She waves a hand. “Let’s get out of here. I’m discharged and waiting for my paperwork and credit card.” She slips the last part in ever so casually.
“Cindy, you’re okay, right?”
“Yep, I love Vicodin, and I have no insurance, so believe me, as soon as the bleeding stopped, they were like, ‘Bye.’”
“Ms. Curtis?” A nurse stands behind me causing me to jump.
Cindy frowns at me but smiles at the nurse who goes over her discharge instructions and hands her an American Express Black card and some prescriptions.
I blink. What the hell?
“Ready?” She drops the card back into her bag like it’s chump change and glances at me.
“How do you have that?” I whisper.
“Technically, it’s not mine.” She waves her hand again as if that explains everything and stands to get out of the wheelchair, revealing her blood-soaked jeans.
“What? Please tell me you didn’t steal it,” I whisper. My face must show how horrified I am. She sighs and rolls her blue eyes and starts giggling.
“It’s my dad’s. Well, it has my name on it. But it’s all Daddy’s.” She snaps her fingers.
Great, she’s high as a kite.
I almost want to beg her for a Vicodin. My head feels like someone is tapping both temples with a hammer.
“So, you’re rich?”
“No.” She reaches for my arm, giving me no choice but to let her.
“I don’t want to be bitchy, but since we’re kind of becoming besties, you should know it’s nothing personal, but I don’t talk about my past.”
I open my mouth then shut it. Why bother to tell her that doesn’t even make sense?
“Hello, fucking hot god alert.” She motions her head.
My heart leaps to my throat and the butterflies return, stealing my breath for a second.
It’s ridiculous to behave this way about a man. But it’s not fair. She’s right—he’s a fucking hot god all right. He’s like the human Thor. In fact, that’s what he looks like. If he had the hammer.
What is wrong with me? My blood pressure is likely low. I swear I feel as though I might faint.
Oxygen thief.
It rings in the back of my mind. He’s not even that close and he’s stealing my breath. His silver eyes travel from my face to my breasts all the way down and back to my eyes.
“Oh my God,” Cindy mutters the truth out loud. “He’s beyond fucking hot and he’s so into you.” She pulls her low-cut shirt down and I almost burst out laughing.
Before I can say he’s not, or maybe he is, we both stare, fixated on his silver eyes.
“Are you all right to leave?” He glances at Cindy who smiles.
In true Cindy fashion, she starts talking a mile a minute. “Yep, by the time we got here, the worst was over. My cyst had already ruptured, so they monitored me. I got great drugs. And they kicked me out the door as soon as the bleeding stopped.”
His eyes search her face and travel down her body. “Ryder’s getting a car so that you’ll be comfortable.”
My face warms. Did he just check her out? I mean, I know he checked her out, but does he want Cindy? I look down at my full but small breasts and Cindy’s enormous ones and a wave of jealousy slaps me in the face.
“He’s here?” Her whole face lights up. In an instant, her hand goes to her hair as she looks at mine.
“Really?” I snap and try to straighten my own hair, which seems to be curling all over the place, though it’s piled on top of my head.
Ryder comes walking through the sliding glass doors. He’s got to be at least six foot five, with solid muscles and a beautiful face. His dark hair and dark eyes always seem to know way more than he says. The man is gorgeous.
He doesn’t look at anyone but Cindy. My mouth hangs open as he walks straight past me and plants himself right in front of her.
They look at each other. She smiles and he leans down and picks her up as if she weighs nothing.
I avert my eyes. It’s as if they’ve forgotten we’re here as he walks out the door with her.
“Um, so, he’s going to take care of her?” I snip.
But I can’t help it. Seeing Ryder with Cindy makes me wish for things David is never going to do.
He would never sweep me off my feet—it’s not his style. So why do I want it so badly? I’m not a kid; I’m a grown woman, but I’m still human. I can secretly want the fantasy, the fairy tale.
God, I need to stop watching movies with happy endings.
Strong fingers bite into my bicep. And I squirm. Yep, he is completely the opposite of a hero.
“Trust me, for Ryder to come and get her, it means she’ll be treated like a queen,” he grumbles.