Page 32 of Floodgates

I made the mistake of looking at my brother, who tipped his head and met my gaze. He had it, then. Matt’s icy demeanor was a dead giveaway. Once Breckin’s biggest fan, the complete reversal could only mean one thing.

After they left, I was alone with Breckin and my brother. I hadn’t noticed that Tate and the nurse had left.

“You two look decidedly grim,” I said, as Breckin walked over to take hold of my hand.

“We’re fine,” he assured me. “We’re both just tired.”

“Speak for yourself,” Alex said coolly.

Oh yes, he knew what Breckin had done.

“Then go home,” I suggested. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to stay a bit,” Breckin informed me.

I scooted over in the bed to make room for him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nodded, kissed me good-bye, and then left without a word to my ex-boyfriend.

“Well, that was fun,” Breckin sighed.

“Sorry.”

“Thank you for not telling him what happened.”

“You’re welcome, but I’m pretty sure he knows at this point.”

He nodded.

I leaned back against the pillows, and Breckin did the same. He was warm there next to me, and he smelled like fresh laundry.

“Why don’t you smell like cigarettes?” I asked absently. He should have smelled like smoke and beer, but instead he smelled like he always did, clean, like soap and a trace of vanilla.

“I wanted to stay with you, and I knew that if I smelled bad, you’d make me go home and take a shower. So I already went home and took one.”

“Christ, how long was I out?”

“A while,” he answered, shivering. “But I knew you were okay, so I went home so I could stay here with you once you woke up.”

“You’re a very considerate man,” I assured him, patting his shoulder.

“No,” he said, chuckling, “I just wanted to stay with you.”

I sighed deeply, wondering about how well he knew me, and let him get comfortable beside me. I was suddenly so tired, the night catching up with me, and I didn’t remember the last thing I said to him.

Chapter 5

I WOKE up early in the morning, and one glance at the clock on the wall told me it was four thirty. The noise—dress shoes scraping over the floor—caught my attention. All the hair rose on the back of my neck. I hadn’t realized how frightened I had been and still was.

“Who’s there?’ I asked the darkness, sitting up, careful not to jerk the IV needle in my left arm. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear anything. I started panicking as soon as I realized Breckin wasn’t in bed with me. Where the hell had he gone?

“It’s me,” came the tired sigh from the shadows to the right of the bed.

When I turned, I found Cord walking toward my bed. It was a relief that it was him, and I let out a deep sigh as I sank back down on the pillows.