She gave a nod.“The pie sealed the deal.”Well, that plus the way he treated Bristol.The man clearly adored her, and Bristol deserved nothing less.
It made her think of Tristan and the way he looked at her.The way he’d continually shown up to be there for her since they’d met.And how close she had come today to losing the first man she’d truly trusted.
“I knew it,” Bristol said excitedly.“It was just a matter of time before he won you over.”She took a bite of her chocolate pie and glanced toward the double doors down the hall.“He has to be in recovery by now.They got a room ready for him yet?”
“Still waiting to hear.”
“I’m sure it all went fine.He was stable when they took him in, vitals were good.Where are the others?”
“They’re in the cafeteria taking a break.”
“His family’s awesome.”
“I know.”Every one of them had shown up here at the hospital, even Carly.They’d sat with her until the medical team had come to say Tristan was in surgery, and then there was nothing left to do but wait.
“And your bosses are great too.”
“Yeah.”Ryder was still meeting with the sheriff.Callum and Walker were here at the hospital somewhere.Ivy was at home, working away in the privacy of her lair, and wouldn’t say a word about it to anyone except maybe Walker.
But if Cassie’s suspicion was correct...
She forced the mouthful of pie down her suddenly dry throat, trying not to think about it anymore.She had enough on her mind.
A nurse with dark brown corkscrew curls and gold-green eyes stepped out of the Emergency area.“Cassie?Hi, Bristol.”
“Molly, hi.”It was so good to see a familiar face.She was married to Jase, one of Beckett Hollister’s right-hand guys.“Any news yet?”
Molly smiled gently.“The surgery went great.He’s out of recovery and being moved up to the ward now.You can go and see him in about ten minutes.Room four-twelve.”
“Thank you.”Cassie shoved the box at Bristol, texted the others to give them the room number, overwhelmed by relief and fighting the urge to cry.
“See, he’s fine,” Bristol said, giving her shoulder a pat.
Cassie nodded but didn’t answer, not trusting her voice.
“Want me to update your mom for you?”
Her mom had wanted to come up and wait with her, but Cassie had asked her to wait at home for now.“I’ll do it.”She shot off a quick text to her once she had contacted Gavin and the others.
After ten minutes, Gavin and the others met her and Bristol, and they all took the elevator up together.On the fourth floor, Gavin stopped in front of Tristan’s room and opened the door gingerly, poked his head in to check if he was awake before walking in.“Hey, man.How you feeling?”
“Like I got shot,” a deep, groggy voice answered.
Cassie filed in behind Gavin, her heart clenching at the sight that greeted her.Tristan lay propped up slightly in the bed in a light blue hospital gown, his heavily bandaged left arm immobilized across his chest.There was a dark blue-purple diagonal line across his collarbone that disappeared beneath the scooped neckline of the gown, marking where the seatbelt had stopped him when his truck hit the tree.His face was pale and covered in nicks and bruises.
His gaze locked with hers the moment she entered the room, and his relieved smile flooded her with tenderness.“Hi,” she said, her voice a little rough.Keep it together, Cass.
Gavin stepped aside to let her past him.She went straight over to Tristan and leaned over to carefully embrace him, swallowing against the giant lump in her throat as she pressed her cheek to his.
She held onto him and squeezed her eyes shut against a sudden sting, the swell of emotion in her chest so painful it hurt to breathe.It terrified her to think of how close she’d come to losing him today.Filled her with a howling grief and regret when she thought of how bleak and empty her life would be without him.
Gavin was standing behind her, and the rest of the family was in the room, but she didn’t care.Couldn’t let him go.
She kissed Tristan’s forehead, his cheeks before kissing his lips, on the verge of losing the battle against the tears.Her heart pounded out of control, the pressure in her chest unbearable.
She’d held back from him for too long.Couldn’t contain it another moment.
She had to tell him.Right here and now.“I love you, Tristan.I love you so much.”
