A Reclusive Heart (Hollywood Hearts #2)(82)

Grinning like a fool, he leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “It means everything, but until your doctor clears it you’re not getting any chocolate.” When she opened her mouth, probably to argue, he added, “Or sugar.”

“Big jerk,” she mumbled under her breath as she dropped back against the pillows.

“Yeah, but you love me,” he said, sitting next to her on the bed so that he was facing her. He carefully took her hand in his, nervous that he’d hurt her if he accidentally touched the IV’s in her hand.

She sighed heavily. “I suppose I do.”

“Does your stomach hurt, sweetheart?” he asked, raising her hand to his lips to press a soft kiss to her thankfully now warm skin. For a little while there it had been ice cold and he’d been scared to death that he was going to lose her. Thanks to surgery and donated blood she was going to pull through. Several times he had to fight back the urge to go hunt down the blood donors and get on his hands and knees and thank them. They’d never know what a precious gift they’d given him.

“Just sore,” she said, shifting her hand in his until she could entwine their fingers together.

He watched her look around the room curiously. “Are these all for me?” she asked, sounding unsure and shy and absolutely perfect.

“Yes,” he said, smiling when her glance turned predatory as she looked over the flowers, bowls of fruit, teddy bears and hundreds of cards that were taped all over the walls. “I had the nurses lock up the chocolate,” he said, chuckling when her bottom lip jutted out.

For a moment she didn’t speak and he was content to just sit there and enjoy being with her. He still couldn’t believe how close he’d come to losing her. If it hadn’t been for the fast thinking of the police officers she probably wouldn’t be here now. While he’d been too busy begging her to wake up, an officer applied pressure against her stomach and bought her a little more time.

When they loaded her into that ambulance he felt as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He wanted to ride with her, to hold her in his arms, but they wouldn’t let him. Rick and a few officers had to hold him back when they drove off with her. He would have killed the bastard, but he needed the man to take him to the hospital.

Once he made it to the hospital no one would tell him a damn thing because he wasn’t family. They ended up throwing him out a few times when he flipped out, but he came back each and every time demanding to see her. She was his and he’d be damned if he let anyone tell him otherwise.

When they called her ungrateful family in he’d had a hell of a time keeping it together. Thankfully Edward and Rick had the presence of mind to grab a hold of him before he could beat the shit out of her lying heartless father. The only one who seemed shaken was Jamie’s brother-in-law, which appeased him somewhat until he realized that the man had feelings for his little recluse. That was confirmed when he shook his head in disgust when her sister made a cruel comment that set Dana off.

Dana was one of the best women he knew. She was kind, considerate, liked everyone and everyone loved her. It took a lot for someone to upset her never mind piss her off, but Jamie’s sister had his best friend seeing red and going for her throat. Edward barely managed to grab his wife around the waist and yank her back, but that didn’t stop Dana from telling the woman in minute detail what she thought of her.

The only decent thing her father did as far as he was concerned was sign over Jamie’s medical proxy to him. Nick calmly thanked the man before he walked him outside. Once they were in the parking lot he decked the son of a bitch, breaking his nose in the process. He did it for all the years the bastard happily ignored his little recluse. While the man’s wife had treated Jamie like nothing because Jamie was the reminder of her husband’s infidelity her father had ignored her because she was the reminder of what he’d done to a sixteen year old girl who sure as hell didn’t know better. He also did it for keeping Jamie’s mother out of her life.

“Did my family visit while I was sleeping?”

She asked the same question every day and every day it nearly broke his heart. They only came once and that was to see how bad she was and to sign over her care to him while she was unable to do it for herself. Other than that they didn’t visit or call. They were done with her and it was all because of him.

He’d given bastard the choice of telling her the truth or getting the hell out of her life. He’d chosen to get out of her life and save his own ass. It was his loss.

Jamie was a beautiful person inside and out and brought nothing but joy into his life. If the son of a bitch had looked at her, really looked at her for even one moment he would have realized what a precious gift he’d been given.

“No, baby, I’m sorry,” he said, wishing like hell that things were different for her. She deserved a family to love and take care of her, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for her.

At least not yet.

“It’s okay,” she said with a forced smile as she peered around the room. “Do you know if my doctor’s here yet?”

“I haven’t seen her yet.”

“She’s very pretty,” she pointed out conversationally.

“I guess,” he said slowly, wondering where she was going with this.

“I, um, think she might be interested in you,” she said quietly while she looked down at their entwined hands.