A Perfect Moment

by Becca Lee

  He’d briefly spoken to me when he’d first arrived, but at that point I was still mute, too in shock and in fear, waiting for absolute confirmation that Ella was okay. At one point, I saw him speak to Liam before they shook hands, and Liam had left telling me he was collecting Jo and meeting us at the hospital.

  “I told you to wait.”

  I looked at him hard, not giving two flying fucks what he said or what he did. I certainly didn’t bother responding.

  “I’ll stop by the hospital tomorrow to take your statement. You were damn lucky though, Preston.”

  I looked over at Ella and then back at him. “Yeah, I know.”

  He nodded. “His truck was filled with petrol canisters and igniters.”

  I let the information sink in. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew it took more than a few bangs and knocks for that to have gone up, but I also knew there were enough sparks from the collision that it could have happened. I closed my eyes briefly, trying not to imagine what could have been. The thought left a bitter and desperate taste in my mouth. Opening my eyes, I nodded to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Movement drew my attention to over his shoulder.

  Ben.

  His lifeless body was covered in a sheet, lying on top of one of the stretchers. Through my hatred, I felt pity. He’d lost the woman he had loved; between that and who-knows-what the hell he’d experienced while in the armed forces, he had snapped. I understood it. Coming close to losing Ella, again—I grimaced—I would have been near cracking point too. That being said, I was pleased as hell that the fucker was dead.

  I hauled myself into the waiting ambulance and secured myself in the seat, my hand touching Ella’s arm.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ella

  My mouth felt like a possum had snuck into my room and done a crap in it. I was pretty confident it would smell like it as well. I smacked my lips together, needing moisture. I was damn thirsty, and would consider granting all sorts of favours and promises to whoever could get me a drink. A cold wetness attached to what felt like a sponge touched my lips. Who would have thought a tiny drop of water could feel so heavenly, so precious. The sponge was removed.

  Eyes still closed, I croaked, “More.”

  A moment later, the delicious wetness returned. I opened my mouth and bit down on the sponge, taking a hard suck of it, desperate to get the water into my system.

  “Hey,” a familiar voice reprimanded, “you’re going to get me in trouble. You’re only allowed a little bit on your lips.”

  Preston. I smiled and released the sponge. I gulped and coughed at the dryness. Immediately, I cried out in pain, and remembered my ribs. I also remembered Ben. Prying my eyes open, my eyes landed on Preston. His arm was in a sling and a large bandage covered the right side of his forehead.

  “Be careful. You need to be still and try not to move too much.” He reached out with his good arm and held on to my hand, smiling.

  “Ben?” I needed to know what had happened.

  Preston stilled, his hand still on mine. A frown formed on his face, a flash of hardness there, before his eyes softened. “Do you remember what happened?”

  I nodded, ignoring the pulsating pain in my head.

  “He was trying to kill you both. He was heading straight through the traffic lights. I stopped the car before it had the chance.” My eyes roamed his body, taking in his injuries. He had risked himself for me, everything for me. My heart filled with love for the man before me. For his selfless desire to protect me, his fierce love for me.

  Before he had a chance to continue, I interrupted him. “I love you.” To hell with it all. I threw all caution to the wind. I didn’t give a damn about anything else that came out of his mouth, I just needed him to understand the three words I spoke to him. I needed him to understand his love for me had saved my life.

  There was no hesitation, no fear, no doubt when he leaned in close to me. “You are the love of my life, Ella. You always have been.” He placed a gentle kiss on my cracked lips and then pulled away. “I love you.”

  He was right. I felt it too. He was it for me. We’d had so many years to love one another, but over the chaos of the last week, my love had grown to something so surreal, so amazing and beautiful, that I felt it to the tips of my fingers and the bottom of my toes. I lifted my head, indicating I was in need of his lips against mine. He responded with a smile and a kiss that set my heart aflame.

  “Seriously! I would say get a freakin’ room, but that would be no good,” Jo interrupted with an overdramatic sigh.

  Preston pulled away from me, his eyes still on mine before he winked and looked toward his sister. “Ever heard of knocking?”

  “Erm, no, not for a hospital room where clearly my best friend has just woken up,” she snapped.

  My eyes travelled to hers. She was upset. I heard it in her voice and now, looking at her pale face, I knew she had been terrified. “Hey, honey.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, making mine immediately do the same. In a few short strides, she pushed Preston out the way and hugged me, a small sob escaping from her mouth while tears fell down her cheeks. We remained that way for a few moments longer; I felt safe and loved in her arms, despite the extra ache her fierce hugs caused. I loved her so damn much, and hated her looking so unwell. I laughed at my thoughts.

  Jo pulled away and wiped her eyes. “What’s so goddamn funny?”

  I smirked and took the tissue Preston handed to me. “Just thinking you looked like shit, so I dread to think what I look like.”

  She harrumphed. “Please, I totally rock the whole pale, tear-stricken look. You, my dear, look like a bag of shit.”

  I laughed again and held my side in pain. “Ouch. Stop it. It freaking hurts too badly.” I looked past Jo to Preston. “Did they say what the damage was?”

