by Rebecca Shea
"Think I saw?" The asshole barks and lets out a sarcastic laugh. "It's pretty fucking obvious what I saw. Stay the fuck away from Kate, or else—"
"Or else what?" I get in his face. "What are you going to do, Adam?"
He swallows hard and diverts his eyes to the nurse walking directly at us.
"You two need to keep it down," she says, eyeing both of us. "This is a hospital, not some backwoods bar."
I step away from Adam and apologize.
"I assume you're both here for Ms. Stevens," she says.
"Yes," we both say in unison, just as Nick comes jogging back down the corridor.
"You here for Ms. Stevens, too?" she asks Nick, who eagerly nods his head.
"Yes, I'm her brother."
"And who are these two?" She points her finger between Adam and I.
"Friend and…" Nick looks at me.
"Boyfriend," I answer, emphasizing the word for Adam.
"Well, I can only talk to family. Can you join me over in this private room?" She gestures to a door just down the hall. "I suggest you two take a breather and stay away from each other." She cocks an eyebrow and looks between us both. I'm not fucking going anywhere until Nick returns with some answers.
I pace the floor just outside the room the nurse and Nick are in. When the door opens, the nurse looks me up and down and shakes her head slightly before disappearing back down the hall.
I find Nick sitting in a chair, rubbing his temples. My stomach lurches, and I feel sick.
"Nick," I say, getting his attention. He waves me in and Adam is hot on my tail. Now is not the time for me to tell him to piss off because Kate means more to me than this piece of shit spewing bullshit he knows nothing about. "What's happening?"
Nick takes a deep breath and begins rattling off all kinds of things I don't understand. Brain tumor. Headaches. And on and on. It's when he pauses and tells us that the doctor is almost certain it's benign that all the anxiety I've been carrying around releases. I feel myself becoming overwhelmed with emotion and immediately step out of the room.
I don't cry. I never have. I've learned to bury my emotions deep inside and remain calm, cool, and collected at all times. Under pressure. When I'm sad. It's how I learned to cope during my childhood. It's what makes me a fucking great federal agent.
I walk down the hall, barely able to see through my blurred vision. Kate has to be okay. She has to. I don't dream, and I don't envision my future. I never have. I've always been a ‘life is today' kind of guy. But now, when I let the faintest visions of my future seep in, Kate is there.
Nick finds me staring out a window at nothing at all. Lost within myself. "Sam," he says quietly, getting my attention. I turn to him, and he hands me a cup of coffee. "Looks like you could use this." I've been up for over thirty hours between the case and getting back to Los Angeles.
"Thanks, man." I take a sip of the simmering hot coffee. It burns the back of my throat, but I don't care.
"You okay?"
"I think so. I'm worried," I tell him honestly. "So goddamn worried."
"Me, too," he admits, his face weary and worn. He looks like he's been hit by a train.
"I just got her, I can't lose her."
Nick stands there watching me as I try to push down the emotions that have risen to the surface yet again.
"I love her," I finally admit, my voice breaking.
"I can see that," he says. We stand shoulder to shoulder, staring out the hospital window in silence. "I'm sorry about giving you shit," he says quietly. "She's all the family I have left, and I'm a little overprotective of her."
"Rightfully so," I tell him. I can’t fault him for being a good brother.
Nick turns and slaps me on the shoulder, a friendly gesture. "I'm going to head out. They said no visitors tonight, but tomorrow she can see us. I guess the procedure was non-invasive and she should be feeling okay. They only had to remove a small portion of her hair as well.” he says that as a positive, and fuck I wasn’t even thinking of her hair. Her gorgeous hair.
It doesn’t matter. If she’s okay, that’s all I care about.
“Go get some rest,” he says, “and let's meet back here in the morning."
I nod and take another sip of coffee as Nick turns to walk away.
"Hey, Sam?" he calls out to me. I turn to face him. "Just take good care of her." He nods and walks away.
"I will," I respond, even though he can’t hear me.
