Page 11 of Married at Midnight

Surprise flickered across his features before he shuttered his gaze. “That’s not how I interpreted things in Vegas.”

“You were in Vegas together?” Jordan asked.

“Yes. No.” Ellie stumbled over the words. “We bumped into each other there.”

Jordan’s eyes narrowed. “And got married?”

Ellie cast another glance at Connor. He searched her face as though he expected her to say something flippant. Instead, she calmly said, “Yes.” Their marriage was between the two of them. No one else.

“Damn, girl. Don’t you learn from your mistakes?” Jordan asked.

“He’s not a mistake.” The words erupted from her before she could stop them. What had happened between them was unfortunate, but she still wouldn’t call Connor a mistake. She knew what it felt like to be considered as such. She wouldn’t put that sense of worthlessness on another human being no matter how much he might have hurt her in the past.

Silence fell among them, punctuated only by the rhythmic whirring and beeping of medical monitors from the ICU rooms just beyond.

Jordan threw Ellie a questioning glance just as her pager beeped. “All right. I’ll give you a reprieve for now because I have to respond to this, but you better be prepared to talk to Olivia and me on girls’ night. See you Tuesday.” With those words, Jordan left the two of them alone.

Ellie turned to Connor. “Don’t mind Jordan. She can be a little blunt at times.”

“Sounded like she knew what she was talking about.” Irritation flashed in his expression.

Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by holding up his hand. “It doesn’t matter how we feel about each other. Do we still have a deal? Will you stay married and live with me in Viola’s house as my wife until she recovers?”

The job Viola offered was more than Ellie had ever dreamed possible. Viola might have been a bit manipulative in getting them to live in her house, but the Historical Society’s Holiday Street of Dreams was a huge event in Seattle. Locals and visitors came from all over the country to see glorious houses from another era.

Ellie couldn’t deny the sense of satisfaction that filled her at the thought that she would be a part of the event. She would have work again, and with that work she could proceed with her Birthday Project. And it would buy her time—time to figure out what came next.

For the next five weeks she’d have an income and something quite spectacular to accomplish. Given the desperation that had driven her to Las Vegas, she was more than ready for the task of resurrecting Viola’s old house. “Let’s go to Grayson House. No time like the present to see what we’re up against.”

Had there ever been any truer words?

The next five weeks could be heaven or hell. It was time to find out which awaited them at Viola’s old Victorian.

As soon as Connor and Ellie disappeared around the corner and onto the hospital elevator, Aaron signaled for the boys to come out of the waiting room. Over the years, he’d become the group’s self-appointed expert in subterfuge. Even though Connor and Ellie might not recognize them out of their Elvis costumes, they didn’t want to chance being seen by the newlyweds.

“All clear,” Aaron announced. George, Ernie, and Lenny joined him. Silently they crept toward Viola’s room.

Code blue, ICU . . . Code blue. An alarm blared through the paging system, and a flurry of medical staff flew past them to a room down the hall. When the chaos cleared, the four men slipped into Viola’s room unnoticed.

When Aaron saw Viola, he felt as if he were doing a free fall into a deep, dark hole. She looked dead. Gray and withered and still. So unlike the Viola they knew and loved. Aaron reached for the rails of her bed to steady himself. This wasn’t how he’d imagined them seeing each other again after all these years.

Beside him the cardiac monitor beeped relentlessly, keeping time with his own thundering heartbeat. No, I can do this, Aaron encouraged himself. He had to be strong for Viola’s sake. He straightened and forced a smile. “Hey there, sugar.” It was the name he’d always called her.

Her eyes drifted open. “Aaron Peterson, as I live and breathe.”

“That’s the point, Viola. You are living and breathing,” George said from the opposite side of the bed, where he and Lenny stood. Ernie slid in beside Aaron.

Viola turned her head, searching both sides of the bed. “You’re here.”

“Of course we’re here for our best gal,” Aaron said, his voice suddenly fierce. “Nothing could have kept us from you.”

Viola’s gaze lingered on Aaron for a moment. “But you already did what I asked you to do,” she said, her eyes shining, her mouth pulled up in a smile that warmed the utilitarian room. “When I told you that both Connor and Ellie were heading for Las Vegas, I never expected you’d be able to bring them together so easily, let alone persuade them to get married.”

“We didn’t have to do anything,” George laughed. “Tequila did the job for us.”

Lenny frowned. “I think there was more to it than that. Those two had a past. And a past with someone you loved isn’t always easy to forget.”

Was Lenny talking about Connor and Ellie or the five of them? Aaron reached down and slipped his hand around Viola’s arthritic fingers. The strength he never found in his own soul, he’d found in hers for years. Once again he was blanketed in the warmth of her unconditional love.

This time Viola was the vulnerable one. He could see the doubt and the worry that shadowed her eyes. It was time to give something back to the woman who’d been a good friend to all of them for so long. Aaron squeezed her fingers. “Our task is far from over. We might have helped Ellie and Connor get together. Now it’s up to us to keep them that way.”

Viola tried to sit up, but a racking cough sent her back against the mattress. “Yes,” Viola rasped out when she was able, giving him a sad, gentle smile. In the next heartbeat, Viola stiffened. Her cardiac monitor beeped crazily up and down. She clamped on to Aaron’s fingers, crushing them as she made a gasping sound.

“Push the ‘Call’ button. Go get help.” Aaron signaled to the others as he stared at Viola, trying to remain calm for her sake. “I’m here with you, sugar. You’re going to be fine.” He could see the pain in her face.

“Please . . . don’t let . . . me die.”

“You won’t die, Viola. Help is on the way. We still have so much to live for.”