Page 33 of House of Scarlett
And then I’ll be all alone.
I silently scold myself, hating that sadness is creeping in.
It doesn’t matter.It’s basically like checking out of a hotel. Why would I need a whole crew of family and friends around me while I’m getting discharged from the hospital? I don’t.
And yet, here I am, ragged over the fact that the only person who is still here with me is on my payroll. Kelsey had clients she couldn’t reschedule on such short notice, and Harlow and Monroe both had commitments.
Stop it, Scarlett. Save the pity party for when you get home, and no one can see you fall apart because your dad couldn’t manage to tear himself away from his busy schedule to see how his daughter’s emergency surgery went. Your mom wouldn’t have missed it. You know that.
I paste a bright smile on my face and look to Amy. “Should I ring the nurse to make sure the paperwork is coming?”
She moves toward the door. “She said it was almost done. Let me see where she’s at. We’ll have you out of here in no time.”
Thankfully, true to her word, Amy has a young man rolling my hospital-mandated wheelchair out of the building fifteen minutes later.
“That’s us,” Amy says, pointing at a black SUV.
They load up the flowers and baskets and balloons from the girls in the back, and I’m champing at the bit to get out of this wheelchair, when I spot a man in a T-shirt walking up the sidewalk. His head is down and his dark blond hair hangs over his face, but I don’t need to see his features to know who he is. The very tingly shivers racing down my spine tell me everything I need to know.
Amy doesn’t see him, and to be honest, she fades into the background as soon as he looks up and I meet his vivid blue gaze. One corner of his mouth tugs upward in an almost-smile, and my heart stutters. I take a mental snapshot and instantly caption itWhen He Sees Me.
That half smile is everything.
Tossing away the mental trappings of the pity party I was getting ready to throw, I try not to shiver as excitement fills me instead.
Gabriel stops in front of me, and I can’t look away. I’m not even sure I’m breathing.
“Hey,” he says, his voice rough, like he hasn’t used it since he saw me last.
“Hey,” I reply, mostly because I’m held captive by those eyes, and I don’t care how cheesy that sounds. It’s the truth.
In the bright light of day, Gabriel Legend isn’t just a man, he’s a masterpiece. Sun glints off the gold in his hair, making the dark streaks shine like freshly polished teak. His skin is tanned and his jawline is covered in delicious scruff.
Damn, he is one fine specimen of a man.
“Thanks for coming to see me again,” I say with a careful smile. “But I’m getting out, so you’re off the hook.”
His brows dip together like my statement doesn’t make sense. I’m still on painkillers, so I could be the confused one.Am I confused?
“I know. Flynn told me you were getting sprung.”
I blink at him. “So ...” I stop speaking when I realize there’s a duffel bag hanging over his shoulder.
He follows my eyes to the bag, and our gazes collide once more. “She didn’t tell you.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“What was she supposed to tell me?” I ask, but Amy bustles toward me.
“Oh, Mr. Legend. I didn’t know you were coming,” she says with a smile.
“Flynn was supposed to tell you that I’m coming to help out.”
“Getting Ms. Priest home?” Amy asks, tilting her head to the side.
Gabriel’s attention cuts back to me. “I’m going home with you. Flynn and I worked out a schedule between us and your other friends. You won’t be alone this week. Although you may want to be by the time it’s Monroe Grafton’s turn.”
All I can do is blink. Words that I’m fairly certain I’ve spoken before swirl in my brain in incoherent patterns, and all I can think is—Gabriel is coming to stay at my apartment with me to take care of me? This has to be an alternate reality.
When neither Amy nor I reply, Gabriel’s entire body goes eerily still. “Unless you don’t want me to stay. I’ll understand.”
