There it was again! She not only felt it, she saw it too. Her eyes darted to his face. She found him staring at her from beneath his sleepy lashes.
“Connor! You’re awake.”
His lips moved but no sounds escaped.
“You had an accident, but you’re going to be all right.”
His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Must be dreaming.”
She barely made out the low scrape of his voice. She frowned at his words. Dreaming? He was looking at her almost blankly. What if he didn’t even know who she was? Her heart gave a stutter.
“What—what do you mean?”
He gave a long, tired blink. “Thought I heard... you say you love me.”
Oh, thank God! Her breath tumbled out. She squeezed his hand, smiling at him. “I did, honey. I do love you. And as much as I want to sit here and discuss that, we need to get a doctor in here pronto.”
She pressed the call button, requesting help, then turned her attention back to him.
His eyes were closed again. A frown puckered his brows. “Headache. What happened?”
“You were out looking for Nora in the hurricane. You don’t remember?”
He started to nod, then winced.
“You got hit in the head with something, and a neighbor found you lying in his yard this morning.”
His eyes opened. “Nora?”
“She’s fine. She and Pippy both. They came home late last night. It’s almost seven in the morning now. You must’ve lain out there all night. Tara’s in the waiting room, and the rest of your family will be here as soon as they can.”
His eyes closed again.
The door opened, and a man entered. He looked to be thirtyish and wore a lab coat. “Well, good morning. Good to see you’re awake, Mr. Sullivan. I’m Dr. Kadambi. How are you feeling?”
Maddy moved to the side as the doctor stepped up to the rails.
“Head hurts.”
“I’d be surprised if it didn’t. That was quite a hit you took.”
He asked Connor to recite some basic information about himself, which he did successfully, much to Maddy’s relief. He seemed just fine cognitively.
“Do you remember what happened last night?” Dr. Kadambi asked as he continued his exam.
“I was out looking for a friend.”
“Must be a good friend to go searching during the middle of a hurricane. What’s her name?”
“Nora.”
The doctor checked his pupils, nodding toward Maddy. “And who’s this young lady?”
“Maddy.” Connor’s gaze flickered over to her, his lips twitching ever so slightly. “My girlfriend.”
Her heart expanded in her chest. Did that ever sound nice. Her lips curled upward.
“Are you having any symptoms other than a raging headache? Any nausea or vomiting? Ringing in the ears?”
