Play Fling (A Stupid Cupid Book) (34 page)

“I’ll tell her you’re unavailable.” Gordon
shrugged into his coat. “Unless you’d like worse?”

“No. Unavailable is fine.” He didn’t have the
stomach for asking Gordon to play dirty for him. Hell, he couldn’t
do it himself. If Millie wasn’t lying and Brooke was in fact here,
really here, at the hospital, well, he didn’t know what he could do
about it. He couldn’t leave his father’s side, stable or not.
“Brooke’s supposedly here and drugged and needs me.”

Gordon softly punched his shoulder. “Hey. It
will all work out for the best.”

Elliott nodded. “I know. You’re right.” More
like dead wrong. How could a mess like this ever work out in his
favor? First Brooke leaves with cold feet, then Millie tries to
blackmail him and now? He didn’t know what to think now. Dramatics?
Tall tales?

“If Jason and I can work things out with an
interfering mother like Nancy Munkle, you can work around a bitch
best friend.” Gordon’s frame filled the doorway. “Brooke’s worth
it, isn’t she?”

“Sure.” Elliott attempted a smile, but
failed. “I’m glad it worked out for you two. Guess I misjudged
Jason.” Thankfully.

“Of course you misjudged him. You only had my
side of the story.” Gordon slipped out the door. “Get some
rest.”

“I will. Drive safely.”

With a two finger wave, Gordon left. The
guard—Clyde was it?—peered through and sent Elliott a nod. The door
closed. Elliott sighed. He racked his brain for the code to remote
access his voicemail. He left his phone behind in his rush to the
hospital. Surely, Brooke had found his gift and his note. Surely
she’d called him.

“He finally gone?” James said, hoarsely from
the bed.

Elliott looked up, but wasn’t much surprised.
His dad grinned weakly back.

“Yeah. He’s gone.”

His dad fumbled for the bed controls and the
top half cranked upward, getting him to a sitting position. “Turn
the lights up, will you?”

Elliott did, then dragged his chair closer to
the bed. “How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough.” James closed his eyes. “You
going to tell me about this Brooke girl or let me die
wondering?”

“Die, my ass. If I didn’t know better, I’d
bet you and Clyde out there conspired the chest pains just to get
you a hospital vacation.”

James laughed, wheezing a bit with each low
chuckle. “Clyde. Yeah, he’s a good guy. And you’re avoiding my
question.”

Elliott rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Okay.”
He should have known his father would pick up on something, even if
he hadn’t overheard Gordon. “Her name is Brooke.”

“She the gal from the bookstore?” His voice
was raspy, his eyes drooped closed for several seconds.

Elliott hated how old his dad looked. He
hated how worn he sounded. He couldn’t answer until his dad’s eyes
opened back up and held to his. “Yes.”

“So what went wrong enough that ole
light-in-his-loafers Gordo is doling out relationship advice?”

“I don’t know what went wrong. I can’t say
that anything really went wrong.” His dad was shaking his head.
Elliott didn’t wait for him to interrupt. “Her friend tried to get
me fired. She thinks I’m bad for Brooke. I don’t even know why
except maybe because there’s an age difference. Brooke’s ten or so
years older than me.”

“So?”

Elliott applied the single utterance to all
said. “So, I don’t want to push her too fast. She’s been hurt and
she’s a bit gun shy.”

“You sure it isn’t you who’s gun shy?”

Elliott didn’t answer. He only shrugged.

“After your mom passed, Elliott, no one could
blame you for holding us at arm’s length. We know how it was with
you two.” His eyes closed again for a long moment. “If she’s the
one worth fighting for, you’ll already know it.”

“Like Gordon said,” Elliott said. “It will
work out.”

“No. Things in life don’t just work out.” His
voice was weaker now. “You work it out. I’m okay, son. If she’s
here, go find her.”

In an instant, he could see his dad was okay.
More than that, he was right, too. Elliott grabbed the water glass,
directed the straw to his dad’s mouth. James sipped.

“She’s supposedly down in the ER right now,”
Elliott said.

His dad didn’t answer, just gave him a small
knowing look.
Then why aren’t you?
James didn’t need to say
a word. Staying here only put off what he feared. What that was
precisely, he couldn’t say, but he was out of excuses.

If Brooke was here, if she was hurt, what was
he waiting for? The knots in his stomach tightened. Love should be
simpler than this.

