I dash back inside and find him in the waiting area. Wheeling him out to my car in the hospital-mandated wheelchair feels surreal. He looks so tiny my heart hurts. I kick myself for not saying something sooner. Anyone could see Nathan was overdoing it and not taking proper care of himself. Not again. I willnotlet the man I love do this to himself, even if I have to become the biggest pain in his ass ever.
The man I love.
I grip the wheelchair’s handles tightly as I roll the phrase around in my mind. I have always loved and cared for Nathan, but I fell deeply in love with him somewhere along the way.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asks, putting a hand on mine.
“What?”
“You’re staring off into the distance.” I park the wheelchair next to my car and go to help him up. He tries to wave off my hand, but I don’t budge.
“Sorry. Just thinking about a few things.”
“Can we go home? I’m embarrassed and want to put this day behind me.”
“Of course. Let’s get you home and in bed.” I help him into the car and let one of the attendants take the wheelchair away.Deep breath. I need to keep it together for Nathan right now. “You ready?” I look him over at him as I climb into the car. He nods and leans his head back against the headrest. “Okay, time to go home.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
NATHAN
I openone eye to discover low light from the window and an empty spot beside me in bed. I reach over and rub my hand against the cold sheet where Colt had been when I fell asleep. The whole evening comes flooding back into my mind. Work. The hospital. Colt doting over me all night.
Shit. The fundraiser.
I reach for my phone and wince when I see the time. Four-thirty? I check to be sure I got the PM part right. Yep, I’d slept through an entire day. What did they put in those pills?
As I untangle myself from the sheets, I spot a sheet of paper on my nightstand.
Nathan—
You needed the rest. Don’t argue with me.
There’s an alarm set on your phone for 5 PM, and I’ll call you then to make sure you’re up.
Don’t worry about anything. Just get ready and head to the venue. I’ll see you there.
Colt
There’sa heart at the bottom of the note, and I swear my heart flutters. I briefly consider crawling back in bed for a few more minutes, but my curiosity over how things are going at the hotel gets the best of me.
I shower and drink the bottle of electrolytes sitting on the bathroom counter with my name on it. Eventually, I find my tux in the garment bag at the back of my closet. I lay it on my bed and start unzipping it when my phone rings. I grab it and grin when I see Colt’s name on the screen. “Hey.”
“Good, you’re up.”
“You know I’m mad at you, right?” My tone doesn’t have any of the heat of my words. “I expected to wake up with you next to me. Not sleep all day by myself.”
“Yeah, well, I might be mad at my boyfriend for working himself into the hospital.”
“Technically, I wasn’t in the hospital. Just the Emergency Room.”
“It counts.” I can imagine the serious expression on his face as he tells me. I have a feeling that I’ll have some groveling to do over the next few weeks.
“You’re still coming, right?” The note Colt left didn’t feel like a breakup note, but I also don’t know why he left in the first place. Last night he’d barely been willing to let me take a piss by myself. Some things don’t require supervision.
“I wouldn’t miss it. I get to see you in a tuxedo.”
“I see why you’re attending.”
