He pauses. “No. Why?”
“He kind of lost his mind when he heard you got shot. Did he come see you in the hospital?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t say much.”
“Huh.”
He leans back in his chair. “So why aren’t you going to be doing this whole watching-her thing anymore?”
“Well, for one, I still have my day job. And two, I’m still trying to get her forgiveness for lying to her.”
“What exactly did you do to get her this pissed at you?”
“I didn’t tell her about the marriage contract until after I had sex with her, and Gino is the one that told her,” I say, wincing at how bad it sounds coming out of my own mouth.
“You’re an idiot,” he laughs.
“Yeah, I know.” I roll my eyes.
We spend the next hour going over everything he needs to know, from the types of patients she sees to the people she works with.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, having her work there?” he asks. “That place is always crawling with people like us.”
“I can’t tell her to walk away from something she loves.”
“All right, fine.” He studies me. “How long do you think she is going to stay mad at you?”
“That I don’t know. Giving her space will help, but I also know some kind of grand gesture might help.”
“It could.” He tips his head. “Do you have any ideas?”
I look at him, hoping he does.
“Not really,” he admits, “but you’ll figure something out. What time do we head out?”
“Around ten-fifteen.” I exhale. Not only do I have to figure out how to get Vanessa to stop hating me?—
“I’ll head out for a bit,” he cuts in. “I’ll be back in an hour when you’re ready to leave.”
We leave my office, and Alonso heads to the front door. Once I hear it close, I make my way down the hall to Vanessa’s room and knock softly. It takes a moment, but she opens the door, moving slowly. She’s already in her scrubs, her red hair loose and still damp from a recent shower. I step inside, and she follows.
“Alonso just left, but he’ll be back to join us tonight,” I tell her as I sit on the edge of the bed. “I think it makes sense to rotate people so no one catches on too quickly.”
“Okay,” she says, lifting her left hand with a dry look. “So how exactly do I tell them about this?”
“Well, you could tell them that we met and got married.”
“I’ll be interrogated by everyone I work with,” she says flatly. “So we need a story. And we need a reason for you being there.”
“Alonso and I were planning to stay in the parking area and come in to check every once in a while. I don’t think you need me in there the whole time, but stopping in to check on you seems more natural and won’t draw as much attention.”
“Makes sense, but don’t feel like you have to keep avoiding me.” She winks as she walks to start packing her backpack.
“I’m not avoiding you?—”
Before I can finish, she steps right in front of me, looking down at me.
“Yes, you are,” she says calmly. “Because you think I don’t want this. This is an unconventional way to start a marriage, or arelationship for that matter. I’m irritated and frustrated that no one told me, but it happened, and we have to figure it out.” Her lips curve slightly. “So. Our backstory?”