His dad shooed him with one hand, keeping his
eyes mostly closed. “Bring her up when you’re done.”

Elliott half smiled. Maybe he would. Feet
dragging, he left James in the care of the staff and Clyde. His
palms sweating, adrenaline pumping through him, all he could do was
hope. Hope he wasn’t wrong about Brooke. Hope Millie wasn’t lying.
Hope he wasn’t too late.

~

Brooke’s breath caught. Her fists gathered
the bed sheet as she watched the approaching figure in the hospital
corridor. She slowly exhaled, relief crowding out her panic. He’d
come. Elliott had come.

The buzz of the love potion Millie kept
insisting she’d slipped her hummed softly under Brooke’s skin and
through her veins. Her hands gathered the sheets into her fists.
She glanced at Millie and AJ, who were speaking with a nurse out of
earshot, likely trying to explain Brooke’s strange behavior.
Particularly during the x-ray. Someone had to have noticed her
behavior was off by now.

They didn’t see him coming. But Brooke
did.

Once she became lucid enough to comprehend
what Millie kept explaining, Brooke fought to maintain some
composure. Millie was a cupid, Elliott was her one true love.
Millie had drugged her. She understood. Try to act normal. It was
beyond impossible. At least the ER was slow tonight or she’d likely
be writhing in the waiting room instead of in the empty room full
of half curtained beds. Waiting for him to come.

Until now. He looked tense.

A new wave of arousal hit her. She bit down.
Moans and writhing over an ankle sprain could only go so far with
nurses and doctors trained to spot something amiss, as AJ aptly
pointed out. But none of that mattered now.

Elliott was here.

A soft moan escaped her. Her back arched.

He seemed far away, like in a tunnel. He
seemed to be taking forever to get to her side. He didn’t look very
pleased from what she could discern of his expression in the shadow
and distance. The wide doorway seemed to tilt a bit. She braced
herself backward, a wave of nausea-laced dizziness hitting her full
force, suppressing the arousal.

She bit down to stop from crying out. What if
he didn’t get here? What if she was hallucinating? How could Millie
have done this to her? Not just the drug. Everything. Brooke didn’t
know what to believe and what not to at this point and if someone
didn’t come back bedside, she might fall into the blackness
again.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her
breathing. The sweep of cool air in through her nostrils, out warm
through her mouth. She counted down from ten. He should be here by
now. Here, at her side. No hall could take so long. She didn’t dare
open her eyes, though, not until the blackness edged away.

Once it did, the lust rushed back. Her toes
tingled and her legs ached to dance over the crisp sheets. Her
nipples hardened and it took all her effort not to palm each
breast, graze over them, squeezing, massaging.

A small groan escaped her. This was pure
torture. The heat, the need. She needed Elliott. His touch, his
scent—she could almost smell it now, she craved him so bad.

“Brooke,” he said, soft in her ear.

She shuddered with the sheer pleasure of the
sound of him. Elliott? Was she dreaming again? She forced her eyes
open, dreading the disappointment to come.

His chiseled face filled her vision. She
reached out, touched his stubbly cheek. Real. Really real.
“Elliott. You’re here.”

He leaned into her hand. “I’m here.”

A throat cleared. Brooke couldn’t unglue her
eyes from him, though. Relief saturated her senses, soothed the
nausea of the drug.

“Sorry to interrupt.” It was AJ. “Millie
needs to steal Elliott for just a moment.”

Brooke’s body jerked. Every fiber of her
being screamed no. All she could do was shake her head.

“Don’t worry,” Elliott said, his gaze intent.
“I’m not going anywhere.”

AJ took his place. Footsteps faded away. She
couldn’t focus. Her ankle throbbed.

“I don’t have much time to tell you this, so
I need you to try to focus,” AJ said, his gaze intent.

Brooke cringed. She didn’t want to hear
anything he had to say. He’d only defend Millie and she just
couldn’t stomach thinking about what she’d almost lost because of
her so-called friend. She’d trusted her. Loved her like a sister.
Again, she shook her head.

“You’ll likely never see Millie again.” AJ’s
voice was steady and quiet. “But, in time, if you allow yourself
to, you’ll understand she did what she had to do. She had only your
best interest at heart. It won’t mean you have to condone her
methods. You don’t. Perhaps you shouldn’t. What it means is that….”
He looked down, brow drawn. “It means that she had no other choice
and did what she did for love.”

