Page 113 of This Wild Heart

“I said this is bullshit.” She laid her head back on the couch and sighed. “Months. I’m going to be stuck like this formonths.”

“Just think,” I told her. “You can watch all those TV shows you always talked about. Or read that book series Aunt Molly is obsessed with.”

She gave me a look. “She already ordered me the paperbacks and said I have to update her daily. How do people just sit here and do nothing? This is awful.”

I laughed, reaching over to grab the remote from the coffee table and handed it to her. “It’s been like two hours. You better get used to it.”

Isabel bit into a slice of cheese and sighed. “Do I really have to use those crutches for everything?”

“Everything. No arguing, young lady. Now take your pain pills.”

She rolled her eyes.”You’re a mean nurse. I think I like your dad better. At least I can bribe him more effectively.”

“Eww.” I picked up a pillow and swatted her with it.

Isabel laughed and grabbed it before I could get her in the face. “I didn’t meanthat,” she said.

As she scrolled through movie options, I ignored the pit in my stomach, and the ache in my heart.

What was Parker doing right now? Had Leo slept the rest of the night after I left? Training camp highlights had been onSportsCenterall day, and like an addict, I watched, because just a single glimpse of him felt like a jolt to my tired system.

It wasn’t fair. He was all glistening muscle under the sun, smiling and taking pictures with cute little fans and generally looking like the greatest thing I’d ever seen. Words crowded my throat, and even though they would hurt coming up, I wanted to talk about it.

I wanted to talk about how different this felt and how wretchedly he’d twisted me up inside.

It wasn’t really wretched, though, was it? There was a wonderful edge to the pain, something that was alive in its own right.

But Isabel was exhausted. I could see it stamped on her face. Once the pain pills kicked in, she’d be out like a light.

“This one sound good?” Isabel asked. It was a romance movie I hadn’t seen yet. Beneath it was an action movie with a million explosions and no kissing.

“What about the kidnapping one instead?”

Her eyebrows popped in surprise. “Sure.”

“Perfect.” I smiled, settling in next to her while she popped her meds.

Except the hero looked like Parker. He was tall and broad, with golden sunkissed looks and sex eyes.

Fifteen minutes in, he stripped off his shirt, and I found myself looking for the three small birds inked on his rib cage. When they weren’t there, I lost my breath for a second.

“Isabel? I have to tell you something,” I said quietly.

But when I looked over, she was sound asleep.

I dropped my head back and sighed.

“Can we make Champ’s tail a little bit fluffier?” Vida asked in a hushed voice.

Isabel was dozing on the couch again, and Vida had crept in through the front door, with junk food in hand and a hug that I desperately needed. We didn’t talk about Parker because Violet was coming in and out of the room, and while I’d stand down a speeding train for my sister, I didn’t trust her secret-keeping abilities for shit.

I tilted my iPad so Vida could watch me sketch.

“Yeah, like that.”

I tapped the stylus on the screen and adjusted the coloring until I was happy with how it looked. “What about Gumdrop’s eyes? Do we want him to look so sad in this scene?”

She made a considering noise. “Maybe save that for the next one. If Champ wasn’t such an asshole, teasing him for being slow …”

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