The beef’s thin edge barely touched her mouth when her phone began to ring.
Yes!
Alex breathed a sigh of relief knowing she’d quite literally been saved by the bell. Gordan, however, didn’t bother to hide his twinge of annoyance at the rude interruption.
“I’m so sorry,” she lied, balancing the fork on the edge of her plate and pulling her hand free from his. “I meant to put it on silent when we got here.” She grabbed her purse. “I guess I was too distracted to remember.”
That sounded plausible, right?
She moved quickly to end the incessant ringing. Freeing the metal clasp of her purse, she retrieved her phone and pressed the tiny button on its side. The ringing stopped, but Alex froze when she saw the name and number on the screen.
“Is something wrong?”
“I-I’m not sure.” She frowned. “It says Atrium Health. That’s the trauma center in Charlotte. I’m so sorry, but I need to take this.” Not waiting for permission, she swiped her finger across the smooth, glass screen. With the phone to her ear, Alex answered the call with a low, “Hello?”
A female voice she didn’t recognize asked, “Is this Alexandria Webb?”
“It is.” She glanced around, unable to miss the looks of disapproval from those at the tables around them.
“Miss Webb, my name is Brenda Ross, and I’m a nurse in the emergency room at Atrium Health inCharlotte. We have a patient here by the name of Avery Morgan, and I was asked to give you a call.”
“Avery?” Her heart flew into her throat when she heard her sister’s name. “What happened?”
“The doctor is still with her, so I don’t have a lot of details to share. What I do know is your sister was involved in a pretty serious car accident, and she’s in critical condition.”
“Oh, God.” A rush of unshed tears immediately filled her widening eyes. Alex jumped to her feet, letting the cloth napkin fall to the floor. “I-I’m in California right now, but please tell her l’ll be on the next flight home.”
“I’ll let Mr. Morgan know.”
“He’s there now?”
“Your brother-in-law is the one who asked us to call you. He knew you’d want to be here but didn’t want to leave your sister’s side, so I promised I’d let you know.”
At least Avery isn’t alone.
The only semblance of relief she could find made its way through the panic. “Please tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’ll let him know, and . . . safe travels, Miss Webb. If your sister’s condition changes, I’ll be sure to call you with an update.”
“Thank you.” Alex ended the call before meeting Gordan’s intense stare. “I have to go.”
“Now? But we haven’t even finished our dinner.” He motioned toward her full plate.
“It’s my sister. She was in an accident, and I—” Her voice cracked. “I-I’m sorry, Gordan. I need to get back to the hotel so I can pack.”
“I’ll call my driver.” He pushed himself to his feet. “He left earlier to run an errand for me, but he should be able to get back here within a few minutes.”
She didn’t have a few minutes.Averymay not have a few minutes.
Please, God, let her be okay.
“It’s fine,” she blurted. “Finish your meal. I can take a cab.”
It shouldn’t be hard to find one willing to give her a ride. There’d been several coming and going out front when she and Gordan first arrived.
“Alexandria—”
“I’ll call you, Gordan,” Alex lied with a forced smile. “Goodbye.”