Chapter Seventeen
Kate
"I don't know who those two men are out there, but they’ve been at each other's throats since you've been in surgery," the nurse says to me as she checks the incision on my head. I can hear muffled voices and, at times, the raised voices, but I'm unable to make out whom the voices belong to.
"Who is it?" I ask her, realizing the hoarseness of my voice.
"Not your brother. I spoke with him yesterday. There is a really handsome one, tan skin, light brown hair…reminds me of William Levy. His smile is to die for."
"Sam," I whisper, closing my eyes.
"And the other one," she says, clicking her tongue. "He's a real piece of work. He's been instigating and prodding the other one all night long."
"They've been here all night?" I ask, shocked to hear this.
"Mmmhmm," she says. "That William Levy lookalike sat on the floor, propped against your door all night. Claims he's going to be the first one to see you this morning."
My heart leaps when the nurse tells me this. "He's a feisty one." She smirks.
"He is."
"And a damn good-looking one.” She chuckles.
"I couldn't agree with you more." I try to clear my throat and push down some of the raspy sound that comes when I speak.
She changes out the saline on my IV bag, listens to my lungs, takes my blood pressure, and makes some notes on her laptop.
"For someone who had brain surgery yesterday, you're doing exceptionally well. I would ask that you keep your visit short and rest. You're going to be here for a few days to make sure there's no dangerous swelling or any other side effects. Sometimes it takes days for things to show up."
As she's wrapping things up, we can hear Sam and Adam bickering just outside the door. "I deserve hazard pay for dealing with those two," she says and winks at me. "Which one do you want me to send in first? The dreamboat?"
I try to laugh at her remark about Sam, but I'm still pretty groggy from the surgery. "Yes, please," I answer her.
"If you need anything, push the button on the side of the bed. I'm just down the hall."
"Thank you," I tell her.
She opens the door and Sam comes barreling through at the same time, darn near knocking her over.
"Kate," he says my name but not before the nurse puts her hand up and stops him dead in his track.
"Listen here, dreamboat," she says, and I almost choke on my laugh. Sam looks at me and back to the nurse bewildered. "She had brain surgery yesterday. She's recovering. And while it doesn't look bad on the outside, her incision is small, she had brain surgery." She emphasizes those last two words. "Keep it calm in here, and whatever drama you have going on out there," she points outside the door, "keep it there. Comprende?"
His lips turn up at the corners. "Understood."
She pats his chest and moves around him, shutting the door as she leaves. Sam stands with his dress shirt untucked and wrinkled. His hair is mussed, and he has dark circles under his eyes. The poor man looks like hell.
He wastes no time moving to me, pulling my hand gently into his, but with the conviction of a man who is determined. "Jesus, Kate.” His voice breaks. "I was so worried…" He pauses, looking me over. He reaches an outstretched hand to touch me but retreats quickly.
"I'm okay," I tell him. "I'm going to be okay."
He swallows hard. "I wasn't ready to lose you…I never want to lose you, Kate." My heart beats frantically at his admission. He squeezes my hand, and his thumb rubs nervous circles on top of it.
"I love you, Kate. I know it probably seems quick, but I do, I love you. Knowing you were in here and I couldn’t do anything to help you—I couldn’t hold you—it killed me, Kate."
Tears sting the backs of my eyes, and I take a deep breath.
"And before you say anything," he continues, "Adam showed me the photos…all the photos." He rolls his eyes. "Let me just say this…you know that in my line of work, during an active case, I cannot talk about any of it." He holds his gaze on mine. "When this case is closed, I'll be able to tell you everything. Just know, I'd never in a million years do anything to compromise our relationship."
I try to nod, but the pressure hurts. "I know," I answer him and wince. "I let my insecurities get the better of me, and I shouldn't have."
He sighs as I watch his mind piece it all together. "Is that why you weren't answering my texts?"
"Yeah," I admit, feeling foolish.
"Kate, we need to trust each other. I trust you implicitly." His eyes are sincere, and I realize I do trust him.
"And I promise to trust you."
