Page 69 of Face Off

“Mikey hurt his ankle, but he’s going to be okay.” Her conviction nearly convinced me, but I knew the truth. He wasn’t going to be okay with this. Not for a long time.

“You know about the contract issues?” she asked after leading us into an employee-only tunnel. It would take us to the elevator that would get us to the parking garage. Even though I worked here every day, my mind was elsewhere, and I was grateful she was here to lead us.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “This is it, isn’t it?”

I didn’t need her to confirm it for me to know, but I needed to know that someone else had realized the truth.

“Yes.” She sighed. “He’ll need the surgery now.”

I nodded and led to her my car. I put Sadie in her seat, and Madi got in on the passenger side. She directed me to the hospital, and within minutes, we were parking in the emergency department lot.

When we got to the waiting room, she went up to the desk while I found an empty seating area and sat with Sadie on my lap. She was crying against my shoulder despite my constant reassurances that Mikey was going to be fine.

“I need him,” she said over and over again. I understood. I felt the same way. We both wanted to see him with our own eyes and make sure that he was in one piece.

“They’re doing imaging now. Amelia went back with him, so I texted her, asking for updates but she hasn’t replied yet.” Madi sat next to me.

“Okay.” Now that we were at the hospital and there was nothing to do but wait, my body came down from the adrenaline and panic. I was exhausted and just wanted to see him. I wanted him to tell me it was going to be fine.

I’d been so stupid.

I wasted time, precious time that we aren’t guaranteed because I was scared. The moment we kissed, it was like something in me shifted. The barriers I’d built up over the last few years cracked, and when he showed up for Sadie’s show and tell, they crumbled to the ground.

I was bare, exposed, and vulnerable.

Before meeting him, I never wanted to fall again. I never wanted another man in my life. I refused to allow someone to get close enough to me and Sadie to ever risk hurting us again. Then I met Mikey. It had been what? A month? And I was a goner.

I wanted him. I wanted exactly what he described at the school. I wanted a future with him. I wanted us to create a life together. I wanted him.

The bachelor. The player. The frustratingly oblivious man that I cursed the day I met him.

Because he was so much more than that. He was patient and kind and put Sadie first. He loved her, and she adored him. How could I not want that?

But I was scared. My heart couldn’t handle another betrayal, but it also couldn’t handle losing him.

Madi jerked and checked her phone. “He’s back in the room. They’re waiting on the imaging results. We can probably sneak back and check in on him.”

Sadie perked up.

Amelia appeared at the double doors and waved us over. Madi walked across the waiting room like she owned the place, and I did my best to follow her lead. We knew what we were doing and had permission to do it. At least, that’s what people would think. Hopefully.

“Hi, sweetie.” Amelia rubbed Sadie’s back.

“Hi.” Her sad voice was a dagger to my heart.

“He’s going to be so happy to see you.” She stopped in front of a closed door. “Go on in.”

I didn’t have to be told twice. I pushed open the heavy door and stepped around the curtain. There he was, looking exhausted and very much in pain, but that disappeared the second he saw us.

“There are my girls.” He held out his arms, and Sadie practically leaped from me onto the bed. She threw her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

His eyes widened, and he looked at me.

“She’s been pretty upset since you went down,” I said quietly.

“Sadie, I’m okay.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “I twisted my ankle, but I’m fine.”

She sucked in a shaky breath. “You promise?”