The Wedding Party (The Wedding Date, #3)(71)

Theo swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Okay, yes, that took a little more effort than usual, and he had to hold on to the side of the bed at first, but he was okay. He looked at Maddie, who was staring intently at him, and smiled.

“I can stand up all by myself, really I can.”

She glared at him again and turned to leave the room.

“Ben, hold on to him while he changes, please. Though maybe if he falls down and hits his head again, the hospital will take this more seriously. I’m going to call Alexa to tell her we’re about to leave.”

As soon as Maddie was safely out of the room, Ben leaned over to him.

“Don’t tell Maddie, but I totally forgot to go to your house and get the clothes. I was all the way in the parking garage before I remembered. I had to turn around and race over there and come back, because I knew she’d kill me if I didn’t come in with them.”

Theo sat back down on the bed.

“Good call. Now please don’t tell her I sat down to put my pants on, but I really didn’t want to risk actually falling down again and having the hospital make me stay overnight.”

By the time Maddie came back in the room, Theo was dressed and ready to go. A nurse came in with a wheelchair right behind Maddie.

“We know you can walk; this is just until you get into the car,” the nurse said.

Ben looked at Maddie.

“I’ll walk him to the door if you want to go out and get your car?”

Maddie looked at them both for a moment, clearly trying to decide if they could handle the wheelchair without her. Finally, she reached for her purse and the plastic bag with all of Theo’s possessions.

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes.”

Theo hadn’t really realized how long he’d been in the emergency room until they got outside. The last he remembered of the day, it had been the middle of the afternoon, and now it was pitch-black outside.

“What time is it?” he asked Ben as they stood there waiting for Maddie.

Ben pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Just after nine.” He clapped his hand on Theo’s shoulder. “It’s been a long day. Don’t do this shit to me again, you hear me? I almost had a heart attack when I got Maddie’s text.”

Theo punched him lightly.

“I’ll be fine, no heart attacks necessary.”

Ben nodded toward Maddie’s car as she pulled up in front of them.

“I’m glad you have her to take care of you. I’m really glad you’re okay.”

Maddie jumped out of the car before Theo had a chance to respond. Ben opened the passenger-side door, and Theo got out of the wheelchair and walked the few steps to get into Maddie’s car.

“See you soon, man.” Theo put his hand on his brother’s shoulder before getting into the car. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Don’t you remember Mom always used to say how hardheaded I was?”

Ben pulled his phone out of his pocket and shut the door.

“Shit. Mom.” Ben let out a long sigh. “I need to send her, like, a twelve-paragraph text just so she won’t get on the next plane.”

Theo was still laughing as Maddie got in the car. He was suddenly delighted to be alive, to be outside the hospital and in a car with the windows down on this warm September night, to be in this car right now with Maddie.

“Careful,” she said as she put her key in the ignition. “You shouldn’t move your head too much. If you have to laugh, do it gently.”

He turned toward her and grinned.

“Who ever heard of laughing gently? That’s not much of a laugh at all.”

Maddie wasn’t smiling back at him. She obviously wasn’t as happy with the world tonight as he was. He patted her on the arm.

“Relax, Maddie! I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Isn’t it a glorious night? I can’t wait to get home and open the windows and smell the flowers from the garden next door.” And to be with her.

She shook her head.

“Now I’m even more worried about your poor brain. I can’t believe you’re waxing poetic about smelling flowers.”

He leaned his head back against the seat and smiled at her as she drove him home.

Maddie parked right outside Theo’s apartment. Thank God the space in front was open. She jumped out of the car and went around to help Theo out. He’d been so wobbly in the hospital, she’d worried every time he’d gotten up to go to the bathroom that he would fall down. Once he was standing up, he put his arm around her waist, and they walked slowly up the path to his building.

Maddie pulled her key to his place out of her bag.

“Your keys are in the hospital bag with your phone and your ruined clothes. Let me get you inside and comfortable, and I can run back to the car and get everything.”

As soon as they got inside, Theo steered her into his living room and pulled them both down on his couch. He kicked off his shoes, plopped his feet onto his coffee table, and sighed. When Maddie tried to get up, he held on to her.

“I just want to run outside and get your hospital bag out of the car,” she said.

He squeezed her hand.

“Don’t leave me yet, okay?”

She put her arm around him.

“Okay.”

He dropped his head onto her shoulder.