Vixen in Vegas (Sinful Novellas) (17 page)

I nodded. The doors slammed shut, and I could see her face as we drove off. She was crushed, for sure, scared, and hurt. Yup, that would make us the twins at the moment.

Turning to concentrate on Ben, I reached over and held his hand. There was an IV in it so I moved carefully. The medic was monitoring his stats and calling them in to the hospital. I took care to ensure I stayed out of his way, but I really needed to talk to this guy laying on the gurney who had my heart.

“You silly man,” I said quietly. “We had one tiny disagreement. Just one. And of the two of us, you had to be the drama queen? Why couldn’t you just yell or break shit like other men? Then you’d only have to apologize and replace things. Instead, you go for my heart.”

I took a few breaths to calm myself. It’s almost impossible to be in the back of an ambulance and have happy thoughts. Almost. I was determined to do it, however.

“I’m not through with you, Benjamin Everly. You don’t get to play the sick card to get away with your deception. Nope. You have a lot of making up to do.” My head dropped. I wasn’t going to cry. I don’t cry. I wouldn’t cry now. Time to be strong.

“I suppose you’ll want flowers,” Ben mumbled.

My head shot up and met his face. His eyes were slits. I looked at the medic to see if it was okay to speak to him, to potentially get him riled up. The medic nodded.

“Nope. I hate flowers. They remind me of funerals when they aren’t signaling the death of a relationship.” I shook my head and squeezed his hand.

“Then I supposed you’ll want a Kobe Bryant I’m Sorry Diamond,” he joked.

“Pass. I’m a photographer. It’s not practical. It’s hard to work when I’m dripping with jewels.” I smirked at him.

“Then dammit, Sin, what do you want?” He was pretending to be frustrated. I would recognize that playful look anywhere.

“You,” I murmured as I kissed his hand. “I just want you for as long as we have. And it would be a lot longer, too, if you weren’t so freakin’ emotional.” I winked at him.

“I want you, too. Now let me be, wife,” he whispered. Then he fell asleep.

At least I hoped he was asleep. I looked at the medic filled with concern.

“He’s just resting, ma’am. I will admit that his vitals started improving the minute you arrived. It’s like you gave him the will to live, to fight.” He smiled at me.

“Eh, I just give him someone to fight with.” I said with a shrug. I looked down at Ben’s hand in mine. This was the first time he had ever looked weak or feeble to me.

During the ride to the hospital, I had racked my brain for all the signs I had missed, the little details that had escaped me. I recalled how he napped a lot, but I thought that was just a guy thing. They work hard, play hard, and sleep hard. I thought about the times he was out of breath, but I honestly thought the Grand Canyon was more about the elevation change than an actual problem. I felt so out of touch. I was the worst fake wife ever.

At the hospital, they immediately put him in a room to assess him. “I’m going to have to remember this,” I joked with Ben. “I need to come in claiming heart problems. Then I get VIP treatment.”

“VIP all the way, baby,” he agreed.

Soon he was sent to Radiology for a CT scan. They did an EKG. And a battery of tests were ordered for the very next day. Finally, the doctor came in to speak with us.

“Well, with your medical history, we’re going to keep you here overnight,” he said.

“I’ll let Brenda know,” I said. I had been responsible for everything he came to the hospital with since they stripped and changed him into the hospital gown. Reaching into the plastic hospital bag of his belongings, I pulled out his phone.

“Don’t worry her,” he said. “I’ve put her through a lot our whole life.” He looked sad at the revelation. “It must have been very difficult having a sibling as sick as I was, let alone a twin. I needed more time and attention. She…ran off and married…badly…very young because of it. Since then, she’s come to her senses and we’re really close.” He sighed as he stared at me. “She will love you. I know she will. First, we have just have to work on a proper introduction.”

Walking over to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head over until it rested on my chest. “You call her. We are off to a terrible start. I think she’ll feel better if she speaks to you.”

“Wise beyond your years,” he commented. “Pass me the phone.”

I listened as he spoke to her. Apparently, she was in the waiting area. I asked if she could come back, but was told that they only allowed one visitor per patient in the ER. I frowned for a moment. “Well, what if I leave to go get food and a drink. She can stay with you and I’ll give her half an hour alone with you. Is that reasonable?” It was a struggle to give her that much time. I didn’t want to leave him at all. It was a pretty huge change considering hours before I had run away.

Ben gazed at me with those amazing eyes. “Are you hungry?” He asked.

Biting my lip, I shook my head. “Not really. At all.” I gave him a wary smile.

“So you would just be doing this for Brenda?” He asked.

“No. I’d be doing it for you. I love you. And it’s the right thing to do.” I gripped his hand more tightly. “If it weren’t for me, she’d be the one back here with you. Now here I am, stealing her spot.” I shrugged.

“You are an incredible woman, Sin.” He smiled at me. “I hope you know how much I appreciate you.”

“I have an idea,” I said as I released him and began the walk to the door. “Just to be certain, I’ll let you show me just as soon as the doctor allows it.” With that, I walked out of the door and went to meet Brenda in the waiting room.

It was a short walk and gave me very little time to consider what I might say to her. In the short time we’d known of each other, I had found her sobbing in Ben’s arms, and taken her place in the ambulance. I’d call that a rocky start at best.

Brenda stood the moment she saw me come through the door. I think that she considered brushing past me at first. In her eyes, the same blue eyes that Ben has, I realized that she didn’t know what to say to me either.

