Page 25 of The Fake Husband Play
“When we got to the ambulance, she barely cried at all,” I continue, soft and low as she drifts away from me, into a sleep I hope is peaceful and pain-free. “Even though the siren was loud and scary. And at the hospital, she held Mama’s hand while she got three big shots and the doctors said they’d never seen a little girl so strong…or beautiful.”
My voice cracks on the last word, and I have to take a beat to swallow. To regain control. To remind myself that this fear and rage at the unfairness of life is part of love, too.
It’s part of the gift of being this little girl’s mother and all the ways it’s made me the woman I am today. And that’s a woman I’m proud of, even when I’m scared and frantic and falling short of “perfect.”
I stay curled up beside her for a while longer,watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, letting the reality of being nearly out of the woods sink into my bones. The fever is down and staying down. That’s always a good sign. The monitors beep their reassuring rhythm, and beyond our curtain, the hospital continues its healing mission.
There’s peace in this place sometimes, too. In the aftermath.
Whatever tonight brought, whatever tomorrow might hold, right now my most precious person is safe, sleeping, and on the mend, and what person could want more than that?
Finally, I ease off the bed, meaning to check in with the nurse and see if I’m clear to fetch Mimi’s snacks, so they’re waiting when she wakes up.
But just outside the curtain, I step dead, heart leaping into my throat as I realize I’ve forgotten something very important—namely, the Knight in Designer Duds still hanging around to make sure Mimi and I are all right. With his coat off and his sleeves rolled up to reveal those forearms of steel, he’s even more gorgeous.
More fantastic.
More…impossible.
Becoming friends or something more with Grammercy Graves, my NHL crush, trulyisimpossible.
Maybe that’s why it was easy to forget that he was here.
But still…so embarrassing!
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my cheeks beginning to burn. “I totally forgot you were here. I got locked into Mom mode and just…spaced.”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” he says, a husky note in his voice. But it isn’t a fun husky note. It’s a sad one, athing that’s explained when he adds, “So she’s been sick foryears? Since she was a baby?”
Pressing my lips together, I nod. “Yeah. It started when she was about twenty months old—just little things at first. She’d wake up crying and want me to carry her everywhere, even though she loved her new shoes. I thought it was just normal toddler stuff. But then her knees started getting all puffy and hot, and she’d limp around the apartment for days. Her pediatrician thought it was a virus, but eventually she was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.” I clear my throat. “Then we realized it was affecting her lungs, too, so…”
I shrug and cross my arms. “She’s on some good meds to keep the flares down, and physical therapy has helped. Most of the time, she’s fine, just a normal kid. But when she’s in a flare, things can get…a little scary.”
“You mentioned you were losing your insurance,” he says, shocking me a little. I didn’t realize he was paying such close attention to my babbling in the closet. “Is she going to be all right? Be honest. Please.”
I swallow. “I um…don’t know. Last time we were on the state insurance, they switched her to a cheaper, steroid therapy that was pretty miserable for her. But that isn’t your problem to solve, Grammercy,” I rush to add, already seeing where this is going with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Heroic. “I don’t want to be anyone’s charity case. And as sweet and kind as it is to want to help a sick kid, it wouldn’t help. Not really. Not in the long run. It would be like…a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. I need to find a stable job with good benefits, something that’s going to keep Mimi safe and cared for until she’s grown. That’s the only real solution.”
I sigh. “And then, if she doesn’t grow out of her condition the way some kids do…maybe she can get a scholarship to study in Europe or something, and eventually get a job in a place where everyone has medical care. I mean, places like that do exist in the world. Just…not here.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” he says, his gaze intense, unwavering. “So, I figured out another way. It’s kind of crazy, but just hear me out, okay? Before you say no?”
“Okay,” I say, my mouth going dry as he steps closer, sending his delicious cedar and sea air scent rushing through my head.
“We obviously don’t know each other well,” he continues in a soft rumble I feel everywhere. “But I already know you’re a special person with a special kid. Hearing you talk to her…” He shrugs. “I know I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help it.”
His warm amber gaze locks on mine again, as serious as a heart attack. As juvenile arthritis. As how overwhelming it is to be a teen mom with a sick baby and no one to help her make her way.
“You’re a good woman, Eloise,” he says. “Truly good. There aren’t as many people like that in the world as I used to think, and the ones who are… Well, I want to do my part to help good things come their way. So, I figured…” He inhales, letting out a shaky breath as he adds, “There’s no reasonable way to say a thing like this, so I’ll just spit it out. But I want you to know, I’m serious. And I think we could make this work. For both of us.’
“Make what work?” I ask, wondering if it’s just thecloseness of this beautiful, sexy smelling man that has me struggling to connect the dots.
But then he says, “Marry me,” and I realize no.
No, it wasn’t his closeness.
It’s the fact that those two words are the last words Ieverexpected to come leaping out of those gorgeous lips.
They hit like a physical blow, and suddenly I can’t remember how to breathe.
