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He nodded, and a surge of love hit me.

Damn, I missed him.

Just gazing at his face made me want to reach through the screen and pull him into a crushing hug.

‘Can I talk to her?’ he asked, his voice cracking.

‘She’s sleeping off some wild medication right now, bud,’ I murmured so that I wouldn’t wake Ana. ‘I’ll get her on FaceTime the second she opens her eyes. I promise.’

‘OK. Thanks, Dad. I love you.’

‘Love you more, kid. Put Christine on for a minute.’

‘Got you.’

Raff got out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen, where our nanny was making breakfast at the counter.

‘Chris, Dad found Mum; she’s going to be fine.’

The frame shifted as Christine took the phone, stepping out into the hallway of the villa.

Her face was lined with relief.

‘Deacon, thank heavens.’

‘Ana’s stable,’ I told her, mapping out the timeline in my head. ‘The medical team wants her monitored and doing some PT for a few days due to the swelling. I’ll try to convince her that we need to fly back together, so please prepare one of the ground-floor guest suites. Our ETA is early next week.’

‘Consider it done, Deacon,’ she replied with a firm nod. ‘Bring our girl home. Raff and I will be waiting.’

After I hung up with Christine, I took a slow breath and tapped Massimo’s number.

The call cut off after three rings, dropping me straight into an automated mailbox.

‘Hey, Massimo, it’s Deacon again,’ I muttered into the receiver, my jaw clenching. ‘Your wife needs you. She got caught up in the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, and she’s currently in a Kenyan hospital with a shattered limb. Call her or me back as soon as you can.’

I had to grit my teeth to keep from swearing before I hung up.

‘What’s the deal with your guy, Ana?’ I ventured later, after she woke up and ate lunch, as I adjusted the blanket over her uninjured leg. ‘He’s ghosting you and your mother’s calls.’

She shrugged, humiliation and sadness flickering across her features.

‘He gets like this when filming. He goes into character so deeply he can’t be distracted.’

I arched a brow, unimpressed.

‘Really?’

‘He takes method acting to a whole other level,’ she muttered. ‘He’s filming a historical, Regency film, so perhaps he’s gone all out and won’t interact with technology.’

That was her frail excuse, but what married man refused to take his wife and her family’s calls for weeks?

I sensed the worst but chose to keep my mouth shut.

Chapter 14

DEACON

Isettled into caring for Ana, a role I secretly cherished.