Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Hunter had a heart attack. They placed a stent. And he should recover just fine, thanks to you,” he says.
I don’t know what to say. Did I really do anything? All I remember is the feeling of drowning.
“Are Vera and Blair here?”
“No. Vera stayed at the hospital last night. Blair came home after the procedure, but she headed back to the hospital before you got here. Hunter wanted his Hermes throw blanket and Sea Island cotton sheets.”
I kiss his chest next to my hand over his heart. “I hope you comforted her. Held her. Loved her.”
Seconds turn into minutes, and he doesn’t respond. They weren’t questions, anyway. I just don’t want him to think I can’t understand how much she means to him even if I’m the one in his arms.
I slide out of his hold and collect my clothes from the floor, stepping past the door to the bathroom across the hallway. When I return, Murphy’s dressed, sitting on the end of the bed, head bowed, hands folded between his legs. I seem to have this effect on men.
“I want to clean the wood floors where the paramedics came into the house. Make sure all the laundry is clean. New sheets. Replace flowers in the vases. Get groceries.” I shrug. “I want everything to be perfect when they come home.”
He narrows his eyes for a beat before relinquishing a nod. “He won’t come home for a few days. You should go to the hospital. He’d love to see you. And Vera and Blair would too. They are incredibly grateful that you were here for him.”
“I wasn’t here. Not when it happened. I forgot my phone and came back to get it. Callen surprised me and said he tried calling me. That’s when I realized I’d left my phone. Maybe they need to thank Callen, instead, for coming to see me.”
Murphy stands and takes two easy strides toward me. He frames my face. “Alice, you are incredibly special. And I feel like everyone knows this except you. Tragedy is an unavoidable part of life. But I think the biggest of all tragedies is feeling unworthy.” He brushes the pad of his thumb across my lower lip before kissing me.
Every kiss with Murphy feels like a last kiss.
“Baby,” he whispers, “I need you to feel worthy. I want you to dream.” His lips catch my tears the moment they escape.
“I can’t.”
“Why?” He ghosts his lips along my cheek.
I close my eyes and grip his shirt to steady myself. “Because I’d dream of you.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Alice
Compassion is free. Loyalty comes with a price.
“There’s my guardian angel,” Hunter says from his hospital bed, wearing the most humbled expression I’ve ever seen on his weary, unshaven face.
Before I can answer, Vera wraps me in her outstretched arms and whispers, “Thank you so much.”
When she releases me, I smile past the lump in my throat and nod.
For an even bigger gut punch, Blair does the same thing. Only she’s too choked up to speak. When she releases me, she quickly blots her eyes.
My gaze remains glued to her until her smile fades a bit, and I realize I’m staring at her too long. Would they thank me if they knew what I did six hours ago in the basement with Murphy?
Would I still be a hero? Or a villain?
If I do what Murphy wants me to do—feel worthy and dream—then I have to accept my role in life again as more than just a series of fleeting moments that don’t mean anything. I have to be accountable.
I’m not ready for that.
“I feel a raise is in my future.” I tease, sliding into character with a smiley face, delivering each word like a well-rehearsed skit. It’s the art of living in an alternate universe.
They laugh, but Hunter cringes.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you laugh. I bet it hurts.” I stand next to his bed and squeeze his hand. Then I pull a book out of my handbag. “I thought you might like a story read to you.”
“Oh my gosh,” Blair says. “Mom, I think that’s our sign to grab dinner. I’ll call Murphy and tell him to meet us somewhere that’s not hospital cafeteria food.”
Vera sidles up to the other side of his bed and kisses his forehead before whispering, “I love you.”
He has hearts in his eyes for her, even after all these years. It melts my insides.
“Can you stay with him until we get back?” Vera asks.
“Of course.”
When they exit the room, I pull up a chair and sit next to his bed.
“We’re bound for life, now. It’s like you donated a kidney to me.”
I grin, shaking my head.
“If I tell you something, can you keep my secret?” he asks.
“I can.” I cross my legs and fold my hands in my lap.
“I saw you.”
“Saw me?”