“From a long time ago.” Her jaw ticked. “A very long time ago.”
So she still held that night against me. As she should. Many times, I wished I had handled things differently. At the same time, I wasn’t sure what I could have done. Georgia had been the best thing to happen to me, but in one evening it all fell apart.
I’d tried to tell myself our parting was destiny. That I was better off without her, and she was better off without me. Looking at her in the hospital bed, though, all that poor reasoning crumbled.
She’d only grown more beautiful over the years, her face taking on a stronger shape and her eyes filling with knowledge and experience. What had she been up to for the last decade? Did she have a job she loved? A home? A family?
My gaze fell on her left hand. At the sight of no ring, I felt relief—and annoyance at myself for feeling relieved. Georgia probably still hated me, and as a general rule I didn’t mess with the past. I let it stay dead and buried.
“How do you know each other?” Sebastián asked.
Georgia spoke up. “I spent six months here when I was a student. That’s when I met your… dad.” She looked at me funny. “I can’t believe you’re a father.”
I shrugged. “Life,” I said, as if that explained everything.
“You have a great son.” Her attention turned to Sebastián, and her whole demeanor changed. Warmth and sunshine exuded from her.
“Do you have children?” I asked.
“No,” she said, looking away.
An awkward silence filled the room, and I caught Melba trying to hide a knowing smile. To anyone but a ten-year-old boy, it was probably blatantly obvious that Georgia and I had heavy history.
There was a knock on the door, and a nurse entered with a wheelchair. “The doctor has discharged you.”
“Oh.” Georgia frowned. “I can’t get a taxi for a few more hours. Is there any chance I can stay?”
“I will give you a ride home,” I blurted out.
Her frown only deepened. “Oh, no. I—”
“I will not take no for an answer. What is your other option? Sit in front of the hospital in a wheelchair?”
She thought it over for longer than most people would.
Sebastián danced around the room. “Come with, Georgia! Please.”
“Okay.” She sighed, then smiled. “Thank you.”
Warmth trickled into my toes. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Your son is the one who saved me.”
And I hurt you.
I cleared my throat, hoping my inner dialogue didn’t show on my face. “My car is right out front. Can I help you into the wheelchair?”
“It’s fine.” She waved me off, accepting assistance from the nurse instead.
As we walked down the hallways, my mind continued to race. What were the chances of running into Georgia all these years later? And under such specific circumstances?
If I were the type of person to believe in signs, I would have been greatly moved.
At the front of the hospital, my driver opened the SUV’s back door and Melba and I helped Georgia in. At the feel of her arm under my fingers, butterflies flitted through my stomach.
All these years later, and she still had the ability to make me come undone.
I cleared my throat. Forced myself to focus on the task at hand.