Adam reeled. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The weeks of having someone care for her every need, making meals, wiping out the bathroom sink, and not finding one streak on a mirror had made her weak. Or, maybe it was her heart breaking at the fact that Adam’s hands were back in his pockets and not on her shoulders that drained the strength from her limbs. He didn’t rub her back in sympathy or cup her face while he told her everything would be all right.
A part of her knew she was being irrational, but the sensible section of her brain hadn’t gotten any REM and she was a mess. Her world was falling apart. Her father, the man who had raised her and loved her without question, could die, and it was killing her.
“Why don’t you come home and take a nap? I’ll have the nurses call you if anything changes.”
“No!” she snapped, recoiling from him. “I need to be here in case he wakes up. I can’t stand the thought of him waking up alone.”
Adam nodded, but it wasn’t the type of nod one does when he agrees with what you’ve said; it was the kind of nod that happened when a fear was confirmed. Only Bella didn’t know what she’d just told him, nor how to figure it out.
“Thank you for the books.” She bent down and hefted the bag over her shoulder, tucking the envelope and check in the outer pocket. Her father had worked hard for that money, and she wouldn’t refuse it on his behalf. “I’ll make sure my father gets the payment.”
She stared at her hands, wondering why it felt like Adam was slipping out of them. She’d never had a hold on him. Not really. He had his own plane. The moment he walked out that door, he could be on his way to another state, another country, and she wouldn’t know.
She really needed to figure out what day it was. A sliver of panic hit her foggy brain. The bar exam? How long did she have until the test? Her study schedule was blown to pieces. She’d have to cram what she could into the hours at her father’s bedside.
She needed Dad to wake up.
Adam took a step back, and her focus zeroed in on him. “Wait.” She blurted the word out, not really knowing what she wanted to say but not wanting him to leave.
“What?” His eyes were pools of hope. Clear, blue, and wanting.
She lost herself in those eyes. “Thank you, for bringing all this. I’m sorry I snapped at you. It’s been …” She folded her arms around herself. “… stressful.”And lonely and scary.
“I’m sorry.” He stepped towards her again. “What can I do?”
Bella drew a blank.
When she didn’t answer, he moved to the door. “If you think of something, text me.” The doors whooshed open, and the sound of traffic on the street picked up and then died away.
Bella stared at nothing. “He left,” she said to no one and nothing. Numb, she turned back to her father’s room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adam
Adam was almost to the short limo when a beautiful woman in a tight skirt and mostly unbuttoned shirt called his name. He stopped, trying to place her face. “Do I know you?” he asked, not in the mood to make small chat or deal with an ex-girlfriend.
She sauntered up to him, thrusting papers at his chest. He took them out of reflex. “You’ve officially been served.”
His eyes dropped to the top of the first page, where the wordsCourt Summonswere stamped in red. With a curse, he fell into the open car door and began sifting through papers.
Ben leaned across the seat. He’d been waiting in the limo, insisting that Adam needed to see Bella alone. Fat lot of good that did him. “So?” he asked, his tone light. “Is Bella coming home?”
Adam lowered his brow as he read. “No.” He yanked out his cell phone and dialed his uncle. “Philip, I need to see you right away.” Philip agreed to come to the castle, and they hung up.
Ben frowned. “Did you invite her for a nap, like we planned?”
Adam scowled. “Yes. I followed the plan. She said no.” His chest squeezed. Needing an escape, he put his energy into the court summons. “I’m being sued—for everything I own, apparently.” He threw the letter on the seat between them. “I need you to find out everything you can about this Charles Alexander.”
Ben picked up the paper as one would a pair of smelly socks. His wrinkled nose only added to the vision. He scanned the document. “How did they get your father’s will?”
Adam scowled. “Bella gave it to them.”
“What?”
