“Marist,” she said in a panicked rush. “We’re taking Emily to the emergency room. I found her—”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“—and there was so much blood. It’s just awful. Will you meet us there?”
Cold dread froze my limbs in place. “Mom, slow down. What happened?”
Hearing the fear in my voice had Royce on his feet. I turned away from him, not wanting the concerned look streaked on his face to distract me as I tried to focus on what she was saying.
“She’d been cramping all morning, but I thought it was normal. I had some spotting with both you girls.” Her tone was crushed with guilt. “I told her not to worry, Marist. I thought if she took a nap, she’d feel better.”
I couldn’t catch my breath, and without thought, my legs started churning, carrying me through the maze toward the house. I needed my car keys. “Which hospital? Port Cove?”
Cape Hill was too small to support a full hospital, but the next town over had one. Surely it wouldn’t be Mass General. That was at least forty minutes away.
“Yes. We’re in the car now.”
“I’m on my way.” I hung up as I scrambled up the stone steps, only to jerk to a stop at the top—
A warm body slammed into me and nearly knocked me over, but then Royce’s hands were on me. “Whoa.”
I hadn’t realized he’d been right on my heels and didn’t take the time to think about why that was. All that mattered was getting to my sister. “I need my car keys.” I glared at him like it was somehow his fault I didn’t have them. “Your father took them.”
“I’ll have a driver out front in ninety seconds.” He took one hand off me to pull out his phone, and I watched his thumb slide across the screen with surgical precision, texting his order. “What’s going on?”
My pulse was a chaotic, fluttering mess. “I don’t know. I think Emily’s having a miscarriage.” Everything felt out of control, and the sensation was horribly disorienting. “I don’t want a driver, Royce. I want my keys.”
Strangely, he didn’t rise to match my intensity. He was a ship in a storm, even-keeled and staying the course. “I know you do, but my way is faster.” He gripped my hand and pulled me toward the house. “Let’s go.”
It wasn’t until we were seated in the back of the town car and Royce was buckling my seatbelt that I realized what we’d done. “The photoshoot . . . We just left everyone back there.”
The sedan jerked to a start and barreled down the tree-shaded drive toward the main road before he’d finished buckling his own seatbelt. “Are you kidding? Don’t worry about them.”
“Right,” I lashed out. “How stupid of me to think about anyone other than myself. Sorry, I’m not a Hale, so I’m not used to doing that.”
I’d expected my dig to earn me a scornful look or a sharp comeback. He was supposed to get angry. Instead, he said nothing. He laced his fingers with mine, and his tone was soothing. “It’s going to be okay.”
The pain in my chest was acute. Emily’s pregnancy wasn’t exactly planned, but she had made it clear she wanted her baby with all her heart, even when the father didn’t. I clutched Royce’s hand so hard, my knuckles turned white. She wasn’t just my sister . . .
“She’s my best friend,” I whispered.
He leaned across the seat and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I know. I promise you it’s going to be all right.”
“How can you promise that?” I cried.
His eyes were as pure and unforgiving as the diamond on my finger. “Because I have more money than God, which means I can make it so.”
SEVEN
MY MOTHER WAS A MESS. Not physically, of course. Her tailored white blouse was impeccable, and her black slacks were wrinkle-free. Her statement necklace was a vivid red, giving her a punch of color, which she needed right now. Her face was pale, and likely in her worry she’d rubbed off most of her makeup. My father sat beside her, his arms crossed and his vacant stare boring a hole into the tile floor of the emergency waiting room.
“Mom,” I said.
Relief at my voice brought her to her feet, but when her gaze wheeled around to find me, she did a double take. She blinked her stunned eyes, taking in my silk Dior dress and perfectly executed hair and makeup.
And then she spied Royce beside me and stiffened.
He wasn’t his father, but he was still a Hale, and that made her nervous. Her focus darted from me to him and back again.
“They took her back for an ultrasound,” she said.
“Is she okay?” It was a stupid question to ask while standing in a hospital, but I needed the answer to be yes.
My mother frowned and nodded slowly as she twisted the tissue in her hand tighter. “Emily’s doing all right now, and the baby still has a heartbeat, but that’s all we know at this point.”
“Oh.” An ounce of relief loosened my chest so I could breathe. “Well, that’s good, right?”
Her gaze drifted slowly downward until it landed on my hand, and she flattened her lips together with displeasure. I didn’t understand until I tracked her eyeline and discovered my hand curled around Royce’s.
When the hell had that happened?
When I shook free of his hold, something that looked strangely like disappointment blinked through Royce’s expression, but it was gone so fast it couldn’t have been real.
I sat in the empty set of chairs across from my parents, and my surprise continued when he sat beside me. I was grateful for his help getting to the hospital, but what was he doing?
My mother’s tone was full of judgement. “You two look nice.”
“We were shooting our engagement photos when you called,” Royce said.
“Oh.” She lifted her chin. “I see. And how are the wedding plans going?” Her posture was stiff and awkward, and she forced pleasantness into her voice. “I haven’t been told much. Being the mother of the bride, I thought I’d be more involved.”
A thousand thoughts raced through my head. I had barely been involved, and I was the bride. I hadn’t even picked out what I was wearing right now. Everything was selected by Alice and approved by Macalister, and I was sure when the time came, it would be the same of my wedding dress. I wanted to remind my mother again that our family wasn’t paying a cent toward the wedding, and that meant we’d relinquished the right toward any decision.
The two Hales at the top had made it known that Northcott input would not be needed. My wedding had nothing to do with me. It was a merger, and the reception afterward was a promotional opportunity.
My loudest thought was the one that spilled out of my mouth. “Really? You want to whine about this now?”
She took in a marked breath, like a bee she hadn’t bothered unexpectedly stung her anyway. “I’m not whining, but I think it’s ridiculous I haven’t been asked to be a part of the most important day of my daughter’s life.”
Frustration balled my hands into fists, but before I could snap back at her—
“I agree,” Royce said. “I’ll speak to Alice about it.” An easy, disarming smile breezed across his lips. “She doesn’t mean to do it, but she has a habit of taking over.”