Roman (Cold Fury Hockey #7)(77)
Alive, youthful, and oh so very happy. I can’t judge his happiness level before her coming into his life, but I know right now he’s a satisfied man.
It’s quite possibly the best thing that has happened since I’ve come into the Brannons’ lives.
Or maybe the best thing is that I have a new family, as evidenced by the fact that my dad and sister have been here since the crack of dawn. They were not happy when the nurses ran them out last night, or so I was told. I was pretty zonked and have vague memories of them in my room, along with Roman and Georgia hovering over me as well. I woke up a few times during the night and Roman was sleeping in a chair near my bed. The nurses couldn’t make him leave, but then he must have at some point in the early morning hours because he was gone when the others arrived.
“I’ll join you,” my dad says as he stands up and takes Georgia’s hand. He brings it to his mouth and gives it a soft kiss, causing Georgia to blush and stammer as she calls him a charmer.
Gray and I share a silent laugh with each other as we watch those two crazy lovebirds flutter around.
So freaking cute.
Dad bends over my bed and kisses my forehead gently. “Be back soon. Want anything?”
“I’m good,” I tell him with a smile. Georgia pats the top of my foot, which is covered with a sheet and lightweight blanket, and one of the few places I don’t actually hurt. That accident knocked me silly to say the least, but I’m just glad no one was seriously hurt. Sadly, it was a twenty-year-old kid who hit me and he was freaked out. I vaguely remember him at my window, which I’d shattered with the side of my head, screaming at me if I was okay. I sort of feel bad for him, as he was terrified, and when the police officer arrived, he had to practically drag him away from me.
Once Dad and Georgia leave the room, Gray leans toward my bed from her chair on the other side of where my dad and Georgia were sitting and whispers, “Are they the cutest or what?”
“Totally the cutest,” I agree.
“You know, I never thought much about my dad not having someone while I was growing up. It was just him and me, and he was the best father a girl could have. I never felt anything was lacking, but I was really shortsighted not to think that something may have been lacking for him.”
“You were a child,” I point out.
Gray rolls her eyes at me. “I grew into an adult, and still didn’t think twice about it.”
I refrain from shrugging, as my shoulder won’t tolerate it, but instead offer, “Maybe he didn’t need someone before. Maybe he was completely happy with just you. I mean…he’s a man who has his priorities, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his being focused on you.”
I get another eye roll and Gray says, “That’s true, but I think once I left the nest, he could have spent some time trying to find someone.”
“Or maybe Georgia was the one he was meant to be with,” I suggest.
“You’re very philosophical,” she says with a laugh. “I could learn from you.”
Blinking at her in surprise, I shake my head—carefully of course, because it hurts. “I’ve got nothing to teach. I’m just a ukulele-playing barista.”
Gray’s expression turns serious. “And yet, I think you may be the smartest one of all of us. Or, the converse is that I may be the more foolish. I’m really sorry about the crap I put you through with Roman.”
“It’s okay—”
“No, it’s not,” she says gently, cutting me off. “I have no excuse to offer that’s valid. I let my emotions control my actions and I should have known better. But just know, a lot of my behavior was indeed personal, and thus could be said to be selfish.”
“I don’t think you’re—”
“The point being,” she says, again running right over me, “is that I’m sorry and I believe the issue has been fixed between Roman and me. You won’t be seeing our petty sides anymore. Doesn’t mean that we won’t have agreements on the business end of things, but that will remain business and not personal. I promise.”
I stare at her a moment, feeling my heart swell with delight that Gray is saying these words to me, not because she has to, but because she really wants to. So I say the only thing that is appropriate. “Thank you, Gray. That means a lot.”
“Well, you mean a lot to me,” she says as she stands up from her chair, then nods across my bed toward the open doorway. I turn my head on my pillow and look, my heart skipping a few beats when I see Roman standing there with my ukulele case in his hand.
He’s so gorgeous that even though I’m banged up and lying in a hospital bed, my entire body still tingles at the sight of him. I wonder if it will always be that way, or will I get used to his magnificence over time?
Roman’s eyes do a slow, critical sweep of me and his lips are pressed flat together as if he doesn’t like what he sees. This I recognize as equal parts anger that I’m lying in a hospital bed and fear that it could have been so much worse.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Gray says as she leans over my bed and kisses my cheek. “I’ll check in on you later.”
“Okay,” I say with a soft smile.
Gray straightens and heads around my bed. Roman steps to the side to let her pass, and I watch as she punches him lightly on the shoulder. “What’s up, jerk?”