He paused, glanced at Sarah, and then sighed as he looked back at Kayla.
They wanted to lie to her; she could see it in their eyes. “Don’t … please … don’t lie,” she whispered.
Dr. Penn sighed. “You’re thirty-nine. ”
She couldn’t breathe. Focusing on his gray eyes, she shook her head. “No … no … I’m almost twenty-four. I got married two and a half years ago. Juliana just had her first birthday. I remember all this perfectly. ”
“There are other things—other times—you can’t remember yet. But it’ll come back. It’s best if you let it come back naturally. Just give yourself a little time. ”
It took all her strength of will to formulate one little sentence. “I want … to see my husband now. ”
Dr. Penn looked at Sarah again, then he nodded. “Just a minute. ”
Kayla tried to keep breathing evenly as they left the room. She climbed back into bed, where she felt safe. Julian would tell her the truth. He would tell her—
The door opened again. Only it wasn’t Julian; it was another stranger. She shook her head. “No … more …”
Slowly he came up to the bed.
She frowned. She couldn’t marshal her scattered thoughts into a sentence. She wanted to tell him to go away.
He touched her, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her gently toward him. She felt like a rag doll, sagging in his arms.
He stared at her, and his eyes were so green. She’d never seen eyes so filled with comfort. It calmed her, the way he looked at her. “Forever,” he whispered.
The word struck a chord deep, deep inside her. She felt her body go still, her heartbeat even out. Even the air in her lungs seemed to refill itself. The word—forever—drifted through her, swirling, meaning something that she couldn’t grasp on to; it found no perch and fluttered away.
“Remember me,” he said, gently shaking her.
And all at once, she did. “I do … remember you,” she said quietly. “You’re the other doctor. ”
He let go of her; it was so unexpected that she fell back into the mound of pillows. She had the strangest thought that she had wounded him. Those green eyes looked so sad …
“I’m sorry …” she whispered, though she had no idea what she’d done to wound this man. “I just … want to see my husband. ”
As he turned away, she almost called out for him. She wanted him to look at her again, to touch her and make her feel safe, but she knew it was ridiculous.
“Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll go get Julian. ”
Chapter Twenty
Julian sat in the waiting room. He tried to remain calm but couldn’t stop his foot from tapping. There were only two people in the room—him and Stephen—but still it felt airless and crowded. Liam had left a few minutes ago to see Kayla.
He’d spent most of last night trying to figure out how and when to tell her the truth of their past. Now, here it was, nearly noon, and he was no closer to an answer.
Liam walked into the room. He looked … beaten. He pushed a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. Even from this distance, Julian could see that Liam’s hand was shaking.
He looked at Julian. “She wants to see her husband. ”
Julian turned to Dr. Penn. “What now? You told her she was thirty-nine years old, and then you bolted. What am I supposed to tell her when she asks where she’s been for fifteen years?”
“Tell her where you’ve been. ” It was Liam’s voice.
Julian spun to face him. “Yeah, you’d like that. ”
“Like that? I don’t like you even being in the same room with her. ” He moved toward Julian. “If she asks you a direct question, I want you to answer truthfully. You can evade—but don’t lie. Steve said that she left him no room to weasel out of her questions. ”
“Maybe I shouldn’t go see her. ”