All that matters is he’s alive.
“Huh. Good timing.” Sheila sets down the phone when Clay reaches us, beaming at him. “Hi there. Glad you’re doing okay, honey. I was just telling your girlfriend?—”
My heart lurches. I grab Clay’s wrist and pull him toward the exit before Sheila can say anything else.
“Bye!” I call back to her. “Thanks so much for your help!”
I keep my gaze straight ahead, not daring to look at Clay as we head through the automatic doors and into the parking lot. Tension roars in the cold air around us. I drop his wrist, making a beeline for my car, but I can feel those piercing eyes on the back of my head.
Please tell me he didn’t hear Sheila call me his girlfriend.
4
CLAY
I hate hospitals.Had enough of them for a lifetime after I lost my leg—but I suck it up and let the doctors run their tests. Scan. Wait. Results. Scan. Wait. Results. The cycle goes on for two hours, and then it ends all at once. The doctor says I’m fine, the nurse hands over my discharge papers, and that’s it.
My brain feels scrambled as I head back toward the waiting room. I know damn well I didn’t hit my head when I was knocked down, but it sure feels like it. I can’t focus. My mind is racing, and as much as I’d like to blame it on the car that hit me, I know it’s all down to the woman who was driving.
From the minute I set eyes on Savannah, my body has been going haywire. I’ve never felt like this before—never reacted like this to a woman in all my forty-five years. Even now, as I near the double doors that lead to the waiting room, my heart is thumping wildly. It feels like it’s about to tear right out of my chest and land with a splat on the linoleum floor.
Fuck, what’s happening to me?
I reach the doors, praying Savannah’s still here. I’m also praying she isn’t…so I can regain control of my damn senses. But when I step into the waiting room, I see her immediately, talking to the receptionist behind the desk. She turns as I enter,and when our eyes lock, it hits me all over again—a fierce need I can’t explain, overtaking my mind and flooding my body with adrenaline.
Savannah’s eyes melt with relief when she sees me. Her bottom lip is red and puffy, like she’s been chewing on it ever since I left. This sweet angel has clearly been worrying about me, and she takes a step forward, her gaze fixed on mine as I approach.
In my peripheral vision, I see the receptionist looking at us.
“Hi there,” she drawls. “Clay, right? Glad you’re doing okay, honey. I was just telling your girlfriend?—”
“Bye!” Savannah cuts in before the receptionist can finish. “Thanks for your help!” Then her hand circles my wrist, and she pulls me outside into the frosty evening.
Girlfriend?
Even in the darkness, I can see Savannah blushing. Her soft cheeks always seem to be on the verge of turning pink. She avoids my gaze, letting go of my wrist and making a beeline for her car. I stare at her as she rushes ahead, my skin still burning from the memory of her touch, mind reeling as I try to figure out what just happened.
“Did that lady just call you my girlfriend?”
Savannah ignores my question and asks, “What did the doctor say?”
“Answer me first.”
She unlocks her car, avoiding my gaze. “I wanted to come check on you, but the receptionist said only partners and family could visit, so I…fibbed a little.”
“You said you were my girlfriend?”
“Like I said, I fibbed.”
Savannah looks flustered as she gets into the driver’s seat. The car smells like her—warm and fruity—and I slide into the passenger seat beside her. It’s pretty damn cramped in here. Alittle hatchback like this wasn’t built for a guy my size, and my upper thigh presses tight against Savannah’s as she reverses out of the hospital parking lot.
“Do you want me to drive you home?” she asks. “Or just to your truck?”
“Truck. Thanks.”
“You’re sure you’re okay to drive back to your place?”
I nod. “Doctor said I’m fine.”
