“What? Seriously? I’m so sorry, Gianna. Clearly, he was a fool.”
Her small smile doesn’t quite reach her warm, expressive eyes. “I agree.”
“How long ago did that happen?”
“Just over a year now.”
“I’m really sorry that happened to you.”
“Me, too.” The sadness I see in her eyes kills me. “The thing that still bugs me more than anything is if he didn’t want to get married, why did he wait until that day to tell me? I mean, we had a church full of people and a reception paid for. Why did he let it get to the point where I’d be humiliated in front of everyone we know, especially when he knew how hard it was for me to even have a wedding without my parents there?”
“I don’t know why anyone would do something like that. What did he say?”
“That he woke up that morning feeling certain we shouldn’t get married. He said he couldn’t explain where the feeling had come from, but it was so strong, he couldn’t ignore it.”
I’m outraged for her. “And he couldn’t have had that feeling before you put on the white dress and showed up to the church full of people?”
“Apparently not.”
“He’s an asshole for doing that.”
“So I’ve been told by everyone in my life. It’s taken me a while to let go of the life I thought I was going to have with him. That’s a work in progress.”
“No one should have to go through something like that. I’m sorry you did.”
“Aw, thanks. It’s life, you know?”
“No, it’s not. It’s cruel and unnecessary and cowardly to let something go that far if it’s not what you want. You deserved much better than that.”
“Thank you.”
I keep waiting for her to say she has to check on other patients, but she’s not in the usual rush today. “Do you have other patients?”
“No, just you. The ICU is unusually quiet today.”
I love being her one and only. Easy, Milo. You’re her only patient. Not her one and only. My goal is all about keeping her talking.
“How’d you end up getting shot in the neck, anyway?” she asks.
“It was a case of mistaken identity. The shooters thought I was my brother.”
“What’d he do?”
“Started dating the soon-to-be ex-wife of one of them.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. My brother owns a car service, and he was freaking out because they’ve been threatening her—and him—and he was afraid to leave her side while she was at work at the family’s restaurant.”
“Best food ever, by the way.”
“I agree. There’s nothing better. Anyway, I volunteered to take his rides, they thought I was him, and they shot me.”
“That’s insane. All because he was dating the shooter’s ex-wife. People are loco.”
“Yep.”
“You got really, really lucky. I hope you know that. I heard the doctors talking that one millimeter different, and you’re either dead or a quadriplegic.”