My phone buzzed with an incoming call just as I was about to set it down.
“Can you make it outside, or do I need to come in to get you? We’re going to the ER.”
27
LANDON
Iscrolled through my phone and looked over the hotel reservation confirmation sent to my email. It wasn’t the Plaza, but the best I could get on short notice when the plan to propose had come to me. I’d been to the NameTech awards dinner a few times and it was boring as all hell, but I wanted her to be there. I wanted her there for everything for the rest of my life, and I was done waiting to make it official.
Tonight, we’d be husband and wife for real. If she wanted a wedding for the sake of our family and friends, I’d go along with it, but this was it. We were forever from the beginning, and I didn’t care about the award or anything else that happened today as long as it ended with me slipping my mother’s ring on her finger.
My last-minute trip back was brutal, thanks to a storm heading up the Eastern Seaboard. I’d been on my way to the airport for a late-night flight when I’d called Julie, but we’d ended up stuck on the runway for three hours when we finally boarded. Once we were in the air, I tried to get enough sleep to function at my client meetings later today, but adrenaline had made it almost impossible to shut my eyes.
As I waited in the taxi line outside the airline terminal, I scrolled through my notifications. No text or call back from Julie. She’d been working all hours this week and had probably been sleeping when I’d left her a voice message last night, but she should have been up by now.
I let out a relieved breath when my phone buzzed in my hand with Julie’s photo on the screen. I smiled, prepping for the questions she was about to pummel me with about the plans I wasn’t telling her about.
“Good morning, dar—”
“Landon?”
Julie’s voice was strained, almost an inaudible whisper, and sent my heart straight into my stomach.
“What’s wrong, Jules?”
“Karen took me to the ER last night. They think I have pneumonia.” Her weak voice cracked between sniffles. “I’m so proud of you, but I can’t come tonight. They’re running a bunch of tests, and I don’t know if I have to be admitted.”
“I don’t care about the award. Where are you? What hospital?” I craned my neck to the front of the line. I still had three people in front of me and was about to plow through them all to get into a cab and get to Julie. “Why didn’t you call me last night?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.A week. I’d only left her for a week. How could she be this sick so fast? My hands shook and I cursed under my breath when the couple in the front of the line took their sweet fucking time to stuff their luggage in the trunk of the cab.
“Einstein. It’s not too far from the house. I didn’t want to leave you a voice mail when you were in the air and make you panic. And we had no service in the ER until they moved me to the other side.”
“I’ll find it. Is someone with you?”
“Karen had to leave, but she was here most of the night. My mother is in Florida and is trying to change her flight to come back today. I’m scared, babe. My chest hurts so much it’s hard to breathe.”
I raked my hand through my hair when she cried in my ear, trying like hell to calm myself down enough to calmherdown. I’d read all about this. Small infections blowing up into pneumonia or worse because of a compromised immune system. I hadn’t liked the sound of her cough at the beginning of the week, but she’d told me over and over again to trust her to tell me when something was wrong.
I didn’t know what was worse. That she’d lied to me this week about being okay, or that this had turned this bad so fast. I’d worry about all that later, but for right now, all that mattered was getting to her as soon as I could.
“Okay, baby. I need you to calm down. It’s all going to be okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The fight to keep my voice even was exhausting me. Her tears only made the fear icing my veins grow colder.
“But you’re going to miss the awards dinner—”
“Christ, Julie. Do you really think I’d be anywhere but with you right now? Don’t bring that up again.”
“Okay, I won’t.” I smiled when I heard a chuckle mixed in with her sniffles. “And good because I really need my husband.”
“You have him, Jules. You’vealwayshad him. I love you. I’m getting a cab now, and I’ll head right to the hospital.”
She replied with a raspy okay and hung up.
I’d made it to the front of the line by the time I lifted my head, throwing my suitcase in the trunk once the cab pulled up and jumping inside.
“Einstein Hospital, the Bronx,” I told the driver as I texted my boss that my wife was in the emergency room and I’d be unavailable for the rest of the day and wouldn’t be able to make the dinner tonight. I emailed my clients to cancel my appointments for today and shoved my phone into my pocket. I didn’t care about the replies or any questions they’d have about what was going on because it didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered but Julie.
