Page 54 of You Are Cordially Invited

I squatted in front of his chair and took his hand. He jolted like I’d hit him, and I silently cursed. Craig was getting better about the ‘whole gay thing’ as he called it, but it had been a slow process. I removed my hand, but to my surprise he grabbed it back.

“Sorry,” he said looking sheepish. “I’m an idiot.”

I arched a brow. “This we know.”

He snorted. “Fair enough.” Then his smile dropped and that haunted look reappeared. “What if he doesn’t get better? What if it’snottemporary?”

Trust Craig to lay out the naked fear everyone had so nicely tucked away. “Then we deal with it,” I answered, sounding a fuckton more composed than my jangling nerves and need to wash every wall in the damn ER would tend to indicate.

“Yeah, right. Of course.” His chin dropped to his chest. “But Cory—”

“Will be fine either way.” I stopped that thought in its track and tipped his chin up, forcing him to look at me. “You understand that, don’t you? Nothing is gonna change in that regard.”

“But if Reuben can’t—”

“No,” I said firmly.What the actual fuck?“Reuben adopted Cory, Craig. It’s done and dusted. Nothing will reverse that. And I’m not going anywhere. What’s this about?”

His gaze slid and flicked around the room. “Dad’s been texting—”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” I pushed to my feet and stalked to the window. It was the last thing I needed.

“Why didn’t you say?” Georgie shot Craig a stony look. “And why the hell are you listening to anything that douchebag says?” She glanced at the phone in his hand and her lips flattened. “Now, I know you didn’t just text him what Michael said, right?”

He flushed bright red. “He’s our dad. He has a right to know.”

I was two seconds away from strangling the guy. “Are you fucking kidding me? You told him?”

Craig flustered. “He wanted to know how Reuben was—”

“No,” I shouted, then stopped and drew a ragged breath to calm down before I unloaded all my frustration on him—it was too damn tempting. Craig might be a walking disaster, but he was at least trying to change, and he didn’t deserve that. “He’s not interested in Reuben for any other reason than to fuck things up while Reuben can’t fight back.That’swhat he wants, Craig. That’sallhe wants. Did you even read what he said in that interview yesterday?”

Craig frowned. “What interview?”

I threw up my hands. “Look it up later. You realise he’ll go straight to the media with this new information and stir up another hornet’s nest. We’ll have every rugby media outlet in the world breathing down the hospital’s neck looking for updates. What on earth were you thinking?” I drilled him with a glare. “And what the hell did he say to you about Cory that’s got you so tied up in knots.”

Craig fiddled with his phone, refusing to look at me. “He said they wouldn’t let Reuben keep Cory if he... well, you know.”

“Oh. My. God. Stop talking to him, Craig. He’s wrong and he’s only trying to cause trouble. Reuben’s going to recover just fine. No oneis taking Cory from Reuben. Not your dad, not you, no one.” I sent him a pointed look. “Why the hell are we even talking about this? If that son of a bitch texts you again, I don’t want him knowing anything other than if he thinks he’s gonna turn up here and see Reuben, he’ll have to walk over my dead body first. He’s banned from whatever ward Reuben ends up in, and I’ll make damn sure every single staff member knows that. This is my territory, and he’s not stepping one foot in it.”

“Okay. Okay. And I’m sorry. Will I be able to see Reuben?” Craig asked in a small voice, and my heart squeezed just a little.

“Of course, but he’s tied up in imaging for ages tonight and he’ll be exhausted by the time he gets to his room. Come tomorrow when he’s had some sleep.”

“I’ll bring Craig with me,” Georgie offered, and I sent her a grateful smile. “And you can tell that fiancé of yours when you see him that I’m gonna kick his arse for scaring me half to death, and if he can’t feel it, I’ll save it for when he can.”

I snorted and pulled her into my arms, appreciating the dark humour more than I could say. “You’ll have to get in line, sugar. There’s a lot I want to do to that particular arse first.”

“Ew.” She shoved me away with a horrified look. “Come on, Craig, it’s time to go.” She tugged Craig to his feet, then paused. “So, the wedding?”

I shrugged. “One step at a time. But yeah, it’s not looking good. Maybe it would be best to—”

“Shh.” She reached for my hand and squeezed. “One step at a time.”

I watched them leave, wondering how long it would be until Brian Taylor tried to see his son. The only upside of that particular shitshow was the fact I was spoiling for a fight, and that arsehole would make an admirable target.

Chapter Eleven

Cam

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