“The paramedics told me you had a whole lot to say inside of that ambulance and only half of it made sense.”
“Oh God,” Simone groaned. “I don’t even want to know what came out of my mouth.” She jabbed a finger at me. “And Jaxson, don’t you dare spill the beans, especially if it’s something embarrassing!”
I threw my hands up in defense and laughed. “My lips are sealed,” I said, “I promise I’ll keep those conversations strictly between us.”
Dinah giggled and Simone rolled her eyes playfully.
“You look very good,” the doctor confirmed, “and I have to say again, you’re very lucky. This could have been a lot worse.”
Dinah shot Simone an I-told-you-so neck roll.
“According to your file, you’ve actually seen worse. How are those symptoms?”
“Symptoms?” Simone stuttered. “I’m fine. There haven’t been any symptoms.”
The doctor’s brow creased. “No headaches, no confusion?”
“None.”
The doctor waited for her to add to the conversation, but the way Simone’s mouth was pinned let everyone in the room know that it was as good as done.
“Well, that’s wonderful,” she said, but the puzzled look on her face suggested that she was skeptical about Simone’s answer. She inhaled and returned to the contents of the medical chart. “Given you’ve experienced a similar situation, don’t be surprised if there’s some emotional distress in the upcoming days.”
I frowned, taking in what the doctor was saying but still wanting clarification. “What might that look like, doctor?” I asked, leaning forward.
“Yeah,” Simone agreed glancing at me. “Please elucidate.”
“Right now, you’re coherent and there are no obvious signs of trauma, but there may be some of those headaches and confusion I mentioned.”
Dinah glared at her.
“But in all, I don’t expect anything serious,” the doctor reassured us. “I’ll give you some meds for the soreness, but other than that, you should be as good as gold.”
“Don’t worry, Doc,” Dinah piped up, eyes still flashing in Simone’s direction. “We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on her, isn’t that right, Jaxson?”
The doctor smiled and exhaled again. “I’m glad.” She turned to Simmy. “We’ll keep you for an hour or so more, but if everything continues this way, I’m comfortable to release you.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Simone said with a nod, and the doctor left the room.
I smiled at her and ran my hand over her arm, unable to resist the urge to touch her skin. When she smiled back at me, my heart melted.
“So, Jaxson,” Dinah called me.
Reluctantly, I released Simone from my visual hold and gave Dinah my attention.
“You’re gonna stay here while I run out and finish the meeting at the library, right? You heard what the doctor said. We’re gonna need to keep our eyes on her.”
I was ready to agree on the spot, but Simone’s body stiffened.
“Dinah, you’re actually leaving me here alone?”
“You’re not alone,” she countered glancing my way. “Jaxson is gonna’ stay here with you. Right Jaxson?”
“Absolutely,” I answered before Simone could cut me off again.
She tried to sit up, but it was no use, and she huffed, frustrated. “Dinah, listen, I know you have that meeting happening with the team.” She turned to me. “And Jaxson…” A pause. “You saved my life – for which I will be eternally grateful,” she added, “but you’re a stranger and this is New York… I don’t know you. No offense or anything,” she added quickly.
A stranger…
The word grated me, but I forced a smile onto my face and words out of my mouth. “None taken,” I assured her, “but I beg to differ with your claim.”
“What claim?”
“The claim that you don’t know me,” I clarified leaning a little closer. “We know each other better than you think we do.”
Simone’s mouth snapped closed and her eyes quivered. “I… don’t understand.”
“Well, you should understand,” Dinah challenged her, interrupting the exchange. “You obviously don’t remember any of this because, like the doctor said, you were completely out of it and talking a whole bunch of gibberish during the ambulance ride; but you pretty much told Jaxson all of your business.”
“All of my business?”
Dinah nodded. “All of it.”
“Please tell me you’re lying,” Simone groaned, grabbing her tangled hair.
“She’s not,” I was pleased to confirm. I chuckled to ease her angst. “Thanks to the things you’ve told me, I know a lot about who you are; and whatever I don’t know, I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance to learn it.”
Simone’s eyes glossed over me, but I didn’t miss the way they glinted with distinct intrigue.
“Easy, Jaxson,” Dinah warned me laughing. “Your pick-up game is pretty smooth, but she’s still an almost-accident victim and she’s still laid up in an actual hospital.” She turned to Simone, eyes sparkling. “But I’ve gotta’ give props where they’re due. That sounds like an Evan Hanson line, if there ever was one.” She snapped her heavily manicured fingers. “Hey, maybe you can use it in your next release!”
“Who is… Evan Hanson?” I asked carefully.
Dinah’s chest puffed out. “Simone Storm is none other than a New York Times, bestselling erotic romance author.”
“I know that part,” I said, and then I added, “she told me in the ambulance.” I turned my eyes onto Simone, surprised to find her peering back, brows drawn.
Look at me, Simmy. It’s me.
Dinah continued. “Evan Hanson is the sexy-ass hero in her most popular romance series, Untamed Heart.”
“Sexy-ass, huh?” I smirked.
“Jaxson, pay no attention to Dinah,” Simone urged. “She’s… drunk.”
Her plea fell on deaf ears. As far as I was concerned, between the two of them, Dinah was the only one talking any sense.
“Of course, Evan is a player and a flirt,” Dinah continued the thought. “In every novel there are a ton of women trying to tie him down, but no woman has been able to tie him down.”
Okay, the description had sounded good up until that point. Was that how the readers saw Simone’s character? Was that how she saw him?
Shit!
“But who knows?” Dinah threw out the rhetorical question. “Maybe he’ll find the love of his life in the next book.”
Simone cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind,” she began, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, “all of that is well and good, but I still don’t know if it means Jaxson should stay here with me while you’re out running board meetings. He… may have things to do.”
“My schedule is clear,” I answered, debunking her theory.
“You don’t have anywhere to be?” she challenged me, brow raised. “This is New York. Everybody has somewhere to be.”