door, and a doctor and nurse bustled in and introduced themselves and asked some general questions. I waited for Nate to excuse himself, but he seemed intent to stay by my side. Was he worried I wouldn’t be able to take care of Brooklyn?

“Have you ever had a reaction like this before?” the doctor asked.

I frowned. “No.”

“It could be an undetected food allergy, though nothing showed up on our tests. Or it could be related to stress. Have you been more stressed than usual?”

“Me?” I shrugged, my laughter sounding nervous to my own ears. “No more than usual.”

It was a lie. Everything about my life was stressful. I’d almost kissed my boss last month, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it, even if we both pretended otherwise. My training was intense. I was often at odds with my dad, all while trying to prepare for my upcoming competition. I was worried about Brooklyn and Nate and Trinity’s potential custody challenge. And, oh yeah, the upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi in the midst of everything; I was spread thin.

The doctor nodded, seeming satisfied, even while Nate glowered.What’s his deal?

“We’re going to discharge you,” the doctor said.

Nate crossed his arms over his chest. “But you still don’t know what caused her to react like this.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t. She should check in with her primary care doctor and an allergist after she’s released. For the next few days, drink lots of water and take it easy.”

Why were they talking to Nate like that—like he was my caregiver or something? And why was Nate…

“So, that’s it?” he asked, exasperation bleeding into his tone. “You’re just going to kick her out? Her body is still reacting to whatever freaked it out in the first place.”

Someone was clearly grumpy after spending the night in the hospital chair.

“We’re going to send you home with an EpiPen in case it happens again,” the doctor said to me before addressing both of us. “You should switch to Xyzal and avoid Benadryl. And your skin already shows improvement. It should return to normal soon.”

“Should?” Nate asked, raising his voice. “Should?”

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