And Playing the Role of Herself... (30 page)

From the carefully neutral looks I was getting from both detectives, I was betting Todd Massey had been saying quite a few other things about me and Miss Ward. And he was a photographer.
Damnit
.
I closed my eyes wearily. I really wanted to talk to Robyn about this, but I wasn't going to lie if they asked me…I waited for the expected questions, but they didn't come. Instead I heard a rustle of clothing and opened my eyes to see both men had put away their notebooks.
"Sorry to have kept you so long, Miss Harris, we'll let you get back to your rest. Thank you for your time. If you need to get in touch with us for any reason, here's my card." Detective Fisher laid a card on the table, and stepped back. "We'll let you know if we have more questions." He hesitated a moment, and tugged at his mustache. "Miss Harris…I want to assure you that we're aware of the…delicacy of this situation, and all the information gathered in the course of the investigation will be handled with discretion."
I blinked slowly.
So they definitely know. And they're going to try and be discrete about it.
I wasn't very optimistic about this kind of thing staying discrete, but I appreciated the gesture. "Thank you," I said faintly, unable to think of anything else to say.
He nodded and the two moved towards the door, where the shorter man paused and looked back at me. "Hope you start feeling better soon."
##
He struggled slowly over the rise between the houses, struggling in the deep sand, leaning on his walking stick, limping painfully…suddenly his intense, pale eyes were just inches away, and I could feel hot breath on my face. "She's mine…"
I jerked awake, my eyes wide. The apparition from my dream faded in the dim light of the room, and I took a shaky breath, noting the sky outside the room's single window was dark. My back was knotted in pain and my face and head throbbed. I took even, steady breaths, and the pain slowly subsided as my body relaxed again. My mouth felt like cotton and reached for my water glass, pausing when I heard movement from across the room and realized I wasn't alone.
I glanced over at the noise, expecting to see Perry, but instead found Robyn staring at me, her dark eyes filled with more naked emotion than I'd ever seen, taking my breath away. She looked pale and exhausted, and her eyes were dark and haunted.
Seeing her brought an ache to my chest and for a minute, I just stared.
"Hi baby," I said softly, smiling as much as I could. "You look like hell."
She let out a strangled sound that was part laugh, part sob, and closed her eyes, sending a trickle of tears sliding down her face. When she opened her eyes again, they were full of love and I knew, even if she hadn't said it, how much she cared.
We stared at each other for a long time, until finally she whispered, "I thought you were dead. You weren't moving, and there was so much blood…"
She shook her head and looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry." I said after a moment of quiet. "I'm sorry you were the one to find me, to see me like that…"
She shook her head vehemently. "I'm not. The police think it was the sound of my car pulling up that scared him off…if I hadn't have realized what a shit I had been and come back to apologize…he could have killed you. He would have." She stood and paced the room. "Fuck. If I hadn't have been such a shit in the first place, maybe this would have never happened."
She stopped pacing, her back to me, and said softly, "God, Caid, I'm so sorry. This is my fault…I should have been there…it should have been me."
"Robyn." She slowly turned to look at me. "Come here." She didn't move. "Please," I added softly. Slowly she crossed the room to stand next to the bed. I held out a non-splinted hand for her and she took it hesitantly. The feel of her hand in mine was better than any drug, and I sighed and rubbed the back of her hand lightly with my thumb. She was looking at me as though she didn't quite believe I was real, and I tugged on her hand, pulling her forward a little more. I caught her gaze and carefully laid her hand on my chest in a spot that wasn't bruised. "I'm okay, baby." I told her, and covered her hand with mine. "See? Alive and well, just a little bruised."
She didn't move for several moments, and just stood looking at our hands together. Finally, some of the tension went out of her body and she sniffed and wiped at her face with her free hand. Her eyes ran over my face and down to my splinted arm. "Just a little bruised?" she said skeptically, the corners of her mouth turning up into a slight smile.
Relieved that she could joke and that the haunted look was gone from her eyes, I did my best to smile back. "Yep, just a little. Doc says I'll be good as new in no time."
She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it.
"What?" I asked curiously.
She shook her head and gently extracted her hand from beneath mine and raised it to trail her fingers lightly along my left cheek, the tenderness in her gaze nearly making me cry.
