“What happened?” My voice is unsteady, but I can’t do a thing about it.
The doctor turns to me. “You are…?”
“Elliot Reed. I’m her husband.”
“Finally.” Her dark eyes are solemn behind a pair of rimless glasses, and her mouth is flat. The seriousness of her expression sends a frisson of alarm through my system. “I’m Dr. Lisle.”
“Is she all right?”
“I’m sitting right here,” Belle says hoarsely, barely audible.
I ignore her.
“Yes,” the doctor says. “Just some cuts and bruises. Nothing broken, no head injury or concussion. She was very lucky.”
Lucky. The word keeps circling in my head, and I let out a long breath. “Thank god.”
“You should definitely thank something. I heard it was a long flight of stairs.”
“I’m still here.”
Belle’s peeved tone, more than anything, else lets me know she’s going to be okay. The scrapes will mend and the bruises will fade.
“She needs to take it easy,” Dr. Lisle is saying. “I’m assuming you can manage that. And I’m prescribing a muscle relaxant just in case. Absolutely, positively, no drinking or driving after taking it.”
“I don’t want—”
“Anything else?” I ask. Neither Dr. Lisle nor I even glance Belle’s way.
“Your wife asked to be discharged tonight,” the doctor says. “She can go if that’s what she wants, so long as you can promise she’ll take it easy.”
I purse my lips. I understand why Belle wants to leave. I hate hospitals too, but she just took a tumble down what had to be twenty yards of stairs at the Sterlings’ mansion. Even if nothing’s broken or permanently damaged, I prefer that she stay at the hospital overnight.
Belle is watching my eyes. “Elliot, I can’t stay here. This place makes me…” She seems to grow paler and smaller.
I breathe out harshly. All right. “I’ll take her with me, doctor. And I promise to keep her in bed and resting.”
Belle sags in relief, and Dr. Lisle nods. “If you notice anything wrong…even something small, you need to bring her back. Immediately.”
“Got it.”
“Go do the paperwork or whatever to get me out of here,” Belle says. “I’ll get my things and meet you at the nurses’ station.” I hesitate, but she flicks her wrist a couple of times. “Please.”
If she’d said anything else, I would’ve stayed, but the imploring please gets to me. Despite myself, I do as she asks.
Once we’re in the limo and on the way to the hotel, she leans back with a long sigh, her eyes closed.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
She doesn’t open her eyes. “I’m fine. Just a little bruised, no big deal.”
I study the lines on her face and the tightly pressed lips. A little bruised, sure. I pull her until she’s leaning against me, her back to my chest. She must be hurting worse than she lets on. I arrange her so she can rest her head against my shoulder, but she stiffens. I don’t let go, though. I need to hold her and know she’s okay…for my own sake.
“What happened?” I ask after a moment.
The muscles in her back and shoulders turn to stone. “Didn’t you get the answer you want from the doctor?”
“Don’t. I don’t want to fight. I just want to know how it happened.”