“She’s taking a nap,” I murmured.
She swallowed hard and turned back to Emma as she went to the end of her bed. My mate’s chest rose and fell with steady, even breaths as she slept. Her head was turned to one side—facing me like she subconsciously wanted me to be the first person she saw when she woke up. During the last few months, while we lived together, she would wake up and curl into me, peppering slow kisses from my cheek to my jaw until I woke up.
Lillian brought her hand to her mouth, covering her trembling chin. “She’s really awake.”
“She’s lost her memories,” I said.
Lillian gasped and swung her gaze to me. “All of her memories?”
I shook my head. “Just about me.”
Her shoulders drooped, and sympathy crossed her face. “Oh, Dimitri. I’m so—”
“Don’t apologize,” I said. “And don’t tell her anything about us.”
Lillian’s eyebrows bunched together. “Why?”
“Because I want to remind her myself.”
She sighed and turned her attention to Emma, who still slept. “When is she being released?”
“Today.” I looked down at my computer’s screen. The words in the email blurred together. I couldn’t concentrate on my work and hadn’t been able to since the accident.
“How do I tell her about her father?” Lillian whispered.
Emma’s dad was fine. He’d received care in the nick of time. I was sure my mate would take it hard when we told her about him having a heart attack. She had a kind heart like that.
A soft moan came from Emma, and I watched as her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head. Her eyebrows bunched together as her eyesight began to focus, and she gasped when she noticed her mother standing at the end of her bed.
“Mom?”
Lillian went to Emma’s other side and sat on the edge of the bed. She grabbed Emma’s hands and sniffled as tears filled her eyes. “Hi, honey. How are you feeling?”
I watched them for a few minutes, then looked at my laptop. I refused to leave the room, manners be damned.
After a while, they ran out of things to talk about, and Emma’s nurse came in with the discharge paperwork and prescriptions of pain medicines that wouldn’t interact with her regular medication.
Lillian lingered while we got Emma out of bed and into the wheelchair. We walked silently as I pushed Emma’s wheelchair, heading down to the first level. I helped her into my car after the valet met us out front. Lillian parted ways after they hugged, and Emma sat in the passenger seat. Her mother still hadn’t told her about her dad. I assumed she was waiting for the right time.
The streets had cleared for the most part, and only a minimal amount of blackened snow was pushed to the side of the road. I drove Emma back to our home.
“Wait,” Emma said as she sat up straighter and looked out the window before she turned to me. “My place is the other way.”
“You’re staying with me,” I murmured.
Emma’s eyebrows bunched together, and she glanced out the windshield before she brought her gaze back to me. “Why?”
I could tell her the real reason. She was my mate, or by human standards, my wife, but I worried she wouldn’t take it well. I’d rather take it slow and remind her in different ways.
Instead of telling her, I said, “You’ll need someone to look after you. You’re still recovering from the accident, and I also have your meds.”
Emma blinked. “My meds?”
“Yes. Your medicine is at my place.”Ourplace.
“Were you...were you there for the accident?” Emma asked.
I ground my teeth and narrowed my eyes as I stared out the windshield while I drove until I pulled into my driveway. After throwing the car into park, I slipped out and walked around to Emma’s side. She opened the door, and I grabbed it, pulling it open for her. I held my hand out for her, and she looked up at me with confused green eyes.
