First Time in Forever (Puffin Island 1)

“Skylar says friends can be better th

an family. She says you, she and Brittany are like sisters.”

“That’s true, we are, but—” How did you explain this to a child? “That isn’t the way it is with Ryan. He has other people in his life to think about. He’s taking his grandmother to look at somewhere new to live today. She’ll be able to tell us all about it when we see her next.”

“I already know. She wants a house that isn’t so big.” Lizzy’s face crumpled. “I want Ryan. I want him to tell me the story about Abbie and the hens.”

“As soon as we’re back home, I’ll ask him to come and tell you the story.” She stroked Lizzy’s hair and then looked up as a nurse came into the room. “She just woke up. She feels cooler.”

The nurse checked the reading. “Her temperature is down. That’s a good sign.”

Emily was willing to grab any piece of good news. “What happens now?”

“We wait for these results, but she seems to have turned a corner.”

Emily discovered she wasn’t good at waiting.

While Lizzy slept and nurses walked in and out of the room checking her temperature and the rate of the IV, she sat there thinking about Ryan and everything Lizzy had said.

It was true that she’d asked him to teach her to swim and take them out on the boat, but that was because he understood her situation.

And the sex had been incredible, but it was still just sex, and she wasn’t going to make the mistake of thinking it meant more than it did.

The door opened, and Emily glanced up, expecting it to be one of the doctors, but it was Ryan who stood in the doorway. His hair was sleek from the rain, his shirt clinging to his broad shoulders.

Seeing him there brought a rush of pure emotion. Elation. Relief. And something far deeper and infinitely more terrifying. She could hear Lizzy’s words in her head.

You love him. You love Ryan.

Heart pounding, she managed to speak. “What are you doing here?”

He strode into the room scattering droplets of rain. “You’re in the hospital. Where did you think I’d be? How sick is she?”

“Ryan!” Disturbed by the noise, Lizzy opened her eyes and her face brightened. “You came.”

“I would have come sooner if I’d known.” He walked straight to the bed, put down the large bag he was carrying and sat next to Lizzy. “Hi, tiger. What have you been doing to yourself?”

“I’m sick.”

“I can see that.” He picked up the bear. “And how is Andrew? Did he get sick on the flight over?”

Lizzy managed her first smile for days. “I held him all the way.”

“You need to get well fast because the puffins miss you. And talking of puffins—” he reached into the bag and pulled out a stuffed puffin, complete with brightly colored felt beak “—I thought Andrew might like company.” He snuggled it next to her as the door opened and a nurse walked in.

She frowned when she saw Ryan. “Relatives only.”

“I’m a relative.” Cool and self-assured, Ryan didn’t budge, and the nurse looked at him curiously.

“Are you Ryan by any chance?” Her severe expression softened when he nodded. “She’s been asking for you. Maybe now you’re here you can persuade Emily to go and eat something. She hasn’t left the room since she arrived.”

“I didn’t want to.” Emily stayed firmly in the chair, trying to understand what was going on. He claimed not to want the attachment of a family, and yet he’d flown through filthy weather to get here.

She tried to work it out, but her brain wasn’t functioning properly. She was so tired she wondered if she’d even have the ability to stand up when the moment came. Her short nap in the chair had made her feel worse, not better, as if the taste of sleep had reminded her brain what she’d been missing. Now that the danger had passed, the adrenaline that had kept her going vanished, taking energy with it.

“I wanted you to come,” Lizzy said sleepily, “but Emily said you wouldn’t because you don’t love us the way we love you.”

Oh, crap.