Virgin Seeks Bad Boy (Bliss River 3)

I can’t turn my head. I can’t tell Nick I’m dizzy. I can’t even pull in a deep breath. My chest just keeps getting tighter and tighter while my stomach twists like a towel being rung out, and my head throbs with an unhealthy beat that grows slower, harder, as my vision blurs.

I hear Nick call out my name, faintly, as if from a distance, and then I’m falling, swallowed up by a soft blackness that shuts down the world.

Chapter 23

Melody

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I awake to the comforting rhythm of a metronome, like the one I used to use to help keep time when I was first learning to play the piano.

No, not a metronome. It’s a beep, not a click.

I open my eyes, blinking as my mind connects the sound to dozens of hospital dramas I’ve binged through the years. It’s a heart monitor.

It takes a few minutes of staring at the white tile ceiling and listening to the hospital noises in the near distance to realize the heartbeat is my own.

I swallow, relieved by how much easier it is now that my throat isn’t swollen, and shift beneath the cool sheets. I take a deep, cleansing breath, catching the familiar scent of my mother’s perfume.

“Mom?” I ask, lifting my head from the pillow to see my mother startling awake in the hospital recliner in the corner of the room. I let it drop back to the pillow a beat later.

I’m feeling so much better, but I’m still a little woozy.

“Honey, you’re awake.” Mom appears beside my bed, rubbing her makeup-free eyes. Behind her, the pale, early morning light glows through her messy hair, emphasizing the fly-away strands sprouting all over her head.

My mother is out of the house without makeup or her hair brushed, leaving no doubt I must have been in seriously critical condition. She even stopped to put on makeup before taking Aria to the hospital to have Felicity.

“How are you, baby?” She takes my hand in both of hers, cradling it like a treasure.

“I’m feeling much better,” I say, squeezing her fingers.

“Good. I’m so glad.” She sighs in relief. “I’m going to get the nurse to check on you again now that you’re awake.” She leans down, pressing a kiss to my cheek before hurrying from the room.

She returns less than a minute later with a bright-eyed older woman in blue scrubs with tiny beagles on them and a name tag declaring her Candace Carter, LPN. Candace fusses and clucks over me like a second mother hen for several moments—checking my vitals and asking how my head and chest are feeling—before making reassuring noises about my progress. She helps adjust the bed so I can sit up comfortably and promises to come back with a big mug of water in a few minutes.

I thank her, waiting until the nurse leaves the room before turning back to Mom. “How did you know I was here?” I ask. “Did Nick call you? Where is he? Is he okay? I saw Seth hit him before I passed out. Several times, actually.”

Mom’s smile falls from her face so fast I can almost hear it hit the floor. Even before she opens her mouth, I know the secrets I’ve been keeping from my family have caught up with me.

“Why didn’t you tell us that you were attacked by that man at the bar?” Mom demands, ignoring my questions. Her frown emphasizes the tiny wrinkles around her mouth, making her actually look like she’s in her fifties for once. Most days, Sue looks young enough to be mistaken for my older sister, but the rough night has taken a toll on her, making me feel even guiltier.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t want to talk about it with family. I knew how upset you’d be, and I… I just didn’t want to relive it. Or think about it, really. I just wanted to forget.”

“But you told Nick and Nash,” she says. “I had to slip your father a Xanax when he heard that the Geary boys knew his daughter was in danger before he did.”

I sigh. “And that’s part of the reason I kept it from you guys. I didn’t want to worry Daddy. You know how he gets. He’s going to give himself a heart attack one of these days.”

“I know, sugar,” Mom says, her expression softening. “But he loves you so much, and he’s just devastated. In his mind, he and his buddies could have handled this. They could have confronted the creep and run him out of town. He’s positive he could have kept you safe and hates how helpless he feels right now.”

“But he hates that I went to Nash even more,” I say, a hint of bitterness in my tone.

I love my dad, but when it comes to Nash, I don’t understand what his problem is. Nash is a great guy, who is devoted to Aria and Felicity. Dad should have welcomed him with open arms, no matter what happened between Aria and Nash when they were teenagers.