Page 152 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics hurried over with a stretcher. Everyone stepped back to give them space and I watched with a rock in my stomach as they loaded Rob into the ambulance and drove away.

“Job site’s closed until the investigation is done,” I announced, and Aiden swore. I crossed my arms, nostrils flaring. “I’m stepping back into the project.”

His face flashed with frustration and defensiveness. “We followed every safety protocol. This couldn’t have been prevented.”

“It’s not up for discussion,” I snapped, pointing at the rebar laying all over the ground. “You’re way over your head. This is my fault.” Some of the fight left me, leaving only shame. “I shouldn’t have put this on your shoulders before you were ready.

I stalked off to my truck to head to the hospital. Way, way in the back of my head, I knew Aiden was right. The guy had always been a stickler for our rigorous safety procedures. This wasn’t his fault.

Still, I couldn’t shake the notion that if I had been in charge, it wouldn’t have happened.

Instead, I was building treehouses in the woods and watching Sadie at the bar. My stomach twisted. I hated choosing like this. I had tried to let things go at work and it blew up in my face.

I had no choice. Regret simmered through my chest and I gritted my teeth.

* * *

I spentthe rest of the afternoon and evening at the hospital, waiting until Rob got out of surgery. Outside his room, I assured his family he would be on leave with full pay and access to as much physiotherapy as he needed before I headed home.

The tension in my chest loosened a fraction as I stepped through the front door. After the day from hell, all I wanted was to see Sadie.

“Hey,” I called as I kicked my boots off. It was just before midnight and all the lights were still on.

“I’m in here.” Her soft voice came from the living room, where she sat in front of the fireplace, gazing at the flames with her arms crossed over her chest.

I stepped forward and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Jesus, am I happy to see you.”

She stiffened as my lips brushed her face and I frowned, straightening up. She wouldn’t meet my gaze. A crease formed between her eyebrows as she stared at the fire.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She glanced at the coffee table.

The ring my dad had given me sat in the cream velvet box, open and sparkling as it caught the light from the fire. Her gaze rose to mine, and her eyes flashed with pain, fury, and betrayal.

For the second time that day, my stomach plummeted.

59

Sadie

“I was borrowinga pair of your socks,” I told him, staring at the ring. My stomach knotted over and over. I chewed a hole in my bottom lip.

There had to be an explanation for this. Please, please let there be a reason why he had that ring.

All my socks were in the laundry. When I had pulled his sock drawer open to find those comfy ski socks he had lent me weeks ago, there it was. A little cream box, sitting in the corner of the drawer.

A wedding ring.

A fucking wedding ring?

I heard the rush of blood in my ears. My gaze lifted to his. His face was drawn and he looked drained. Guilt pinched me in the ribs because I knew he had the day from hell, but I couldn’t go to bed without addressing this with him.

“Okay, hold on a second.” Holden moved to sit beside me on the couch, taking my hands. “It’s not what you think.”

Relief loomed at the edge of my panic. Maybe he was holding onto the ring for someone. It was a gift from Emmett to Avery, or Wyatt to Hannah.

“I know you’re not ready to get married yet,” he said in a low, careful voice.

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