HOURS LATER AMBER lay in Dash’s bed listening to the sure and steady cadence of his breathing as he slept peacefully beside her. Her mind was going a million miles an hour. They’d made love again last night, but it wasn’t like it had been in the limo, which she still couldn’t believe she’d done but didn’t regret one bit. Dash had walked Reno while she’d cleaned up from their limo debauchery, and when he’d returned, he’d slowly undressed her, taking a long, lascivious look at her wearing nothing but her frilly panties and heels. Heat prickled her limbs just thinking about his wolfish grin and the hungry look in his eyes. He’d removed her heels and carried her to the bed, making slow, sweet love to her, neither one wanting it to end.
She glanced at the clock. It was four fifteen. They had to be at the airport in five hours, and then Dash would fly across the country to start the last leg of his tour, and she’d go home, missing him. She held the gorgeous acorn necklace he’d given her between her finger and thumb and closed her eyes, reliving their wonderful evening, from the moment he’d seen her in her dress—she’d never forget the look in his eyes then, either—to meeting Johnny Bad with his slick dark hair and air of arrogance, dancing in Dash’s arms and feeling like they were the only two people in the world, and stealing away from the event, desperate for each other. And that painful moment she’d been trying not to think about when she’d told him she didn’t want to give birth to her babies.
The disappointment in his voice echoed in her ears. I just started picturing you carrying our baby, and you took that away in a few sentences.
She opened her eyes, taking in the beautiful man beside her who had done everything he could just for a chance to be with her. He lived his life like an open book, giving of himself to everyone. He’d never asked her for anything, and in a few unknowing seconds, she’d taken away the one thing he really wanted. She hadn’t been thinking about how it would come across when she’d blurted it out. She hadn’t thought he was thinking that far into their future. But now she wished she’d been more sensitive in the way she’d said it.
Reno stirred at their feet, inching up between them.
“Keep him warm while I go pee,” she whispered, and kissed Reno’s head. She slipped from the bed, reaching for the shirt Dash had worn last night. Reno moved to follow her, but she held out her hand. “Stay.”
She put on the shirt, which smelled like Dash, as she headed into the bathroom. She used the toilet and turned on the sink, hearing the scratch of Reno’s paws at the door just before the world went black.
DASH BOLTED UPRIGHT at the sound of Reno barking and scratching at the bathroom door. “Amber!” flew from his lips as understanding slammed into him. He ran across the room and threw the bathroom door open.
“No!” tore from his lungs as he dropped to his knees beside Amber, lying still on the bathroom floor, blood pooling beneath her head.
Chapter Twenty-One
DASH PACED THE emergency room waiting area with Reno by his side, the phone pressed to his ear, fear clawing at his chest, as he explained to Amber’s parents what had happened. There had been so much blood on the bathroom floor, in her hair, smeared on her cheek, which he knew was from her head jerking with a seizure. He felt sick thinking about her suffering alone. He fucking hated epilepsy and everything that came with it. “They’re stitching her up and running tests. MRI, EEG, blood work.” She’d been back there for a long time, but he’d had to pull himself together before making the call. “The wound was long but not deep. They didn’t see signs of a concussion, and they don’t think she lost consciousness from the fall. They said she was in a postictal state when I found her.”
“Thank God,” Marilynn said, her voice riddled with worry.
Dash’s jaw clenched, guilt consuming him. “I’m so sorry.” Sorry didn’t take away the fact that the woman he loved was behind those doors because of him. He’d heard Reno barking in his dream, two, maybe three times, before he’d realized it wasn’t a dream and had bolted out of bed. How long had it taken him to wake up? A minute? Three? “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken her out before the fundraiser or kept her up so late.”
“This is not your fault, son,” Cade said firmly. “There’s nothing you could have done to ward off the seizure.”
“I could have woken up when she got up to use the bathroom and gotten to her sooner. Maybe I could have prevented her fall. I could have made sure her seizure-alert necklace was in the bedroom, where Reno could have pushed it.” She’d left her necklace in the guest room, where she’d gotten ready for the party, and he hadn’t given it a thought. But a heavier thought weighed on him. This was Amber’s second seizure in two weeks after not having them for years, and the only changes in her life, the recent upheavals to her schedule, the traveling, the late nights, were all because of him.
“All that matters is that she’s okay,” Marilynn said. “Are you okay? Is there anyone nearby who can be with you while you wait?”
“I’m fine,” he lied. He didn’t want to be with anyone but Amber. “I’ll call you as soon as I have an update.”
After they ended the call, Dash lowered himself into a chair with a crushing feeling in his chest and rested his elbows on his knees, letting his face fall into his hands. He silently offered himself up to the powers that be in exchange for…he didn’t know what. For Amber to be okay? For her not to hate him?
Reno pushed his snout onto Dash’s lap, and Dash draped an arm around him, touching his forehead to the dog’s soft fur. “She’s going to be okay, buddy. She has to be.”
When the nurse finally came through the door, he pushed to his feet with his heart in his throat. “How is she?”
“She’s okay. We’ve given her something for her pain, but she’s still pretty shaken up and tired.”
“What about the tests?”
“There was nothing of note on the EEG, and her MRI was clear. Her medications are at therapeutic levels. She’s been cleared for discharge, and she should see her doctor when she’s back in Virginia. I can take you to see her now.”
He grabbed the bag of clothes he’d brought from home, and he and Reno followed the nurse down the hall to see Amber. Dash pushed through the curtain, tears burning at the sight of Amber lying in the hospital bed on her side, eyes closed.
“Sweetheart.” Dash’s voice cracked as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Her eyes fluttered open, and Reno went paws-up on the bed to lick her face.
“I’m so sorry, baby. God, I’m sorry.” He put his arm around her, keeping their faces close, wanting to climb in beside her and take her in his arms.
“Will you call my parents?” she asked in a thin voice. “I want to go home.”
“I already called them. I brought you clothes. Let me help you get dressed, and we’ll go back to my place so you can rest.”
As he helped her sit up, she said, “I want to go to home to Virginia.”
“I’ll take you tomorrow. Today you need to rest.”