Page 112 of Wild Ever After
40
BIG AND GENEROUS
JADE
Tears pool in my eyes,and I breathe through the pain shooting through the top of my right foot. I’m pretty sure it’s broken.
Within a minute of calling Declan, I can hear him coming through the front door.
“Jade?” he calls, concern evident in his tone.
“Office,” I croak, and more tears fill my eyes. He came. He said he would, but it still fills me with so many emotions, it’s hard to breathe.
He races into the room with a wild look that softens when he sees me on the floor. Kneeling in front of me, he scans me from head to toe. His shirt is on inside out, his hair is wet, and he smells like someone else’s body wash. Even with the throbbing in my foot, the jab in my heart is more unbearable.
When he sees the red, and already swollen, top of my foot, his face twists like he can feel my pain. “What happened?”
“You came.”
“You called,” he says, like it’s just that simple.
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “I was trying to move the recliner back into the living room for you.”
His brows furrow, but then he stands.
“Don’t leave me. Please.” I reach out and grab his forearm. I watched him walk away before. I don’t want to do it again.
He kneels back down and brings one of his palms to rest on my cheek. His thumb glides across my skin, wiping away a tear. “I’m just going to get an ice pack. I’ll be right back. Okay?”
I nod, but it takes another few seconds to loosen my grip. “Okay.”
He leans forward and presses his lips to my forehead, lingering there for just a moment before he stands and leaves me on the floor.
When he comes back, he has an ice pack that he gingerly places on my angry, swollen foot.
“Hold this on there,” he instructs, and then lifts me into his arms.
I don’t ask where he’s taking me until we get outside, and I realize he’s heading for his car in the garage.
“I’m taking you to the emergency room to get an X-ray,” he says. “Do you want me to call Scarlett or your mom to meet us there?”
“No. I’ll call them later.”
He nods and sets me in the back seat of his SUV. “Knew this vehicle would come in handy. Good thing I didn’t sell it.”
He gives me a playful wink that does wonders for easing the tension between us.
“Thank you for coming.”
Hesitating with his hand on the door, he stares at me a beat before saying, “Always.”
The ride to the hospital takes less than fifteen minutes. Declan pulls up outside the ER, puts the SUV in park, and hops out. Instead of going in to get a wheelchair, he scoops me up again.
“Your shirt is on inside out and backward,” I tell him.
“Free-balling it too.” He grins, but keeps walking into the ER.
“What?” A small giggle escapes with the word.
