Once again, he’s saving the day. Saving me. Saving my family.
And what for? I sneak a glance at him. He smiles down at me with warmth and hope.
He does all this—for me. For no reason other than he wants to. He wants to make me happy. To keep me safe. To help me, to help my family. With all his love.
I want to forgive him. I need to forgive him. “Gabriel, I—”
My sister's eyes narrow, her sharp tongue cutting me off. “Miranda. We’re here.” The car pulls to a stop and she’s opening the door without waiting for the driver to do it. “Let’s go.”
She waits for me, arm over the top of the door, her eyes never leaving me. The heat from her gaze won’t let me say what I need to say. I slip from the seat, from his arm, and exit the car.
He grabs my hand, pulling me back, and I’m lost in those eyes. His face is inches from mine. If I leaned in just a touch, or he came my way, our lips would meet. He holds my hand, my gaze. “Miranda, I’m going to go. I’m going back to Vegas. You need to be with your mom and your sister right now, not distracted by whatever this is going on between us.”
“Alright. Thank you…” My heart cries No, stay. Don’t leave. But he’s right. I can only seem to think about him when he’s around. If he goes, I’ll be able to sort this out, to support my mom the way I need to. To figure out how to help her. And decide what I want from him.
But he’ll be so far from me. And I’ve relied so heavily on him to stay strong.
He gives a pained smile. “I’m just going to pick up some food for you all. I’ll come in to drop it off for you and say goodbye. Then, I’ll leave.”
“That’s very kind of you.” I feel kinda bad he came all this way just to leave again. A part of me wants to tell him to stay, not to go. At least I’ll see him once more before he goes.
I turn away, following my sister into the hospital.
Hand in hand we find the nurses’ station. For once, it's Lexi who takes charge. She leans over the tall desk. “Excuse me, we’re here to visit our mother, Ms. Montague?”
The nurse looks up with a kind smile. Her name tag says Emmie in bright blue letters. “Yes. You’re her daughters, the ones from Vegas? My, you made it here in record time. You girls have your own private jet or something?” She laughs.
Lexi snorts. “Something like that.”
Emmie points down the hall. “She’s in room 203. Let me tell you, she is such a doll. She’s been trying to convince us all to read this romance series she’s into. Something about the mafia? That woman loves her mafia romance.”
Lexi’s hand flutters over her heart. “Wait—she’s alright?”
“Yes. She did have a stroke at the care facility. Had a little fall, but luckily no injuries from that. They brought her here and after doing some tests, they found it was what we call a mini-stroke, a TIA. The doctor will explain more to you, but she’s alright for now and there’s no long term damage.” Emmie stands from her seat. “Let me take you to her.”We follow her down the hall. Room 203. Nurse Emmie goes in first. “Ms. Montague, your daughters have arrived and they are just as beautiful as you said they were.”
I lay eyes on my mom and a huge sigh of relief leaves my lungs. I don’t know what I was expecting to see, maybe her skin pale, her body frail? But she looks just like she did when I last left California.
She’s waving that damn book in the air. Gabriel practically winks at me from the cover. “I told you they were gorgeous, Em. And tough, too. I tell you what, they could hold their own with any one of these mobster men.”
“Mom! I’m so glad you’re alright.” Lexi rushes to her bedside, hugging her and kissing her cheek.
I go to the other side of the bed. Her hand feels a little cold and when I kiss her, her cheek is warmer than last time, but other than that, she seems fine. “The nurse told us you were trying to recruit some romance readers in here.”
My mom nods. “Yep. I tell you what. These books get a bad rap but there’s a lot of heart and soul in here. And my goodness, the men are hot.” She fans herself with the book.
Emmie laughs. “Alright girls, I’ll let you visit.”
The nurse goes to leave, but my mom calls out to stop her. “Hang on a second, Em.” She holds up the book. Gabriel’s black and white eyes stare right into mine. “I saved the best part for when my Miranda was here.”