"I was going to say I'm glad, which I am." She found my hand with her free hand and squeezed, looking at me intently. "But that seems so…trivial, compared to what I really feel." She took a deep breath and leaned forward to brush her lips across mine ever so softly. "I love you, Caid. So damn much…"
The words ran like electricity through my body, and I took a shuddering breath, blowing it out slowly. I stared at her, knowing my eyes were filling with tears. My first reaction was to pull her down and kiss her until neither of us could breathe, but in deference to my somewhat incapacitated state, I slowly reached up and ran my fingertips across her cheek. "I love you too, sweetheart," I whispered, and threaded my fingers into her hair, pulling her down into another gentle brush of lips.
For a minute I forgot my injuries and tightened my grip on her hair, increasing the pressure of the kiss, and lifting my other hand to cup her cheek…a stab of agony from my wrist brought my movements to a halt with a hiss.
"Ow. Damn…" I froze, and so did Robyn, which is how the nurse found us when she walked in a moment later.
"Oh, hello Miss Ward. I didn't realize you were in here." She breezed in with nothing more than a curious glance in our direction.
I expected Robyn to pull away quickly, to make excuses, to explain away what the nurse had seen, but instead she barely flinched and stayed where she was, hovering above me with our lips nearly touching.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her eyes full of concern. "Did I hurt you?"
I swallowed convulsively at the intimate feel of her breath across my lips, and shook my head wordlessly. She nodded and slowly straightened, flicking a glance at the nurse. "Hi Gail."
Gail smiled at her and picked up my chart, transferring her attention to me. "Just coming to check in…how are you doing?"
"Um…good, I think."
"And how's the head? Any nausea, dizziness, light-headedness?"
"Head hurts, but none of that, no."
"Great, great. Anything I can get you?" I shook my head. "No? Okay then, just let me know if you need anything." She glanced at her watch, and then looked pointedly at Robyn. "You really should be resting now. Miss Ward…"
Robyn held up a hand and flashed a winning smile at the woman. "I'll let her rest, I promise."
Gail hesitated, looking between Robyn and me briefly. "Okay then," she said with a nod. She flashed a smile at Robyn and told her, "Nice to see you back, Miss Ward," before pushing out of the room.
I smiled slightly when she'd left. "You've made yourself quite a fan club. Of course, that doesn't surprise me - I'm rather fond of you myself."
Robyn toyed absently with the thin blanket on my bed, staring down at it. "The staff here - especially the nurses - they've been great to me…letting me sit with you when it was against the rules, keeping me in the loop about what was happening…Gail even let me stay after your brother laid down the family only policy, but when he saw me in your room…"
"Sorry about Sebastian," I said with a wince. "He can be…trying."
She chuckled and stroked my hand. "That's very diplomatic of you." Her face turned concerned and she looked up at me. "I heard you two went at it this morning…are you okay? Sounds like it was quite the argument."
I shifted on the bed. "Let's just say no one can push my buttons quite like Sebastian…he's my brother, so on some level, I love him, but mostly I just want to kick his teeth in."
She raised a surprised eyebrow at that, and then looked down at our hands, picking mine up and bringing it to her lips before placing it carefully back on the bed and meeting my gaze. "I also hear that he was blaming me for this…" she stepped back from the bed and wandered over to the window. "And really, he's right. If you hadn't known me, if I hadn't left…" She paused, looking out the window, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Caid. I'm so, so sorry."
"Sorry for what?" I asked with a frown. "For inviting me to spend the weekend with you? For loving me?"
She turned quickly and her eyes flew to mine. "No! God no! Loving you…I'll never be sorry for that. It's the only thing I've done right in this whole mess."
I smiled slightly, trying to lighten her sudden melancholic mood. "I hardly consider it a mess, and I can think of a few other things you've done right…"
I was rewarded with a tiny smile before her face saddened. "I just feel like this is my fault somehow…"
Well, that line of thinking definitely had to go. We had enough problems without her dragging a truckload of unnecessary guilt around for god knows how long.
"Damnit, Robyn, that's bullshit and you know it. Did you attack me? Club me with a walking stick? Kick me? Punch me?"
She visibly flinched.
"Did you?" I pushed.
She shook her head. "No," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper, "but…"
"No!" She blinked at the vehemence of my voice. "No buts. This is no one's fault but the man who did it. He did this. Not you. Do you understand me?"
