Page 95 of Conception
I hold her steely gaze, fighting the urge to punch my fist through the counter, both because I need to keep my calm to get answers and I’m not really keen on breaking my hand before finding her.
Thankfully, Joe takes this exact moment to walk behind the bar, a sight for sore eyes. I nearly sigh in relief when he saunters towards us. Throwing a towel over his shoulder, he glances between me and his girl. I don’t know if it’s the desperation on my face or what, but the guy takes pity on me. He takes out two shot glasses and pours something without a label. Then he tosses one back and slides the other towards me. I let the peace offering rest in front of me, not taking my eyes off his girlfriend.
“Sun, babe, go check on the guys at the pool table and let me talk to Knox.”
She pouts up at him, but he sets his jaw. Then she rolls her eyes. “Fine. At least this way I won’t be lying when I tell Amelia it wasn’t me.”
I raise my empty glass in a toast to him. “You’re a saint for taking that one off the market. It takes one hell of a man to handle her.”
Joe grins. “You have no fucking idea.”
And I don’t want to.
“I didn’t leave Crystal Cove because I wanted to,” I say. “I had to go. Amelia told me to.”
“I don’t think it’s so much that you left. More that you never came back.”
Before I can protest, because I really want to fucking protest, Joe leans a forearm on the bar.
With a low voice, he keeps going. “I know, man. It makes no fucking sense. Women. I’ve overheard enough to know that Amelia wanted a clean break. That she was leaving it up to chance, fate, whatever you want to call it. You’d meet again if you were supposed it. If not, that’s life. But when it comes to women, they say one thing and mean another. As men, we’re apparently supposed to get that.”
“I wanted to come back as soon as my dad was settled, but Amelia told me not to. I thought I was respecting her wishes.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “So why are you here now?”
I don’t even have to think about it. “Fuck her wishes.”
A slow grin splits his face, and I impatiently wait for him to tell me what I want to know. “I was hopin’ you’d say that.” His brow furrows, and I wonder what’s coming next. “Listen, things for Amelia since you left…haven’t been the easiest. She missed you somethin’ fierce. I never thought I’d meet a woman more stubborn than my Sunny, but Amelia these last few months? She’s been about ten times worse.”
The hair on the back of my neck rises. “What do you mean she’s having a hard time? What the fuck’s been going on?”
Joe sighs. “Not my place to tell you. Trust me, man. I’ve got your back in this. I’m in your corner, and if she’d be honest with herself, Sunny is, too. She’s just playing momma bear to her best girl. But what’s goin’ on with Amelia? You need to hear that from her.”
“Then tell me where I can find her.”
He glances at the empty glass in front of me. “That your first one?”
I nod.
“She’s fine, but…”
My blood runs cold at thatbut.
And when Joe leans in to tell me where I can find her, any possible buzz I may have had dissipates. I’m stone-cold sober, and if I don’t get to Amelia immediately, I may just lose my freaking shit.
SHE’S IN THE HOSPITAL.
If I weren’t so intent on getting to her, I would wring the necks of Sunny, her grandma, and her boyfriend all at the same time. Precious time has passed since I’ve been looking for her only to find out she’s laid up in some hospital bed the next county over? Fucking pricks.
It’s late, nearly midnight, and I have no idea if they’ll even let me see her. I’m racking my brain, trying to think of ways to sweet-talk the nurses, when I walk through the doors on the third floor, where Joe told me I’d find her.
I hit registration, hoping the pretty nurse behind the counter doesn’t notice the cold sweat across my brow. I clear my throat, getting her attention.
“Hi. How can I help you tonight?” she asks in a sweet singsong voice.
“Yeah, uh, I’m here for Amelia. I know it’s late, but I just got into town and my buddy told me she was here. I didn’t know…” I trail off.
“Hmm, let me see here,” she says mostly to herself, grabbing a file from a stack to her right. She thumbs through the papers before returning her attention to me with that same sickeningly sweet smile. “And your name, sir?”
