Holding back when all he did was give, allowing her fears to control everything she did and said. Or… didn’t say. Like I love you.

She ran a shaking hand through her hair.

“Hey, sis. Max is one tough son of a bitch. He’s going to be okay. There’s no way he wouldn’t do everything he could to come back to you.”

She swallowed hard. “I know. But why? I’ve given him so much less than what he’s given me. I couldn’t even say I love you back. He deserves better.”

“Lucy, you’ve been through a huge trauma at a critical age. Don’t you think maybe you’re being too hard on yourself?” her brother asked, eyes focused on the road as he wove in and out of traffic.

She shook her head. “No, I don’t. Because I realize now, if Max is gone? I didn’t save myself hurt and heartache! I cost myself more.”

All those regrets she’d cautioned Max about having toward his family? She was sitting on a big whopping pile of those now, and she only had herself to blame.

“I love him and he needs to know. He has to know.” She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks.

Her brother merely squeezed her hand and continued his winding through the city streets, trying to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Lucy prayed that one way or another, she’d find Max, and when she did, he wasn’t too badly hurt. No matter what, though, she wasn’t leaving his side.

She refused to think of any other alternative.

* * *

Max’s head pounded, his throat felt raw, and his body ached like he’d been thrown to the concrete. Because he had been. One minute he was walking into Savage in Soho, and the next he’d been airborne. He didn’t remember much afterwards, but now he had oxygen in his nose, an IV in his arm, and pain radiating everywhere. He closed his eyes because it hurt to open them, and let everything drift away.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard a loud voice. A female voice and a familiar one at that. “If Max Savage is in that room, I want to see him!”

“I’m sorry, but you said yourself you aren’t family.”

“Well, I will be.”

“Not good enough. He’s—”

“It’s good enough for me. And it’ll be good enough for him if you’d just step aside—”

“Lucy?” Max ripped the oxygen from his nose, and, ignoring the throbbing in his head, he yelled again. “Lucy!”

“You see? He wants me.”

Yes, Max thought, he damned well did.

The curtain parted, and Lucy stormed through, coming up to his bed and meeting his gaze. “Max. Thank God.”

A nurse hurried in behind her, but Max waved her away. He didn’t give a shit how much he hurt; his focus was on Lucy.

She wrapped her arms around his and laid her head on his chest. “I saw the news and I thought… I mean, you were supposed to be inside the restaurant, and you weren’t answering your phone. I thought…” She burst into tears, sobbing against him, her tears dampening his skin.

His arms were sore, but he laid one hand across her back, aware of her shaking shoulders.

“Apparently I’m hard to get rid of,” he said wryly. But he knew how badly this experience must have screwed with her head, not to mention her emotions. He wondered how much work he had ahead of him to bring her back emotionally now.

“Don’t joke.” She sniffed and raised her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face splotchy, and yet she’d never looke

d more beautiful to him.

He was so damned lucky to be here with her now. And he had Sebastian to thank. If the man hadn’t required bail money, Max would have been inside the restaurant instead of just arriving there when the explosion happened.

“Lucy—”

“Don’t speak. Not a word. Just rest. I’ll do all the talking.”

Tags: Carly Phillips NY Dares Erotic
Source: readsnovelonline.net