Page 73 of While You're There
His phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling them both out of their trance. The reality of the situation was that he didn’t have an extra second to spare. It didn’t even matter who was texting him. Chandler… Jake… Hell, it could even be Quinn, informing him of another work emergency that was wreaking havoc and sending his world into even deeper turmoil. It seemed like anything was possible after the last twenty-four hours.
Tori shuffled back slightly, blinking away more tears as she raised her gaze to meet his.
Rhett bowed his head low, completely uncertain how to let go or how to convince her to leave. He kissed each of her cheeks, trying to absorb all the tears he had caused.
“Please don’t hate me for this,” he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.
“Never,” she replied automatically. “Not now. Not ever.” She broke out of his grasp and moved toward the door, an unconvincing confidence to her gait. She turned around once more before stepping into the hall.
“I love you, Everhett Wheeler. Please come back to me as soon as you can.”
Chapter thirty
Tori
“Comeon,baby.Let’sget you home.”
Jake slung an arm around her shoulders as they stepped out of the elevator and into the hospital parking garage. She leaned into him and let him lead her, grateful for his solidness. She had lost track of time at this point, and being underground in the lower level of the parking deck was disorienting. “Are you going to be late for work?”
“Cory took the opening shift for me,” he replied as he guided her down the next row of cars. “I didn’t give him a reason or even mention you… just told him it was important.”
Seeing Jake’s black Jeep was a balm to her soul. Knowing that she was leaving Rhett when he needed her was hard, but there was still a sense of relief that washed over her as she reached for the passenger door handle.
“Hold up.” He reached around her and pulled open the back door. “I brought along a surprise. You’re going to want to sit back here.”
Tori was too exhausted for his words to fully register, but she ducked under his arm to crawl into the backseat anyways. Instead of finding an empty bench, someone else was already in the back, offering her a megawatt grin as she climbed into the car.
“Fielding?!” She felt a grin take over her face before she even realized she was smiling. It was the first time she had done anything besides scowl or cry for hours.
“What the heck are you doing here?”
“Hey, Tor,” he offered sheepishly. She couldn’t tell if he was tired or uncomfortable or maybe a little of both. She scooted across the back seat and practically fell onto him with a sigh of relief. He wrapped his arms around her on contact, holding her so much tighter than she expected, but exactly as tight as she needed. He squeezed her once for emphasis, then used a firm grip on her upper arms to pull her away so he could look her in the eyes.
She hadn’t looked in a mirror in hours. She could feel the raw, tender skin pulling around her eyes. She didn’t shy away from Fielding’s assessment, though. He had seen her at her literal worst, and he was still hanging around. She didn’t need to hide anything from him.
“You good?” he asked gently, concern coating his words. Based on that question alone, she knew Jake had filled him in.
She nodded and inhaled through her nose before speaking. She trusted Jake, and they both trusted Field. It wasn’t like no one was ever going to find out about this.
“I’m okay. But I’m shocked to see you right now. Why are you here?”
“I was asleep on Jake’s couch when you called him.”
“Yeah, this one can pass out anywhere,” Jake interjected as he caught Tori’s eye through the rearview mirror, “but I wasn’t about to leave him unsupervised at the condo. Besides, once I woke him up and told him where I was going, he wouldn’t let me leave without tagging along.”
“You know I’m always up for a little Tori Recon Mission,” Fielding teased as he reached around her and pulled the seatbelt across her body. “Here ya go.”
She took the strap from his hand and secured the buckle in place.
“I hope it’s okay that I’m here. Jake told me just the bare minimum, I think.”
“Correct,” the other man confirmed from the front of the car as he paid the parking meter to get out of the garage.
Fielding drummed his fingers on the middle seat between them, tapping out an anxious rhythm that was out of character for him. “I knew better than to come in. I’m really sorry about what’s happening. For both of you. Or, I guess, all three of you. I’m not trying to insert myself into anything, and I have my headphones if you and Jake need to talk and you don’t want me to hear. I just needed to make sure you were okay. Between this and Wheeler’s stunt at The Grille…” he whispered the last part so only she could hear the worry to his words.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she insisted before reaching across the empty middle seat and squeezing his hand to quiet his anxious drumming.
“Chandler is or was pregnant with Rhett’s baby. She started bleeding earlier today. They think she’s having a miscarriage. She just moved to this area, so she’s all alone. Rhett and I drove down here as soon as we found out what was going on.”
