“Oh, shit. Sorry. Do you need me to call a nurse?”
“No, just help me up.” Zach gently took her elbow and held on as she shuffled to the small private bathroom she had in her room. “I got it from here. Thank you.” She slipped inside and used the facilities, then slowly made her way back out. She needed to be up and walking more. Her legs felt terrible. Zach was waiting right outside the door when she opened it. She gladly let him help her back into bed.
“Nicole asked me if I still have feelings for you,” he said as she straightened her covers over her feet.
Evie ignored the fresh wave of heat that rushed over her chest. “What did you tell her?”
“Absence and distance, all that shit,” he said with a shrug and a smirk, but Evie wasn’t in on the joke.
“What?”
“I do. Nothing changed.”
“Except ten years and a critical head injury. What if I start to develop a whole new personality and you don’t like it? That’s one of the risks of memory loss.”
“What scientific journal says that Zach Pleasant will no longer find Yvonne Buchanan appealing?”
“That’s not what I meant. What if we spend more time together and I don’t like you. What if—”
The door popping open interrupted their back-and-forth. Nurse Lyle entered. “Good morning, Yvonne. And Yvonne’s friend.”
“Good morning,” she replied.
Lyle stopped and looked Zach up and down. “I heard some real deal cowboys had come to see you, and I see the rumors are true.” Zach was wearing jeans and suit jacket, but his cowboy hat and his boots probably gave him away.
“How do you do?” Zach said with a sudden twangy accent. He touched his fingers to his forehead and winked at Lyle.
“Well then.” Lyle pretended to swoon. “Deep from the heart of Texas.”
“He doesn’t even talk like that!” Evie said, shocked at her own annoyance and even more shocked at how quickly it melted away when Zach turned that smile back on her.
“I’m Zach. Nice to meet you,” he said in his normal voice. “From SoCal, not Texas. But a cowboy all the same.”
“I’m Lyle. And I can see you’re trouble. If you’ll excuse us, I just want to check Yvonne’s stitches.”
“By all means.”
Evie held it together as Zach tossed another wink her way and backed out the door, his hat gripped in his hand.
“Whew, girl. You are in trouble,” Lyle said as soon as they were alone. “No one should be that fine this early in the morning.”
“Please,” Evie said. “Don’t rub it in.”
* * *
Nicole knew she was overreacting. It had been over a week and Evie was doing much better. Nothing suspicious had happened in the days since her fall. All over her social media there was nothing but well wishes, and the executives atThe Dishhad agreed to find a short-term replacement for Evie until her doctors cleared her to return to on-camera work. Who didn’t love a guest host? They sent their version of love and support, but Nicole knew both came with an expiration date. Nicole held Evie’s contract in the back of her mind, the only assurance that for at least the next six months Evie still had a job.
She spent Christmas Day helping her mother cook and only snuck away once to watchThe Dish’s pretaped Christmas special.
Early the next morning she drove back into the city and went straight to the hospital. She took the elevator up to Evie’s room and the whole way she reminded herself to breathe. Evie Buchanan was one of the best in the industry. A talented chef with a pure heart, and a dream client. Professional and a pleasure to be around. This was business, Nicole knew it. She tried to remind herself, but it was too late. Evie was a friend now, and Nicole cared. She was worried.
She reached Evie’s floor and found she was the last to join the farewell party. Jesse and Zach were standing in the hall with an orderly who was waiting with a wheelchair.
She pushed down the lump in her throat before she spoke.
“Everything all set?”
“Yup, they’re just having their final debriefing,” Zach said.
