If you’re not pregnant, is it really necessary to know that? “Are you serious?”
Ian nodded.
I had to think about it for a second. “April 5th, I think.”
Ian seemed to be enjoying this more than he should have, by the smirk on his face.
“Do you take birth control? If yes, what type?” Ian was more than interested to know the answer to this question based on the way he was tapping the pen against the form, trying to be nonchalant about it. Did that mean what I thought it meant? This was all so confusing to me. Was my brother-in-law right about Ian’s feelings for me?
I wasn’t sure how I should feel about it all. “You know what?” the frustration and confusion of the situation and the pain I was in bubbled over. “Just write thirty-two-year-old virgin across the dang page and be done with it.” My hand flew to my mouth. Why did I blurt that? Not even my sister knew.
Ian fumbled the clipboard. His eyes blinked about a thousand times. When he got control over his shock, he set aside the paperwork and took my hand.
His touch made me cry. Tears silently poured down my face and dripped onto the uncomfortable neck brace that was making it hard to get a good read on Ian’s facial expression.
His free hand rested on my left cheek. His thumb swept across my cheek, wiping the tears as they fell. I wanted to ask him how the right side of my face looked. I had a feeling it wasn’t looking so hot. Ian stood enough to hover over me. His rich chocolate eyes penetrated my own. In his I read several conversations we had many years ago. My experience, or lack thereof, in the sex department was a frequent topic when we were dating.
“I told you it wasn’t unrealistic for me to wait.” Though I never expected I’d be waiting this long.
His hand moved up and tenderly brushed my bangs to the side. “I never said it was unrealistic for you. I said it was unrealistic for us. I still stand by that.”
“You must think I’m some Pollyanna.”
“No. I was thinking how incredibly beautiful and amazing you are.”
I closed my eyes, wanting to believe he meant what he said. “I didn’t mean for my life to turn out this way. I’ve just been waiting for someone I loved, who was committed to me and loved me as much as I loved him.” For some reason those three ingredients never came together for me. Why I was being so honest with him I don’t know. It was as if I had my best friend back. I realized in that moment how much I had truly missed Ian. How much I had wanted him to be the person to make the perfect recipe with.
He kissed my head. “I wanted that for you too.”
WHAT A DAY IT HAD been. I kept staring at Ian while they stitched my head, not sure what all this meant. It was a lot easier to look at him now that the neck brace was off. In other good news, my arm wasn’t broken. Unfortunately, my shoulder really was dislocated. The manipulation thing didn’t sound all that pleasant, even if they were going to do it under localized anesthesia. I prayed it worked or they were going to have to put me under. Maybe some general anesthesia wouldn’t be all that bad. An hour with no thoughts at all. Thoughts like, what am I going to do about the way my boss was staring at me like Ian used to. The stare that said, I’m crazy about you. I might go crazy after all this.
“Do I look like the bride of Frankenstein?” I asked Ian once the doctor was done stitching me up. I still hadn’t seen myself.
He kissed my hand. “Never.”
The doctor left, giving us another moment alone before the next procedure. It was a good time to ask, “Why did you tell them you were my husband?”
“I was afraid they wouldn’t let me come with you if we weren’t related.”
“I think you’ve watched too many TV shows, and even if that were true, you could have gone with brother or something.”
He moistened his lips. “I’ve never had a brotherly thought about you.”
My cheeks warmed. “What’s going on between us?”
“Kel.” He brought my hand up between his. “I—”
Dr. Ellis and a nurse named Janelle walked in, interrupting us.
Ian lowered my hand. My heart was racing and there was no hiding it. The machine monitoring my pulse broadcasted it.
Janelle went into nurse mode. “Don’t you worry, you’re not going to feel a thing.”
Oh, she had no idea. I was feeling things. Like all the things.
Ian’s lips twitched. He knew he was the cause of my erratic heartbeat. I hoped he wasn’t getting too cocky about it. I wasn’t sure about any of this, especially him. I wasn’t even sure I knew who he was. Was he Ian or Mr. Greyson?
Janelle started administering pain meds through my IV. I wanted to kiss her. My entire body ached. Dr. Ellis asked Ian to wait outside while they manipulated my shoulder. Before he left, he kissed me softly on the lips. My heart monitor told the story of how much it affected me.
