Beyond Promise (15 page)

“What?” I almost whispered.

“He was in pretty rough shape, but we took
it too easy on him, avoiding the vital areas, at least from what I
heard. He went to the ER and got stitched up and only had a few
bruised ribs.”

I shivered.

“Hopefully, we can put it all behind
us.”

Mason nodded solemnly. “It didn’t bring out
a side of me that I’m proud of.”

“It wouldn’t. We all went through a
lot.”

Brandy agreed and let out a breath. “How
long does it take to pull out a catheter?”

Mason shrugged. “I’ll go call our parents
and let them know the good news. I know they were as devastated as
the rest of us when they left.”

“Amazing how life can change so quickly. Now
if we can only make it to the wedding.”

Brandy laughed. “Honestly, with the way
things have been going, I’d say no promises.”

“That’s kind of the theme I’m sensing.”

Ayden was home, spread out on the couch. I’d
snuck in a quick shower after I got him situated the first time. We
started with him lying in bed for the first thirty minutes of being
back home, but that was all he lasted. So I brought out a ton of
pillows and blankets and made him comfortable on the couch. He
wasn’t very good at following instructions, and I figured it was
good I learned how to deal with this trait before we walked down
the sandy aisle in Bermuda.

In order to navigate the next many decades
with a man who stands when you say sit and sits when you ask him to
stand, I now had time to mentally prepare myself for the practice
of reverse psychology.

“You probably want me to keep the light on,
don’t you?” I asked Ayden from the kitchen.

“No. It’d be great if you could switch it
off,” he replied.

I hid my grin and turned off the overhead
canister lights, leaving the soft glow of the lamp in the corner.
The doctor had advised against harsh lighting for a few days to
help with the headaches. He also wrote down that light meals would
help settle Ayden’s stomach. I knew if I came right out and told
Ayden I was making soup, he’d groan about it, no matter what his
stomach told him so here went reverse psychology experiment number
two.

“Would you be into tacos tonight?” I asked,
glancing over my shoulder before I opened the fridge. “We’ve got
the tortillas, cheese, tomatoes…”

“Maybe that tortilla soup you make, babe.
Might be a little better for the moment,” Ayden called over from
the couch.

Mission accomplished.

“Yeah. That sounds perfect.” I smiled and
pulled out the tomatoes, onions, and garlic from the fridge. Could
it be this easy? How had I never thought of this before?

“Mason and Brandy want to come over tonight.
I’m guessing you need to take it easy, but I thought I’d
check.”

Ayden picked up a catalog and flipped
through the first couple pages before tossing it over to the coffee
table. I honestly had no idea whether or not he was up for
company.

“That’d be fine,” he said, reaching for the
remote.

The doctor had mentioned that bright lights
from a television could set off his headache, but I debated about
saying anything in this instance. I didn’t want to sound like his
mother.

“Okay, I’ll let them know. Gabby wanted to
visit too. She’s been a nervous wreck, and since she wasn’t allowed
in the—”

“Totally fine,” he assured me with a
smile.

I grabbed my phone and sent a group text to
everyone, inviting them all over for tortilla soup. Within seconds
I got their responses and had to laugh. They didn’t let the grass
grow under their feet.

I poured the ingredients into the pot and
placed the lid on top to let it simmer. I glanced over at Ayden,
who happened to be watching my every move in the kitchen. I’d been
so worried I’d never get to experience a moment like this again.
And here I was and here he was, and I wouldn’t change anything for
the world.

“You’re so sexy.” Ayden’s eyes stayed
focused on me, and I shook my head, chuckling.

“I’ve been crashing at a hospital and feel
like I crawled out of a bomb shelter.”

“Well, you obviously went into the bomb
shelter looking better than most.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t slide the grin
off my face as I trundled over to where Ayden was lying.

I took a seat at the end of the sofa and he
shook his head, patting right next to him as he scooted toward the
back of the cushions.

“I know your tricks,” I laughed, eyeing the
welcoming space next to his extended body.

“I wouldn’t resort to tricks.”

“Yeah right.”

He sprang up and grabbed my wrists, somehow
tumbling me on top of him.

“This is definitely not what the doctor
ordered,” I blathered, attempting to wrestle my wrists away from
his grasp. “You’re not supposed to do sudden movements like
this.”

“Doctors don’t know everything.” He nestled
his whiskered chin into my neck, and I couldn’t help but
giggle.

“You aren’t supposed to do anything that
elevates your blood pressure.”

“Just looking at you gets my blood
pumping.”

“You’re impossible.”

He kissed my throat, sending my entire mind
and body into a euphoric place, knowing I almost lost
this—these—moments with Ayden Rhodes.

“If your recovery goes backward, then you
won’t be able to get on the flight to Bermuda, and then we won’t be
able to get married, and then—”

He stopped my laundry list of “ands” with a
long kiss as he slowly released my wrists. My body relaxed into
his, and I felt the length of his body pressing into mine, all of
him. His kisses twisted and tugged at my resolve to do the right
thing, and my self-control slowly started to slip away.

But the wedding.

The flight.

The flight that was needed for the
wedding.

I slowly shook my head and reluctantly broke
free from his kiss, backing myself away from the determined look on
Ayden’s face.

“You are quite the manipulator,” I teased.
“You almost got your way.”

“Oh, don’t even doubt it for a moment. I’ll
get my way.” He flashed a wicked grin and I shook my head.

“I don’t think so. In fact, I think with
everything you’ve been through, the best thing to do is to wait
until the big day, actually.” I smiled an equally wicked smile and
sat back at the end of the couch.

“You wouldn’t be that cruel.” He sat up.

