“I don’t know. I’ve had about thirty seconds to process it.”
“Okay, how about this? You got any questions or concerns? Let me put your mind at ease, and then I need to get back in there.”
“Um…” I had a million.
What does it feel like to hold her? What does she sound like? Is she still scared? Why was she bleeding? Is she going to be okay? What about Clare? How did he even end up with them?
However, I was certain I wasn’t going to get the answers to any of those questions right then.
But the fact that he was dealing with all of that and had still taken the time to make sure my head was straight was crazy sweet. My heart overflowed with love for that man.
I needed to be strong. For him. For Tessa. For Clare.
I glanced up at Alex, who was hovering beside me. I shot him an apologetic smile and said, “I’m good, Roman. And I’d be better if you don’t come home with bullet holes.”
He chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
“I love you. Call me back when you can.”
“Love you, too. Stay tight with Alex, okay?”
“Okay. I’m about to force-feed him some chicken parmesan.”
“Alfredo?” he asked, a content smile in his voice.
“You know it.”
He laughed. “Utilize some of that Tupperware you hoard and save your man a plate.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll update soon.”
“Okay.”
“Love you, Lis.”
“Love you, too.”
I listened for a few minutes longer, but he’d hung up.
With our connection severed, my courage evaporated. Regardless of what I’d told Roman, I was not okay.
I was basically freaking the hell out.
Get it together, Elisabeth.
Sucking in a shaky breath and pasting on a smile, I turned to Alex and passed him his phone back. “So, you want to eat first or tell me who you were talking to on the phone earlier who was so important that you were able to perform the unfathomable feat of turning down food?”
He grinned. “Eat.”
I headed to the fridge to unpack the food. “Okay. Then, after that, since it seems we are stuck together, you can fill me in on your mystery woman.”
He frowned.
“Or man,” I corrected.
He frowned deeper.
I shrugged and added, “Or you can help me pick out furniture for the guest rooms we need to miraculously have furnished by tomorrow.”
I honestly didn’t know that it was possible, but at the prospect of online furniture shopping, he frowned even deeper.
He propped his hip on the counter and studied me as I prepared his plate. I did my best to keep up the fa?ade while dishing noodles out, but just as I handed it over, he caught my elbow to stop me from backing away.
I dramatically craned my head up.
Alex was a handsome man. The strong, silent type. Devon would have given me a pep talk and assured me that everything was okay. It was Alex though, so all I got was an arm squeeze. But, despite how hard I was trying to keep it together, that simple gesture was more than enough to break me.
Bursting into tears, I face-planted against his barrel chest.
I vaguely heard him mutter a curse as he awkwardly patted my back.
But I was lost in a world where I had a daughter and I’d just had to ask my ex-husband-fiancé-love-of-my-life not to come home with bullet holes.
Yeah. I had questions for Roman, all right.
How the hell was this my life?
After a team of doctors and nurses had poked, prodded, and inspected every inch of me, they decided to keep me overnight. I assumed that it was more for a mental evaluation than anything to do with my physical injuries. I couldn’t blame them; I was a mess.
After Heath brought back Tessa, I spent the next two hours holding her while staring off into space and trying to put the puzzle pieces together to figure out how I’d ended up there.
Shock was what the doctors had called it as I’d listened to them assure an extremely concerned Heath that I’d be okay after I’d gotten some rest. I’d refused the sedatives and pain medications they’d offered. I didn’t need to be drugged up or asleep when Walt finally showed up.
Roman occasionally poked his head into the room to check on us, and I caught sight of uniformed officers guarding the door, but Heath wouldn’t allow any of them to come inside.
He sat stoically in a chair at the foot of the bed, staring at me as though he were afraid I’d disappear if he so much as blinked. His long legs stretched out in front of him and his broad shoulders reclined against the back of the chair, but he was as far from relaxed as a person could get. His jaw clenched, his lips pursed tightly, and his hands constantly opened and closed at his sides. It appeared as though it were taking a great deal of effort to keep his ass in the chair and not up pacing the room. Or pulling me into his arms—but that was only wishful thinking, considering he hadn’t actually touched me since we had gotten to the hospital.