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The three dots appeared and remained long enough to let me know he was surprised by my news. I slid the phone back into my pocket and pulled a plastic chair forward. “I let him know. While we wait for him, what can I do to help? Are they taking good care of you?”
She took a shaky breath. “I wanted to find out how the kids are. My students… I’m a teacher. And I was on a student thing…”
I nodded and sat forward on the edge of the chair. “According to what my assistant was able to find out, all of the students and the driver are unharmed. They’re mostly just worried about you. Your boss is also on her way here. Sandra, I think is her name?”
She nodded. “The principal of my school. I hope she’s not upset at me. It was all my fault.”
“I doubt that. Are you sure it wasn’t the weather? The storms made the highways a mess.”
“No, I mean… I shouldn’t have been standing up. Well, leaning forward. And I probably distracted the driver.”
I reached out to take her hand before stopping and reminding myself she didn’t know me. After everything I’d heard from Hugh about her, I felt like I knew her.
“I can’t imagine that’s the case. Accidents happen. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
More tears spilled from her glassy eyes. I handed her a tissue from a nearby box. “My mom died in a car accident,” she admitted softly. “You probably knew that if you’re friends with Hugh.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In the rush to help, I’d completely forgotten. “Yeah,” I said softly. “And then your dad…”
“Pretty much willed himself to follow,” she said. “It was awful. I don’t think Hugh’s ever gotten over it. We lost everyone that year. We never had aunts and uncles or cousins. So he had to step up and be everything for both of us.”
I thought about the kind man who was in love with love. Who celebrated romance and life with every photograph he captured. Who stayed wide open and vulnerable despite such immense grief and loss.
“He’s…” I cleared my throat. “He’s a good man.” Understatement.
“Yeah. He’s the best.” With her uninjured hand, she fiddled with the blanket over her chest. Her fingers were long and graceful like Hugh’s. I couldn’t look away from them.
“How do you know Hugh?”
I blinked up at her, catching her studying me. “Oh, ah… I met him at my friend Wells’s wedding last summer. He was the photographer, and I was the best man.”
She smiled. “He loves his job, doesn’t he? And he’s really good at it.”
I nodded. “The photos were amazing. And his TikTok account…”
Her smile widened. “Right? And it’s growing like crazy. I do the video editing, but the way he captures the couples’ reactions and smiles…” She sighed. “He’s so talented. You can see the love shining from everywhere.”
“He’s a sucker for a good HEA, isn’t he?” I murmured, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
“If only he could find his own. I really thought he was going to end up with Jared, but obviously, that wasn’t meant to be.”
My ears perked up. I’d never heard that name from Hugh before, and I’d heard about a lot of the men he’d dated. “Jared? Who’s Jared?”
“Dex’s brother.” She waved her hand weakly and shifted in the bed. I jumped forward to help her rearrange her pillows. When she settled back down again, I couldn’t help but bring her back around to the topic at hand.
“So… Jared?”
“Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Jared’s a nice guy. He was like Prince Charming in a lot of ways, always bringing Hugh flowers and taking him to nice restaurants and stuff. But he didn’t want to settle down the way Hugh does.” She blew out a breath. “It was super awkward when they broke up. They’d introduced me and Dex, so it was like suddenly we didn’t feel like we could be around our siblings at the same time. It’s been… hard. I don’t ever want to hurt Hugh’s feelings, but then again, I can’t not invite Dex’s brother to family events…”
“That sounds tough. But I don’t think Hugh would want you to stress about it. He cares more about your happiness than anything.”
Her face softened again. “Yeah. I hate that he feels responsible for me though. Like right now. I’m not seriously hurt. He shouldn’t have cut his trip short to come here?—”
“You’re the most important person in his life.”
She picked at the blanket again and tried to look casual. “So what about you? Are you dating anyone?”
I couldn’t hold back a grin. “I recognize a matchmaking sister at fifty paces, lady.”
