The baby.
My gaze flung around the hospital room, scanning over the beeping machine and locking on Wyatt, who was grabbing his chest before coming to me.
“Rose.I’ll call the nurse,” he said in a rush of panic.
“No, I’m okay,” I managed.
“Jesus, Grasso.”He took my hand, dropped by my bedside, and placed his head on my knuckles like he was praying to me.“Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“The baby…”
He peered up at me.“Is fine,” he said.“The doctor said they checked everything.You’re dehydrated.Dangerously so.You think you would have learned from Phoebe when she almost killed herself.”He thrust his hand through his hair.“Geez, I can’t think of that.Anyway, he called it hyperemesis gravidarum.”
“That’s what Lori had said it could be.”
His hand dropped from his hair, eyes searching mine.“Lori knew?”His lips parted, then pressed together, jaw ticking.
“She caught me throwing up at the reception.She could tell.”
“Who else knows?”
“Just my sisters.Meadow.That’s it.”
His lips pressed together, and his jaw tightened, but then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.“You also hit your shoulder, your head, and your butt when you fell.You have some bruising.They’re keeping you for observation, but”—his voice cracked—“the baby’s okay.”
My chest caved with relief, and a shaky breath tore out.I squeezed his hand, afraid if I let go, he would walk out on me, and everything would come crashing down.
It’s what I deserved for lying to him, but I couldn’t bear to see him go.I needed him more than anything.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.“I didn’t mean for you to find out like that.You must hate me.”
His hand cupped my cheek, his thumb rubbing gently across my jaw.“I could never hate you.”He let out a jagged breath.“I’m happy you’re okay.”
“But I kept it from you.I should have told you.But I didn’t know how.I didn’t find out until right after… right after… I was an idiot who broke up with you.Then I was scared you’d think I was trying to trap you or force you into something you didn’t want.”Once I started talking, I couldn’t stop.“I don’t want you to think you have to marry me now.I know that’s not what you want.”
“Rose,” he said, squeezing my hand and meeting my gaze.“You should rest.”
“I don’t want to rest.I want to fix us.”
“There’s nothing to fix.”
He was saying all the right things, but I could feel a disconnect.It wasn’t something I could explain, but it was there, wedged between us, telling me something was wrong.
The dang beeping machine filled the silence between us.
“The doctor said you’re not going anywhere for a while,” he finally said.
“What about our flight tomorrow?”We had booked an early flight so we could get home with time to unwind before we went into the work week.
“I already called the airport and rescheduled.I called Char to let her know what was happening.She said she’d let everyone know.You should probably call someone before the entire Grasso clan gets on a plane and shows up here.Not sure this hospital is ready for that kind of chaos.”
I nodded, hearing him, appreciating the fact that he took care of everything while I was out cold, but still sad that he was keeping something from me.But I knew that made me a hypocrite.
“I know you never wanted to be a father.I won’t blame you if you walk away.”
His gaze slammed into mine.Pain, shock, and too many other emotions flashed in his golden-brown irises.I closed my eyes, realizing what I had just done.
He never wanted to be his father, and without meaning to, I gave him permission to do the very thing his father did: abandon his child.