"Good." He leans in and presses a long, gentle kiss to my forehead. "Now Adam is outside ready to kill me, and I haven't slept in forty-eight hours, so I'm going to go home and shower and come back. Visiting hours don't technically start for another," he looks at his watch, "thirty minutes, and Nick will be back. He’s been beside himself."
"I'm sorry to scare all of you," I tell him. But, thankfully, we now know what was causing the headaches and we've got it taken care of.
"We all love you, Kate."
"I know." Tears well in my eyes as I'm so thankful for all the people that love and support me endlessly.
"I'll let Adam in. Talk some damn sense into that friend of yours…because I'll kick his ass into next year if he tries to come between us, Kate."
I muster up a small laugh. "I will. He just worries about me."
He raises his eyebrows. "Not his job. That's my job. And I swear on everything holy, I will not fail you." He sets my hand on the edge of the bed and presses a quick kiss to my lips. "I'll be back." His thumb caresses my cheek for a moment before he turns and walks toward the door. He stops, his hand resting on the door handle before he turns back to me. "This is just the beginning of us, Kate." He smiles that perfect smile at me. Straight white teeth, perfectly tanned skin. Mussed hair and muscles that look like they could burst through his shirt. He is the sexiest man I've ever laid eyes on…and he's mine.
"The beginning of us," I repeat sleepily. "I love you, Sam."
His tired face brightens at my admission to him. "I love you more," he replies, closing the door behind him. And he's right. This is just the beginning of our story. There will be many more chapters to come—happy and sad and everything in between. But at the end of the day, when we're old, I know I will look at him and know that we lived happily ever after.
Epilogue
Sam
"Are you sure you want me to come with you?" Kate asks as she rubs her hands together with lotion. I could watch her all day. Every move, every task is done with such grace.
"I wouldn't want to go if you weren't coming with me," I tell her.
"It's just…" She hesitates. "You haven't seen your brother since he left. And then there's Emilia, and I just feel awkward."
"Don't," I stop her. "Emilia is the past. She's Alex's wife, the mother to my niece. That's all she is. And Alex too, they are both dying to meet you."
She scrunches her nose up and lowers her eyes. "I'm not one to get jealous, but I just think it might be weird. What if seeing her brings up old feelings for you?" She frantically tosses clothes into a suitcase that sits on the end of her bed as a means of distraction.
"Kate. Would you please stop. I want you with me. I need you with me. There are no feelings for Emilia and never will be."
She puts on a gray t-shirt, pulling her long hair out from under the collar. God, I love her hair. Her long, beautiful hair.
Aside from the tumor, Kate was most worried about shaving part of her head for her surgery. The neurosurgeon was able to remove the tumor with a minimal incision, and you wouldn’t even be able to locate the small area they needed to shave. Not that it would’ve mattered to me if they shaved her entire head. Everything about her is stunning.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" She laughs, wiggling into a pair of tight black skinny jeans. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, I find her to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her sharp blue eyes stand out against her tanned skin and brown hair.
"Because I'm the luckiest guy in the world," I answer her. When I think about how much worse that tumor could’ve been, or the fact that I could’ve lost her in a moment’s notice, my insides sink. She's it for me. I know this without a doubt in my mind.
She saunters across the room to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. "It's me who's lucky." She presses a soft kiss to my lips.
My arm snakes around her waist, pulling her closer to me. "I could kiss you all day, Kate. But if we don't leave right now, we'll never catch our flight."
She smiles against my lips and runs her hand over my groin. "Maybe we should just get undressed and get back into bed." She palms my dick, and I instantly grow hard.
"Kate," I groan into her mouth. "Tonight, I'm going to ravage you." I break our kiss and step back.
She mockingly grumbles at me, "Fine. But if Alex is a dick or if I hate Emilia, I'm getting a hotel." She cocks an eyebrow at me. I know she's on edge over meeting my brother, but mostly this is about Emilia. I hate that she feels the slightest bit of insecurity, but I need her to see that it's her that I love.
"Deal."
