So to hell with staying away.
The signs lead me down several hallways, each quieter than the last, until I reach a nurses’ station.
“I’m here for Haley Morelli.”
I’m here for Eva, who is here for Haley. It’s true, in a way.
The nurse points. “Other end of the wing.”
Of course. Most hospitals have areas designated for VIP patients. People who require more privacy. More security. There’s an entirely separate waiting room, a guard posted outside the door.
The sight of Eva in that waiting room stops me in my tracks.
She’s dressed in soft, black clothes. Her hair is swept back in a neat twist. She looks fragile but strong with her hands on her sister Daphne’s face. Daphne’s husband stands at her side, his brow furrowed. It looks like they’ve just arrived.
Eva murmurs something to Daphne, then gives her a quick hug. Then Daphne and Emerson choose a seat. Daphne reaches out and squeezes her other sister’s hand—Sophia. At the side of the room, the brother with the scar, Tiernan, waits with his arm around a woman. He lifts his chin and responds to someone across the way.
“I don’t know. Ten minutes?”
Lucian, the oldest Morelli son, paces into view, his wife Elaine at his side. “It feels longer than that.”
They disappear again as Tiernan says sure as fuck does.
Bryant and Sarah enter the room, the youngest Morelli with them. Sarah pats her hair, looking frazzled. Bryant reaches for Eva almost absently, then pulls her into his arms while she speaks to them in a low voice.
It stops my heart. A genuine hug from Bryant Morelli is shocking enough. But…they’re all here. All of the Morellis, I think. Except for the brother who lives overseas, Carter.
They look…normal.
Like a regular family, despite all the money and power.
And Eva in the middle of it, keeping everyone calm.
They need her.
I need her.
Needing her is all I’m thinking about as my feet carry me in. I need to be here for her. In whatever way I can.
I’m expecting a fuss when I cross the threshold. The guards converging on me. Eva, raising her chin and banishing me from the room with an imperious expression.
Except she’s turned her attention to another person in the room. Phillip Constantine is here with his son, Cash.
“I’m not sure she’ll be able to find us,” Phillip says. “Petra might not know this wing.”
Petra. Haley’s older sister.
“If she has any trouble, we’ll send someone to get her. Okay? We’re only a text away.”
Phillip sees me first. His eyebrows go up, as if he’s trying to place me. We’ve met many times at Constantine events. “Oh,” he says, after a beat. “Finn’s here.”
Eva turns her head.
My breath feels tight in my lungs. Tension pulls through the air. I want to go to her, but I know I have to let her come to me.
She pats Phillip’s hand one more time, and Cash tugs at his elbow. “Let’s sit down, Dad.”
Then Eva’s walking toward me. I’d deserve to get kicked out. I would deserve any harsh words she wanted to say.
Our eyes lock.
I can’t predict what she’ll do, so I let it go. She’s close. Closer still. I wait for her to speak to the guards. I wait for her to snap at me.
Instead, she tucks herself into my chest, her arms sliding around my waist.
Nothing has ever felt so right as closing my arms around her.
I can’t breathe. My heart aches. My lungs hurt. I missed you so much. The words don’t make it past the lump in my throat. It’s not about me, anyway. It’s not about how much I want her and how sorry I am that I fucked up.
I hold her without saying a word, rubbing her back as she trembles. Eva’s not going to cry. Not when other people need her to be steady. But I can feel how worried she is. I can feel, from her head to her toes, how much she loves her family.
How much she could love me.
We don’t need to speak. I can tell from the expression on her face—on all of their faces—that the birth didn’t go as planned. That they’re all anxious for their brother. Their son. His wife. The baby.
This is what I should have done all along. I should have stood by her side. Held her in my arms.
Eva breathes deep. The tension in the room is palpable. Sarah hovers near a set of chairs, staring at the door into the patient wing. Bryant shoves his hands in his pockets and stands back near the wall. Lucian confers with him in a low voice, then goes back to his wife.
Daphne traces a pattern on the back of Emerson’s hand. Sophia and Lizzy sit close together, whispering. Cash and Phillip Constantine keep starting a conversation, but it trails off.
It takes another minute for Eva to straighten up. When she does, Sarah notices. She comes over to us, her face set. “Hello, Finn. Thank you for being here.”
“Mrs. Morelli.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Does anyone need anything? Food? Coffee?”
The corners of her mouth turn down. “News. But I don’t think you can get that for us.”
Phillip Constantine approaches next and sticks out his hand to shake. “Good to see you, Finn. It’s been…” He drops his hand, glancing toward the door. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“How are things with your inventions?” Phillip was always the Constantine brother with the least interest in conventional business. From what I understand, it caused some tension over the years.
“Oh.” He runs a hand through his hair. “They’re fine. Just fine.”
“I’m sure we’ll hear something soon,” Eva says.
He opens his mouth, then closes it again, settling for a nod. Then he returns to Cash.
“I’m so sorry.” Everyone picks up their heads at the woman’s voice. Haley’s sister, Petra, rushes into the room, her eyes wide. “The nanny was gone for the day, and my husband—” She bites her lip at the mention of her husband. “I got here as soon as I could. How is Haley?”
“We’ll find out any minute. Can I get you something to drink?” Eva puts her arm through Petra’s and guides her over to where Cash and Phillip are waiting.
Everyone settles again. Eva steps into the next room—a kitchen. She returns a minute later with a can of Coke, which she gives to Phillip. He holds it in his hand but doesn’t open it.
“I’m worried about her,” he says to the can.
“We’re all worried, Dad.” Cash puts a hand on his arm. “But she’s going to be okay. She’s in good hands. That’s what all the nurses keep saying, right?”
“Right,” Eva agrees.
I’ve only been here a few minutes, but I’m already feeling the effects of this wait. The air in the waiting room seems thin. It wouldn’t be right to lose ourselves in conversation. There’s nothing to do but watch the seconds tick by.
My heartbeat thuds.
The only person who doesn’t seem impatient, not at all, is Daphne’s husband, Emerson. Daphne taps a foot on the floor. She holds his hand, the pad of her thumb tracing circles on his skin. How is he so calm? I’m pretending to be calm. I want this situation to have a happy ending. For Haley and Leo, of course, but also for Eva.