“Cruel. I wouldn’t call it cruel. I’d call
it strategic. It’ll keep you on track.”

“Baby, I’m already on track.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“I barely pulled through. I had a severe
head injury and—”

“You had a moderate head injury, and you
almost forgot who I was,” I teased. “Me…
Me
? of all people.
I want to make sure you don’t forget who I am again, dangle the
carrot so to speak.”

“I’m not a rabbit, Lily.”

“That is for sure, but I think it will make
the moment even more special. Imagine the sexual tension by the
time we get to the big day.”

The doorbell rang and Ayden just let out a
sigh. His fate had been sealed.

“You know, I remember some of the things you
whispered to me while I was in the hospital,” he offered, as I
walked toward the door.

I froze in place.

“Like what?” I called behind me.

“Forever in my debt? And something about
taking advantage of me if there wasn’t a nurses’ station outside in
the hall.” His brow arched. “I’m sure the girls would love to hear
what you were whispering to your comatose fiancé.”

“They wouldn’t believe it,” I challenged,
turning back around to get a glimpse of the man behind the
threats.

I absolutely loved the challenge of
Ayden.

His brow arched. “I can be very convincing.
Give me what I want and I might play fair.”

“I won’t.”

A shiver ran up my spine as I readied myself
for the challenge ahead.

I pulled open the front door, and Gabby was
standing on the porch with Jason slowly making his way up the steps
behind.

“I can’t believe you guys rode the bike
here. It’s the middle of fall.” I shook my head and motioned for
them to come inside.

“How’s he doing?” Jason asked softly.

“Better than you can imagine.” I twisted my
lips in an exasperated expression as I took both their coats and
put them in the closet. “His highness is in the family room on the
couch.”

“He’s not in bed?” Gabby questioned.

“Oh, no. He wouldn’t hear of it.” I smiled,
loving every second of the fact that Ayden was not only home, he
was who he was before the fight.

Gabby handed me a pastry bag and smiled.
“Not sure if he’s up for sweets, but I brought over a batch of
chocolate chip cookies. They’ll keep for a few days if he doesn’t
want them today.”

I opened the bag and sniffed in the
wonderful amount of sweetness.

“Even if he doesn’t have any, I doubt
they’ll last through the next twenty-four hours with me around.
Thank you.”

We all walked into the family room where
Ayden was sitting up in a chair.

“You are supposed to be on the couch, lying
down.” My brow quirked up in exasperation.

I knew it was only a matter of time before
he pulled this stunt. It was going to be a long couple of
weeks.

“I needed to stretch my back.”

Jason walked over and gave Ayden a hug and
handshake. “We were worried about you. It’s so good to see you up
and about.”

“It wasn’t what I’d planned. That’s for
sure.”

“Life never seems to be,” Gabby agreed.

I trundled into the kitchen and placed the
cookies on the counter and stirred the soup.

“All life can promise is that some plans are
meant to be broken.” Gabby lovingly looked at Jason and he
smiled.

Gabby folded the blankets and stacked the
pillows against the wall before taking a seat on the couch.

“Is Carla watching Katie?” I asked.

Gabby shook her head. “Surprisingly no.”

“Yeah, Katie decided she didn’t need a
babysitter so we left her by herself.” Jason rubbed his hands.
“We’ll see how that goes.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Ayden
laughed. “Sink or swim. Let the toddlers fend for themselves.”

I shook my head and poured some chips into a
bowl and grabbed a bottle of salsa out of the fridge.

“We want her kindergarten stories to be
exciting,” Gabby agreed.

I walked the chips and dip over and placed
it on the coffee table.

“She actually has her very first best
friend. The mom lives down the street from us. She’s a sweetheart
and her little girl is totally adorable. It’s her first official
“official” play date.”

“Official “official”?” I asked.

“The first time we did it, we dropped her
off and pretended to leave, but we were there the whole time making
sure she didn’t need us.”

“We’d spy on her through the windows,” Jason
added.

“That’s not creepy or anything,” I joked,
taking a chip and dipping it into the salsa.

“The other mom completely understood, and
once we realized Katie didn’t miss us, we decided to give it a go
tonight,” Gabby said, taking a handful of chips.

“Yeah. We can’t stay too long because we
need to pick her up by eight.”

I smiled and sat back in the rocker. I
admired Jason and Gabby’s dedication to Katie. I glanced over at
Ayden, and from the looks of it, he did too.

I heard the front door open, and Brandy
hollered a sweet hello as Aaron let them in.

“We’re back in the family room,” I called
out.

Brandy bounded down the hall and beelined
for her brother.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and
didn’t let go.

“I’m so mad at you. So mad I could beat you
to a pulp.”

“I think once is enough,” Ayden laughed.

“Never again.” Brandy shook her head against
Ayden’s and released her grip. “I mean it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Ayden
replied, his eyes darting to mine.

I wondered if it was true. Had he really
given up fighting or did this just scare him off for a little bit?
I suppose only time would tell.

I heard a faint knock on the front door, and
then Mason pushed his way through the front.

“We don’t need to knock,” I heard him
telling Tori.

Mason glanced at me and then his brother.
Ayden stood up and they both hugged one another. Tori smiled and
slid her hands into her jean pockets as she looked on. I could tell
she really loved Mason.

Mason gave him one last squeeze and took a
step back, spotting the chips. “Nice. I’m starved.”

“Since everyone is here, I say we play a fun
little game,” Ayden said, his eyes fastening on mine.

He wouldn’t.

“Let’s play
Never Have I Ever
.”

I threw him a dirty look. “Where have you
even learned about that game?”