After several long moments, she finally nodded.
I released a slow breath, suddenly very tired. "Good. Now get over here and kiss me."
A small smile played on her lips as she moved to the bed and looked down at me. "So demanding," she murmured, and leaned in to brush feather-light kisses across my forehead, cheek and finally my lips.
I closed my eyes and sighed. "God I love you."
When I opened my eyes, she was smiling that smile; the one that made it hard for me to breathe. "I love you too, baby. I'm sorry it took me so long to say."
"And now you've told me twice in ten minutes…" I reached for her hand. "I feel like I've won the lottery or something."
She laughed quietly and raised my hand to her lips. "I love you, Caidence Harris."
I closed my eyes and relaxed back into the pillow with a smile. "Oh my," I murmured. "Three times in ten minutes. Look Ma, I'm a millionaire."
She chuckled. "I don't know about that…" she paused, and I felt her lips touch my forehead again. "But I know of one who's available if you want her," she whispered.
I opened one eye. "A millionaire, huh?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Not as big a deal as it used to be, but yeah."
I opened the other eye and regarded her thoughtfully. "She hot?"
She blinked and let out a surprised bark of laughter. "Depends on who you ask."
"Uh-huh." I pulled her forward against the bed and released her hand so I could rest mine on her hip and brush my thumb lightly against the warm skin just above the waistband of her jeans. "Depends on who you ask?" I repeated skeptically. "Just who are you asking? Dead people and live people?"
She laughed again and I closed my eyes with a happy sigh, loving the sound of her laughter and the contented warmth it caused. She brushed a hand through my hair soothingly and I relaxed under the caress.
I jerked awake a little later, not knowing if it was seconds that had passed or minutes, but the warmth of Robyn's skin was still under my fingers and I stroked absently, opening my eyes to find her looking down at me pensively.
"So," she asked hesitantly. "Do you want her?"
It took me a second to realize what she was talking about. When I did, I smiled slightly. "The hot millionaire?"
She smiled, but her eyes were worried, and I could tell she was unsure of my answer. She actually thought I would say no? Crazy woman.
I squeezed her waist. "Yes, I definitely want her. More than I've ever wanted anything in my life."
"She'll be very happy to hear that," she told me with a wide smile, and leaned down to kiss me lightly on the lips. "Now close your eyes and go to sleep."
"M'kay." I let my eyes flutter shut. "Love you."
"I love you too, Caid."
I smiled and snuggled into the pillow.
##
"Caid, baby…wake up." Soft lips pressed against my forehead. "Let me see those gorgeous eyes…"
The low, husky words were whispered in my ear, drawing me from sleep and bringing an involuntary smile to my face. I did as I was asked and opened my eyes, rewarded for my efforts by a soft smile and dark eyes hovering inches from mine.
"Ah…there they are. Good morning." She kissed my forehead again. "I need to head to the set, but I wanted to tell you I was leaving. Are you really awake? You're not going to go all
Fatal Attraction
on me because you didn't remember I said goodbye, are you?"
I blinked sleepily at her, my smile widening as I remembered what she had told me...she loved me. Robyn Ward loved me.
Hot damn.
I yawned and lifted my hand to stroke her hand. "I'm awake. Your rabbit is safe." I looked around the room. "What time is it?"
"It's 4:30…"
I furrowed my brow. "You stayed all night? Did you get any sleep?"
"Some," she said with a shrug, but I doubted it. She looked tired and drawn, but her eyes were shining happily as they looked down on me. "I wanted to be here when you woke up. I'm sorry I have to go…I'd rather stay with you, but I'm walking on thin ice with Lynne as it is."
I gingerly shifted my body on the bed, twisting until I was facing her. "Rob, you know I understand…I'm just sorry if all this has screwed things up for you…"
"Shhh…" She reached out and let two fingers hover just above my lips. "No sorrys, okay?" I nodded and she leaned in for a brief kiss before pulling back. "Everything's fine, I just don't want to push any more than I have to. Can I come back tonight?"
I glared at her. "If you promise not to ask stupid questions like that one."
"Ooohh." She smiled. "Kinda feisty at four-thirty in the morning, aren'tcha?"
I did my best to waggle my eyebrows, despite the pain it caused. "Stick with me, baby, and you'll find out just how feisty I can be at four in the morning."