I roll my head back in laughter at his words. "Not everyone in the world thinks I'm as great as you do. You know that, don't you?"
"They're idiots." He shakes his head. "How could anyone in their right mind not realize how gifted you are? It makes no sense to me."
"I love that you think I'm special." Even I hear my own words and realize how grossly understated he's going to think they are.
"Special?" He jumps to his knees, pushing me back into the bed sheets. "You're the breath to my life, Ivy. You are the reason I get out of bed every single day. You are my world."
My heart leaps at his words. This is the closest I've felt to Jax in so long.
"You're my world too." I pull my arms over my head and look into his eyes. "I can't be without you. That's not an option for me anymore."
"You'll never have to be." He leans down, his large body hovering over mine. "I'll never let that happen."
Chapter 21
"I'm going to take good care of her, Ivy." Brighton gives me a brief hug. "I promise you that."
I nod as I watch Liz's bed wheel past me. I know I should stop her and say something. My mind is telling me it's the right thing to do but my heart. My heart is telling me to let her go.
"Ivy." Apparently her heart isn't ready for this to be over yet.
"Yes, Liz?" I turn towards where the stewards have stopped her stretcher near the door to the hospital.
"I’m sorry." Her eyes fill with tears as the words leave her lips. "You were the best friend I ever had. I'm sorry I messed things up."
I know it's taking most of the strength she has to say the words. I know it's pulling on a part of her emotions that she usually keeps buried deep within.
"I know, Liz." I reach to run my hand along hers. "I know."
She only nods in silence as they wheel her through the door to the waiting ambulance.
"We'll be in Paris in two days. It's the best place for her right now. The doctors there are doing remarkable things for people like Liz."
I smile at Brighton's cheery disposition. Taking on the task of not only helping Liz to recover from her injuries but helping her to overcome her addiction is a huge step for them both. I can tell he truly does love her and I hope, with everything that I am, that she can love him back just as much.
"We're here if you need us." Jax's voice flows over my shoulder as I feel his hand pressing into my back. "I've missed you, Brighton. Come back and visit soon."
His words were almost identical the last time Brighton fled to Europe. The difference today is that there's heavy meaning behind them. They've moved past their differences. Jax no longer sees Brighton as a spoiled artist and Jax is more than an arrogant businessman to him. They are brothers now. I move out of the way to allow them one last embrace before Brighton boards the ambulance.
"I didn't think you'd make it in time to say goodbye." I grab hold of his hand and cradle it in mine. "What kept you?"
"I was talking to Gilbert." He tucks his smartphone into the pocket of his jeans. "He found a buyer for your shares and my shares. They'll run the company with integrity. Bailey's going to have a bright future."
I smile at the mention of her name. I've never met her and I likely never will but that little girl had changed the entire landscape of my relationship with Jax and I was forever grateful for that.
"I promised Mrs. Adams that we would stop by her new place on our way home." I motion towards the parking lot. "She wants to show me the cat that her boyfriend bought her."
"I can't believe she's shacking up with that guy." He pulls me closer into a tighter embrace. "She's a hussy."
I roll my head back in a burst of laughter at the mention of the word. "That's her word for all the single women who used to live in our building."
"So you were one too before you sold your apartment?" He cocks a brow and the serious look on his face only adds to my amusement.
"You saved me from my life as a hussy." I perch on my tiptoes to pull my lips across his. "Jax…" my voice trails as I feel a rush of heat course through me.
Chapter 22
"If you're going to faint, the hospital is the place to do it, beautiful." Jax's gorgeous face is the first thing I see when I pull my heavy eyelids open. I gaze past him a monitor that is beeping out a pulse rate.