“Can we talk for a moment?” I asked gently.

She nodded stiffly. “I’m not sure what we have to talk about, but that’s okay.” She sat down in the nearest chair and I carefully sat across from her.

“I’m not trying to steal Ben away from you,” I said. “Up until a week and a half ago, I didn’t even know him. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t know his name.” I smiled at the memory. “Your brother is an amazing man, so loving, so generous.”

Her eyebrows shot up then. “I figured as much,” she said, her lips tight.

“Oh, do you think I want him for his money?” I laughed.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What should I think?” She looked about and leaned in. “Wouldn’t you find it suspicious that some strange attractive young woman appears when your brother is dying? Wouldn’t you wonder if she was around for the payout?”

I shrugged. “I suppose I would. And I realize there is nothing that I can say to convince you otherwise, but I hope that over time you will see that I don’t care about money. I have no designs on a fancy house. If I wanted one, I’d buy it myself.” I stood because Ben had been alone long enough. I wasn’t going to say anything else. Then I thought of one more thing…the most honest thing I could say.

“Did you ever see that last Terminator movie?” I asked Brenda. “You know, the one with Sam Worthington? My best friend, Jolie, dragged me to that movie.” I laughed remembering. It was difficult to tell from Brenda’s reaction if she was familiar with it, but I pressed on. “There’s this scene at the end of the movie where he gives Christian Bale his heart. I never understood that part until now.” I shook my head a moment. “All I know is that I’d give Ben my heart if it would help him live. Without him, my heart is the most useless piece of me.” I didn’t know what else to say. “I’ll see you in thirty minutes.” Then I headed to the cafeteria.

At first, I thought I wanted alone time. I thought I wanted time to process and think everything through. All I could think was
so this is love. No wonder my mother warned me against it so frequently.

That thought hurt. Everything about today hurt. So, I called Jolie. Maybe she would be done with her meeting. Maybe she would have time to talk to me. The phone barely rang before she answered it.

“What’s up, girl?” She asked, but she sounded tired.

“When I went back, an ambulance was there. Ben collapsed.” I took a deep breath and Jolie snuck in during that pause.

“Gah! Is he okay? You sound too together for him to have died!” Jolie sounded frantic now.

“Jolie, he has to stay in the hospital overnight at least. There will be more tests in the morning. And after that, I’m not sure what will happen. I’ve told everyone I’m his wife and I’m staying, including his sister.” I hiccupped then. It was a nice alternative to crying.

“Oh, Sin,” she said sadly. “I’m so sorry. I should be done with these meetings in another day or two. If you say the word, I’ll drop everything and be there for you both. You know this.”

“I know. Thank you for that. Stay there for now, but please take my calls if you can. I’ll drop you texts, too, if you don’t mind.” I hiccupped again. “I’ve never been so scared my whole life. Who knew my mother could be so right about love?”

That last part angered her for some reason. “Your mother is completely wrong about love. You need to talk to her, confront her.”

“Be nice to my Mom. She’s had a hard time since dad abandoned her,” I reminded Jolie.

“I wasn’t going to tell you, but I can’t let her keep perpetuating this lie. It’s not my place,” she grumbled. “I’ve been keeping this secret since graduation. I kept waiting for you to bring it up, but you never bring anything up. You just push things away.” She sighed angrily.

“What isn’t? You are my best friend, Jolie. You are the sister I never had. I chose you. You chose me.” I struggled to find the words that would explain her importance in my life.

“Sin,” she said gently, “your father didn’t abandon you or your mother. I know she trained you to think that all men leave. I know that’s why you hesitate to have a serious relationship.” She cursed under her breath. “Most of all, I know that’s why we have spent the last ten years running.” She sighed loudly. “Your father died. He didn’t leave you in the middle of the night; he had a massive coronary and died. I found his obituary. I was trying to find him for you as a surprise years ago when we first started this journey.” She was silent for a moment. “Say something.”

“My daddy’s dead?” I asked. The hiccups were stronger. “I have spent years hating him…and the whole time he was dead.” It was everything all at once, a barrage of emotions. It was too much. “I’m going to have to let you go, Jolie. I don’t know what to say to you right now. I’m hurt. “ I sniffled some. “You didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. I love you. I’m so sorry about the last ten years.” Then I ended the call before she could say anything to make me feel worse.

That was a lot to take in. I wasn’t about to suffer through it alone. My stomach started hurting before I even picked the number from my contacts. As soon as she answered, I was on her.

“Mom, is it possible that Dad didn’t leave us willingly?” I asked sarcastically.

“Who is this?” She growled into the phone.

“Jesus, Mother! I’m an only child, unless that was a lie, too. How many people call you ‘Mom’?” I shouted into the phone. Then I remembered that I was in the crowded hospital cafeteria and not the comfort and privacy of my SUV. That is
so
easy to forget with a cell phone.

“Oh, Alysin,” she said. “You woke me from a nap.”

“Well, I don’t want to keep you,” I said evenly. “So, I’m going to get right to the point. Did Daddy die? Have you lied to me all these years and had me hating a man who never did us wrong?”

I could hear her breathing hard on the other end of the phone, desperately trying to figure out what to say, what to do to calm me down. Most of all, I could hear her guilt. “Well, that answers that,” I remarked. “Goodbye, Mother.” Then I ended the call.