As soon as the doctor in the hospital left her alone to rest, Nicolla snatched a phone console and dialled her own home number in the District. The portable vid screen flickered to life and a sleepy-looking man answered. It was Tyler.
“Can I speak to Nicky? It’s urgent.”
Tyler blinked and shook his head. “Sorry, she’s not available right now. Want to leave a message?”
“What do you mean she’s not available? This is fucking important.”
“Geez, lady, calm down.” Tyler shot her an annoyed look. “Nicky is sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Didn’t I tell you it’s important? She’s expecting my call.”
Tyler paused. “Who are you?”
The door opened. “Kelly?”
“Oh shit!” Nicolla turned the vid comm off and slammed the console back onto its cradle. Andrew was at the door, accompanied by the doctor. She was surprised to see him—Kaplan or Rush must have notified him.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“What happened to my wife?” Andrew asked the doctor.
My wife, Nicolla noted, wondering. He still cared for Kelly.
The doc consulted his wrist comp, accessing her information. “To be honest, I couldn’t find anything to be concerned about regarding your wife’s health, Mr White. Her vitals are stable and everything looks fine to me.”
Dumbass Normie. Nicolla wanted to roll her eyes. That’s because I was fibbing, you idiot. “I’m fine, I told you. I’m just exhausted.”
Andrew took one good look at her, but it wasn’t the cold, uninterested look he had this morning. The man was scared. Regret filled his eyes. He then did something that Nicolla hadn’t expected. He hugged her and kissed her temple. Nicolla tentatively hugged him back. When he released her, Andrew said to the doctor, “Can I take my wife home now, Doc?”
Chapter Five
Andrew had become a totally different person to the one she’d met this morning. When they got home, he herded her into the kitchen. “You sit here. I’m going to get you something to drink. Are you cold?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Nicolla sank into the chair, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his gushing attention.
“But I do.” His eyes told her much more. Nicolla could see anguish in those gorgeous eyes of his. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around, liebchen.”
Liebchen? Was that Kelly’s pet name? Nicolla bit her lip to keep from smiling. “It’s not your fault. I’ve been working too hard for that partnership. I know I’ve kind of neglected us.”
Andrew gave a faint smile and retreated behind the kitchen counter. He boiled some water in the kettle to make tea.
Nicolla was seized with curiosity. Maybe it was more than just Kelly’s workaholic habits that had caused them to drift apart. “Andi.” Nicolla called him the way Kelly did. He turned, his shoulders hunched. Nicolla’s heart sank. He looked like a tortured man, carrying a heavy inner burden. “If I tell you something, would you believe me?”
His eyebrow arched and he looked genuinely concerned. “What’s the matter?”
Nicolla rose from the chair, looking straight into his eyes. “When I woke up this morning, I…uhm…didn’t remember a lot of things. Silly, isn’t it? If I hadn’t had a reminder from my personal comp, I wouldn’t have remembered I had that confirmation interview this morning.”
“You had amnesia? Did you tell this to the doc?”
“Honey.” Nicolla took a deep breath. “I can’t remember a single thing about us. When did we get married? Are we always like this? Like strangers?”
Andrew stiffened.
“Did we have a big fight? Did I do something wrong?” Nicolla pressed on.
Andrew ran his fingers through his hair. “No, it isn’t like that.”