She slides her feet into a pair of Converse, grabs a black jacket, and her large travel purse. "Ready," she says with a smile. I pull our two suitcases out of her house and load them into my car while Kate locks up.
I moved into her house when she was released from the hospital. It made sense to be right there with her to help her with whatever she needed. Truth be told, once the tumor was removed and had relieved the pressure on her brain, she instantly snapped back and had very little side effects or recovery time. She met with therapists for a few weeks to ensure that she hadn't lost any mobility or speech functions, but like the little fighter she is, she got a clean bill of health and was released to normal activity after just a couple of months.
Kate returned to work part-time and has been careful not to overdo it. From all outward appearances, she's on the road to a full recovery. Of course, there's always a chance of reoccurrence, but the surgeon said it was highly unlikely. I've made it my job to gently nudge her and ensure she's getting her annual neurology checkups and stays healthy—because I intend to have her around forever.
The airport is always a zoo, and we barely make our plane, but once we're settled into our seats, Kate laces her fingers through mine, giving them a gentle squeeze. She rests her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes as we ascend, and a calmness settles through me. Everything I care about will be in one house, under one roof, in just a couple of hours.
* * *
I'm pulling luggage off the baggage carousel and Kate is pounding away on her phone when I see him across the terminal. I haven't seen Alex since he came to see me the day he left for Oregon. I was a mess, sitting on my couch, all shot up and no idea what my future was going to hold. He looks so different now, yet so much the same.
He always had my father's darker complexion, hair and eyes, and I always took after my mother. A bit lighter, more golden. So different for twins. He's dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans and a black button down shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his hair is slightly longer than it used to be. More casual, carefree. Family life has suited him well. I want that. I need that.
He raises his hand in a wave when he sees me, and a giant smile spreads across his face as he approaches. I return his smile and instantly feel the anxiety I've been carrying around begin to settle. I don't know if I should reach out my hand for a ha
ndshake or if we're going to just greet each other with a 'hello', but as he stands in front of me, he instantly opens his arms for a hug, and I take it.
My brother. My other half. My first friend, and at one time, my fiercest enemy. We embrace for a moment with a few pats to each other's backs.
"Good to see ya, man," he says.
"Good to see you, too." I shrug out of his embrace, anxious to introduce Kate. When I turn to her, she's smiling at us, and I can tell her uneasiness has also settled—for now. "Alex, this is Kate. Kate, this is my brother, Alex."
Kate reaches out her hand to shake Alex's, but he pulls her in for a hug as well, and she laughs as he wraps his arms around her in a tight hug.
"How in the world my brother found you is beyond me." He holds her out for a better look. "But he is one lucky hell of a guy."
Her cheeks blush, and Kate bursts out laughing and I do, too. Alex has instantly made us feel welcome and comfortable, and for that I'm grateful.
"Do you have all your bags?" he asks, reaching for Kate's bag.
"We do." I begin following him. A few minutes later, we're packed into a giant SUV and on our way to Alex's home.
"So we're on the coast," Alex tells Kate. I've already told her all of this, but she listens intently to Alex like it's the first time she's hearing this. "Right on the water. It's freezing most of the time, but it's beautiful. There are these sand dunes…" He carries on about the beach and how much he loves the peace and tranquility, and Kate smiles. He's such a different man than what I remember—a good different.
"And Gracie is a handful! She's almost walking now and all over the place," Alex speaks so lovingly of his daughter. This will be my first time meeting my niece. I have a million pictures of her, and she's the perfect blend of Alex and Emilia. She has soft pale skin, but dark hair and fiery eyes. Alex tells us she's a spitfire, which I believe with who both of her parents are.
"And you're going to love Emilia," Alex tells Kate, and I see her tense just a bit. "She's making a huge dinner. I wanted to go out so she didn't have to cook, but your first night here she wanted you both to relax and not feel pressured to go out for dinner. She has become quite the cook." He smiles at Kate before turning his eyes back to the road. He glances at me in the rearview mirror and I smile, grateful that we get to spend this time with my brother. It wasn't that long ago, I would've never envisioned this happening.