  Preston stepped forward, retaking his place by my side as Liam walked in, took hold of Jo and pulled her into his arms. “There’s an extra rib broken, and you had to have surgery.” Preston straight away read my panic as did the beeping heart monitor. “It’s okay, nothing major. There was a little bit of internal bleeding, but you’re all patched up now. The doctor will tell you more about it.”

  “I’ve told the nurses you’re awake,” Liam interrupted. “They’ll be here in a moment. Your mum has just rushed to the toilet to wash her face. She broke down when I told her you’re awake.” He shrugged his shoulders and then smiled at me. “You okay, kiddo?”

  “I’m here, so yeah, I’m okay.”

  Looking satisfied, he leaned down and whispered in Jo’s ear. She nodded, accepted his kiss on her neck, smiled, and left the room. I had no idea how he did it. It was like a modern day version of Taming of the Shrew was unravelling before my eyes.

  Preston pulled his chair close to my bed and held my hand. He squeezed it lightly. “Ben died in the car crash, babe.” I half expected to hear venom, maybe even a little bit of victory in his voice. I heard neither. I looked at the gorgeous, kind man next to me. I loved him, truly loved him, and this was just another reason why. I heard compassion in his voice and saw it in the tiredness of his eyes.

  I got it. I understood how he felt. Ben was a crazy psychopath who deserved to be locked up, but the heartbreak and loss he had experienced was devastating. That was what I understood.

  I didn’t even bother to hold back my tears. A man’s death deserved them. His family deserved them. “Does it sound strange if I say I want to go to his funeral?”

  He shook his head. “No, babe. We can do whatever you need to do.”

  I needed to pay my respects. I was lucky. I knew this. Some may have danced on his grave, but not me; never me.

  “Preston?”

  “Yes, El? What do you need?”

  I smiled when I thought of all my possible answers. I settled with just one. “Just you, Preston. I just need you.”

  Epilogue

  Jo

  The few weeks since my wedding had been beyond crazy. Ella a
nd Preston getting together, both of them nearly getting killed, and me nearly destroying my husband’s penis was taking its toll. I felt like shit. My body felt like it had been used as a punching bag; my head was pounding so freaking much, and I felt like curling up in bed and giving the world my middle finger and telling it to get screwed.

  After Ella had been released from hospital, my parents and Ella’s parents had fought over care rights. No word of a freaking lie. Both Kate and Mum had organised a freaking schedule for cooking, cleaning, and who’d be wiping Ella and Preston’s goddamn arses. It was crazy, but damn hilarious at the same time.

  Preston was still staying around Ella’s since he’d half moved his crap in after her surfing catastrophe, and since they were both injured, Preston was still off from work while Ella was still on school break. Damn that lucky bitch and her school holidays. I’d tried to stay away as much as possible, one reason being because I was still getting used to the fact that Preston was humping Ella, and the second was because I still looked and felt like shit.

  After the stress of the whole Ella kidnapping and attempted murder horror, I naturally assumed I’d no longer need to be lying in a foetal position, terrified I was going to lose my best friend. Instead, I felt like shit.

  I assumed it was a stupid bug, or maybe a random parasite from my honeymoon, but the fifteen positive tests surrounding me on my bed would be a pretty solid argument against that. Fuck. I had no goddamn idea what to do, how I felt, or how in God’s name I was going to tell Liam.

  It wasn’t like I was fifteen and knocked up. I was married to an unbelievably gorgeous and infuriating guy, who I loved the arse off. It was just that me and the whole kids thing just didn’t make sense. Okay, so the idea made me want to vomit even more.

  I knew in my heart that I wouldn’t be giving this baby up though. This baby, no doubt created in one superhot sex session, was made out of a whole heap of love and lust. But the thought of being responsible for another human life instinctively had me wanting to flee. Stupid, I know. There was no freaking chance of fleeing this.

  I was twenty-eight years old. I’m sure that was supposed to be some sort of ‘ripe old age’ shit right there for getting knocked up. Damn stupid statistics and their perfect crappy timing.

  I heard the front door open and close. I knew I should do something. Burying my head under the cover seemed like a grand idea. I even considered climbing out the window and hiding for a little while; instead, I lay on my bed, surrounded by pee.

  Note to self: Wash sheets on hot wash.

  ‘Jo?” I heard Liam’s footsteps getting closer. The door then opened and I was greeted with silence.

  I didn’t look, too afraid by what I may see. “Holy shit, Jo! Why the hell are there pee sticks everywhere?”

  For a virtual goddamn genius, I was sure my husband was a walking penis in a former life. He still said dumb shit sometimes, which included asking freaking obvious questions.

  I heard him step into the room and felt his legs touch the bed. “Jo?” His voice was soft. Too soft. “Are you ... Are we ... shit ... We’re having a fucking baby.”

  A fraction of a second later, I heard a thud. I looked up to find empty space. I pulled myself toward the edge of the bed to see Liam on the floor. My hard-arse man had fucking fainted. Proof and point: walking penis.

  The End

  Continue on with Jo and Liam’s story later on this year in A Perfect Love.