Page 14 of Love You, Mean It

Theo grinned sheepishly, hand going to the back of his head automatically. He grimaced again.

“This? It’s from my MMA side gig.”

“Ahhh, that explains it.”

“I’m sorry, Miss…” The nurse squinted at Sam, then at the chart in her hands.

“Lindsay. Samantha Lindsay. Sorry, probably should have led with that.” Sam flashed a smile too brief to count as apologetic. Of course she had two first names. Women who showed up at hospitals looking like that were practicallyrequiredto have two first names.

“Miss Lindsay. Clearly you’re acquainted, but we do need to limit visitors.”

“Of course,” Sam said, her air of polished professionalism reappearing all at once, like an atmosphere forming around her. “Theo’s obviously doing fine without me. But Ididget a call from the hospital, so I assumed it was fairly urgent?”

“You got a…Dear lord, this must be Arden again.” The nurse’s face pinched with annoyance. She turned to me, apologetic. “The new girl on reception keeps crossing her wires. Let me just check a few things…but you’ll probably have to go, Miss Lindsay. Visitors are family only right now.”

“But sheis…” Theo stopped suddenly, drawing his chin back to his neck, as though to pull back the offending words, then turned to me, eyes widening. “I mean…” He blinked, glancing between Sam and me slowly. Something I couldn’t read passed over Sam’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a calm smile.

“You mean you should have changed your emergency contact years ago? Couldn’t agree more. Especially since I have a call with my CEO in an hour and you’ve totally salted my prep time.”

“Sure, but who was I gonna put on there instead, Chase? He’d probably stop on the way to the hospital to get stoned.”

Sam stiffened, face going slack, all her polish stripped away in a moment.

“Chase? Theo, are you…” She turned to me. “Sorry, how bad was this injury?” She shook her head, trying to collect herself. “Actually, bigger sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Sam.” She extended a hand and I rose to take it, her height even more apparent as I stared up at her.

“Ellie Greco. Theo and I are…I mean I’m…”

“Ellie’s Theo’s fiancée,” the nurse supplied as she flipped through the chart. Sam blinked rapidly, clearly surprised. Which…same. “As far as the injury…Ellie, is it alright if I explain?”

“Oh, sure…please do.” The nurse gave me another motherly smile.

“Theo’s scans all came back clear. Temporary memory loss is common in cases like this. We’re prescribing rest, hence the family-only directive. And on that note, I’m going to speak with Arden. I keep telling her to check the intake formsbeforeshe dives into patient records.” The nurse bustled out. Sam glanced at Theo again, real fear tightening the corners of her eyes.

“It sounds like I should get out of your hair before the nurse comes back and really cracks the whip. Besides, I’m sure you two don’t need me hovering. Theo, feel better. And for god’s sake, update your emergency contact forms.” She smirked at him, then turned to me. “Do you have a second?” She tilted her head toward the hallway, gaze intense, and I nodded, following her out of the room, a hint of subtly woodsy perfume, cedar and spices I couldn’t place, marking the trail. She strode around the corner to a little waiting alcove, moving to the far wall and turning to face me.

“Be honest, how much worse is this than they’re saying?”

“I mean…I think they’re telling us everything they know.”

“But he’s completely forgotten about Chase.” She tilted her chin down for emphasis. “That’s not just run-of-the-mill memory loss…it’s full-blownamnesia.”

“I don’t know about that…” I murmured, screwing my face into something between worry and gas pain. Hopefully that was thecorrect emotion for whatever Chase had to do with everything?Dear god, I was in so far over my head.Sam squinted in disbelief, her perfectly sculpted brows furrowing.

“What else would you call it? I mean, you two are engaged, you must know how deeply the accident affected Theo. And there was so much guilt tied up with it…”

“Of course. I just meant…” I licked my lips, stalling for time.Who was Chase?More important, if I owned up to this now, would she slap me, or just walk off in a huff…and then file a lawsuit later?Fuck, fuck, fuck,this was what I got for going with my spur-of-the-moment “flash of brilliance.” Who fakes being someone’sfiancée? Jesus, what if Sam and Theo had beencurrently together? The idea gripped tight around my stomach, clammy and cold.

“It’s just…not the only major thing he’s lost,” I said weakly, dropping my eyes in a futile attempt to shield myself from the moment when she saw right through me.

“Oh my god, he’s forgottenyou two.” Sam lifted a hand to her mouth. “I didn’t even think…but if he can’t remember Chase…God, I’m such an asshole.” She rolled her eyes to the dropped ceiling, sighing heavily. I just nodded. Her inference wasn’tuntrue.

“I guess I’m just hoping this will pass quickly,” I finally said.

“Of course it will. Ask anyone, I’m a total catastrophizer. Zero fun at amusement parks.” She pulled a goofy, wide-eyed face and I laughed in spite of myself. Once more I felt that flash of camaraderie I’d had the moment I saw her. Bella always got on my case for not making more friends, but the problem was that I was waiting for this—that same spark of connection you got with romance. I’d perfected my pointless small talk over years of working at the deli, but I was fundamentally too introverted to crave interaction with anyone who didn’t lock into place with me almost immediately.

“On that note, I’mactuallygoing to leave now.” She smiled reassuringly, gripping my shoulder briefly. “By the way, congratulations. Theo’s a really great guy. And I’m guessing he’s even luckier to have you.”

With that, she whisked off down the hall, leaving me alone with the faded chairs and lackluster selection of magazines on the coffee table.Could I just leave now?No, I’d gone too far. Theo believed I was his fiancée, so did the staff, now this Samantha did. Something about spreading the lie to her, someone who not only clearly cared about Theo but who also fell into the narrow sliver of “people I might actually like, given some time,” felt particularly icky. Even though I could practicallyseethis thing spinning out of my control, it was way too late to turn back. Bracing myself, I walked back to the room, clenching my hands to stop them from shaking. When I got there, the nurse was clipping Theo’s chart onto the bottom of his bed.

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