He didn’t.
Not wanting to be around people inside and the harsh fluorescent lighting that gave her a headache, she leaned against the brick exterior of the hospital.
And she finally allowed herself to cry.
Her chest caved in from the weight of Owen’s words. How he threw her biggest regret in her face, knowing how much it would hurt. Even after telling him she planned to stay. She gave him everything, and it still wasn’t enough.
Shewasn’t enough.
The buzz of her phone broke through her haze of heartbreak long enough for her to see the ETA Lucas texted her. Fifty minutes. She could wait fifty minutes to fall apart.
And then she’d do what she did best—tuck her feelings deep in a box to deal with later and get back to work.
In New York.
Chapter 35
The For Sale Sign
Maddy huffed when Owen placed another pillow behind her back, fluffing it up a few times before stepping away. He went to grab another pillow when Maddy stopped him.
“Will you stop fussing over me like a mother hen? I’m fine, Owen. There are more pillows on this bed than a home goods store,” Maddy said.
Owen crossed his arms. “I want you to be comfortable. The doctor said rest is the best cure for your injury,” he said.
He didn’t add that keeping busy and focusing on her care was the only thing keeping him sane since the hospital. He scanned the guest room, making sure Maddy had everything she needed. The bedside tables were filled with get-well cards hand-drawn by Avery and flowers sent from friends. Maddy lay in the middle of the queen-sized bed, dozens of pillows stacked behind and around her.
“Owen, lookat me,” Maddy said.
Owen met her gaze. Concern ate at him every time he saw the bandage on the side of her head and how short her hair was. They had to shave the area of the wound to perform the craniotomy, and Maddy had decided now was as good a time as any to try a pixie cut. He admired her ability to adapt. Avery got that from her.
“I am fine,” she enunciated each word to make her point clear.
Owen ran his hands through his hair, gathering it off his shoulders into a bun. No matter how busy he stayed, he couldn’t shake the jittery, unsettledwrongnesshe felt.
He missed Ava.
Avery had almost lost his mom.
The soft opening of the bed-and-breakfast was on hold.
A week ago, he’d been on top of the world. He’d had everything he wanted. He’d had thefamilyhe dreamed of. How could that all change in the blink of an eye?
“I know you are,” Owen said. He sighed, feeling far older than his thirty-two years. Like he’d aged a decade in the last week.
“But you’re not,” Maddy said, her voice soft and full of empathy. She patted the bedspread beside her, inviting him to sit.
Owen perched on the edge of the bed.
“Talk to me. This is about more than my accident,” Maddy said.
Owen glanced at her from the corner of his eye but didn’t confirm or deny. This was uncharted territory. He hadn’t fully unpacked everything that had happened at the hospital, too scared to face the truth.
“Avery’s been talking about Ava a lot,” Maddy ventured.
He took the bait. “And?”
Owen’s fingers itched to do something, anything, to stay busy.
