I love you, too, Jenna. I love you so much!
She smiled, remembering Adrian saying those sweet, sweet words. Of course, he could’ve only said them because she’d said it first, and he’d thought she was dying.
But she didn’t think so.
Adrian Walker loved her. Helovedher. And she couldn’t wait to hear him say it again.
Peeling her eyes open, her lids rose and fell in an unhurried pace as her eyes adjusted to the bright light.
The first thing Jenna saw was the clock on the wall at the foot of the bed. That and the small whiteboard informing her nursing staff she was NPO, which meant she couldn’t consume solid or liquid foods yet.
Figures. I go from one place that won’t let me eat or drink to another.
Smiling at her own dark humor, Jenna opened her eyes again. This time, she kept them open.
Turning to her right, she found machines that beeped and tubes that ran from the machines to her body. Swallowing against the worst case of cotton mouth she’d ever had, Jenna turned her head to the left and found a set of wide, hopeful eyes staring back into hers.
“Hey, stranger.” Elle smiled at her from the white, plastic chair.
Not the eyes I was hoping to see.
“Hey.” Jenna’s voice was rough and hoarse. She hoped Elle couldn’t sense the disappointment she felt that Adrian wasn’t here.
Setting the book in her hands onto a nearby tray, Elle scooted forward in the chair. Her large, round belly making the move less graceful than it normally would’ve been.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been shot. What about you?” She motioned weakly toward Elle’s growing baby bump. “You look like you’re about to pop.”
Her friend also had dark circles under her eyes and looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
“Is that a fat joke?” Elle raised a playful brow. “Because pregnant women are extremely hormonal, and I’d hate to have to hurt you after you just had surgery.”
Jenna smiled, then realized there were tears swimming in her friend’s eyes. “Hey.” She tried to push herself up in the bed, but a sharp pain in her side kept her from going very far. “Don’t cry. I was only kidding. Your belly isn’t big. In fact, you barely look pregnant at all.”
Through her tears, Elle burst out laughing. “Liar.”
She grinned, grateful her emotional friend was smiling again. “Hormones, huh?”
“You have no idea.” The other woman wiped her cheeks dry. “Of course, it doesn’t really help to find out my best friend’s been kidnapped by a dead drug lord’s son and then get the call that said friend has beenshotby the maniac.”
Even as she said the chastising words, Elle was scooting closer to the bed and grabbing her hand.
“You scared the shit out of me.” Her friend swallowed hard. “Gabe, too. We thought we were going to lose you.”
Her heart broke for her worried friends. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“You should be.” Elle squeezed her hand. “But the doctor says you’re going to be fine. You have a concussion, too.” Her eyes rose to the source of Jenna’s headache. “The nurse said you didn’t need stitches, and the cut in your forehead is close enough to your hairline, the scar probably won’t even be noticeable.”
After what she’d been through, a scar on her forehead was the least of her worries.
Unable to wait a second longer, Jenna drew in a breath and asked, “Where’s Adrian?” She glanced at the closed door. “Is he with Gabe?”
Because she’d noticed Elle’s husband wasn’t in the room, either.
An odd look crossed over Elle, but it was gone before Jenna could figure out what it meant.
“Gabe went to make a call, but he’ll be back any minute. He’s going to be so happy you’re awake. I swear, that man has been climbing the walls since I got here. Before I got here actually. And oh, my gosh. You should’ve seen his face when I walked into the hospital waiting room. He was not happy about me driving all this way by myself in ‘my condition’.” The rambling woman used air quotes. “Like being pregnant is some sort of debilitating disease or something.”