“That makes no sense.” Brooke didn’t want it
to either. She didn’t want him standing there trying to help her
understand or soothe her.

“It may not now, but one day….”

The nausea left her. All that remained was
want. She wanted Elliott. Before Millie did anything to take him
away. Her head swam with everything Millie had admitted to. The
makeover, the research, even blackmail and drugging her. Millie had
claimed to be Cupid for God’s sake! Now AJ expected her to what?
Feel sorry for her?

Try to understand that Millie was a lunatic
at worst and a rotten person at best? Elliott came back before
Brooke could voice the disgust rising within her. Her lust for him
returned, invading all thought.

AJ left the empty bed-lined room. From the
corner of her eye, Brooke saw Millie join him past the door and
walk away as well. Then all Brooke could see was Elliott. Gorgeous,
delicious Elliott. Except he didn’t look very happy to be here
anymore.

“What is it?” she said, panic surfacing.
“What’s the matter?”

“That depends,” he said and crossed his arms.
“Should I believe a word that comes out of Millie’s mouth?”

Brooke felt sick. “Why? What did she
say?”

“In so many words, she said if we don’t find
some privacy, you’ll be in sorry shape.”

“She drugged me.”

“So she said. Does that mean you believe
her?”

“I just mean that I don’t know how well I can
trust my senses. My body wants your touch more than I can describe
right now. It’s all I can think about.”

“Do you love me, Brooke?”

His bluntness only heightened her lust. And
her panic. Even if she tried, she couldn’t reach him, he stood so
far away. “Yes.”

He looked at the ceiling, but she still saw
the pain in his eyes. “When did you realize?”

The ache for him, oh, God, it was so strong.
Why couldn’t he just come closer? “I’m not really sure. Tonight…I
think.”

“Tonight, huh?” He blinked. He shook his
head. “Well, Brooke, I loved you from the moment you walked into
Shope’s office.” He looked at her now, his eyes shiny. “That day,
for one tiny moment, before you knew that I was Shope’s teaching
assistant, you looked at me like you couldn’t believe your lucky
stars. Like you’d found something you had lost and had been looking
for for a long time.”

Brooke could remember that moment, too. She’d
felt exactly as he’d described. But she didn’t know what right
thing to say. “What did Millie tell you?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is exactly
what I asked. I need to know exactly when you fell in love with
me.” She reached for him. If she could have just one touch.

He shook his head. “You can’t be sure, can
you?”

Fear poured through her. Of course she could
be sure. It wasn’t the drug that made her love him. She’d known it,
felt it long before. Hadn’t she? The drug only helped her accept
her feelings for him.

The nurse returned and ushered Elliott
aside.

As though to make things harder, Brooke’s
eyes fluttered shut. A pang shot through her. She couldn’t pass
out. Not now. She forced them back open and sought out Elliott’s
gaze. He wouldn’t look at her.

“We need an x-ray,” the nurse said, kicking
the bed brake.

Brooke couldn’t lose him. But what did he
want her to say? She hunted for the words inside, desperate. Then a
deep weight in her shifted and, like a tuft on the wind, something
let go of her.

Elliott’s eyes met hers. The nurse pushed her
bed. “Wait!”

The nurse paused. “Alright, lovebirds. You’ve
got five minutes,” the nurse grumbled, leaving them.

Brooke watched Elliott. “Today,” she said.
“At the yard sale.”

Ever so slightly, his head cocked down. Yet
he didn’t look at her.

Brooke plunged on. “I fell in love with you
somewhere in the beginning. I can’t say exactly when because it all
blends in with this want for you that I can’t seem to contain. But,
today, at the yard sale? When you got the box, the one you gave me,
that’s when I truly knew.” If he would just look at her, he’d see
how much she loved him. “I was too scared to admit it to myself,
Elliott. But I knew.” She paused, swallowing. “I was terrified.
Because being in love with you meant I could be exposed to all
sorts of gossip and ridicule.”

His gaze moved to hers, the hesitation in
them showing even from the five feet separating them. “To hell with
what people think,” he said.

“Yes. I know you’re right. But that wasn’t
what scared me most of all.” Brooke’s throat tightened. “What
scared me—what scares me now—is how much I love you. I’ve never
felt like this before, Elliott. I’ve never felt so exposed to hurt
and joy and a hundred other emotions I can’t even name yet.”