Take It All Off

by Weston Parker

  I rolled my eyes toward the plastic covering the interior of the fancy jet. “Right. I loved it all the way until he told me your mom would hate me.”

  “She doesn’t hate you,” he protested, looking like he was about to add something else.

  When he kept his mouth shut instead, I gave him a pointed look. “She hates me, and you know it, but let’s not argue about it now. Did you call her like you said you were going to?”

  “Yep.” He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask because I didn’t have the capacity to deal with any more drama today. If he didn’t tell me what she had said, it couldn’t have been good. Marco seemed to have come to the same conclusion. “Why don’t you get some rest? It’s been a long day. The seats recline fully, and I can get you a blanket.”

  “We’ll talk after we’ve seen my brother?”

  He nodded, raising a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “You have my word, don’t you?”

  “I’m keeping you to it.”

  “I expect nothing less.” He wiggled beneath me. “But I need to get up to get that blanket. It’s in the overhead compartment.”

  Dutifully standing up, I stretched out before getting back in my own seat. True to what he had said, when I pushed a button on the console, the chair turned into a comfy mattress. There was a thin crease where the separate cushions came together, but I hardly felt it.

  Marco arranged an impossibly soft blanket over me. “Sleep well.”

  After the events of the day, I’d doubted whether I’d be able to get any sleep. When I closed my eyes, though, I drifted off almost immediately.

  I woke up to Marco’s face hovering an inch above my own, his hand gently prodding my shoulder. “We’re about to land. There’s time to have something to eat, but then you need to get your seatbelt on.”

  Nodding sleepily, I frowned when I raised the covering in front of the window and found the sky painted in streaks of pink and orange. “What time is it?”

  “In our time zone, it’s just after five in the morning.”

  Groaning, I rubbed my eyes. “Right, and we’re nine hours ahead of Oregon.”

  “Which means it’s around eight here. The sun’s setting on our yesterday. Traveling can be such a mind fuck.”

  “You’ve got that right,” I grumbled. “Have you got any coffee on this thing?”

  “I’m glad you asked.” He grinned, moving his hands up to hold a mug with steam still rising from the surface out to me. “There you go. It’s strong. I thought you might want it that way.”

  “Definitely.” As I wrapped my fingers delicately around the handle to avoid getting burned, Marco went back to his seat. He had his laptop open and a file balanced beside it. “Didn’t you sleep?”

  “Some.” He gestured to his own mug. “But I’ve never been able to sleep for too long while moving. I figured I’d better get a head start on the day while I was awake.”

  “Good thinking.” I pushed the button to straighten up the seat. “Anything I can do?”

  “Yep. Have your coffee, take a shower if you want, and then eat something. By the time you’re done, we’ll be landing.”

  “No work?” I frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive, but you’d better get going if you want to squeeze in a shower.” As the grogginess faded away, I realized Marco’s hair was damp and his clothes were immaculate.

  “You’ve already done all that?”

  He nodded, smirking as he jerked his head toward the back of the plane. “I have. Go on. The bathroom is back there. Towels are in the cabinet beside the sink, and there are toiletries in there. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  “You rich people are weird,” I muttered as I took my first sip of coffee. “Who keeps toiletries on a plane?”

  “Literally every plane. Even commercial airliners provide the soaps, toothbrushes, and all that.”

  Another groan came out of me. “It’s way too early for you to be this chirpy.”

  Marco chuckled, smacking me on the butt when I passed him. I carried my coffee with me to the back, finishing it as I stood staring out the window at my native land below. I hadn’t seen this landscape in so long that it felt foreign to me.

  I wondered what that meant, whether I’d ever be able to call it home again. Would I ever belong down there again? It was scary to think I might not, but then I heard Marco’s voice as he chatted to the pilot and decided not to worry about it.

  Worry about one thing at a time. Kyle comes first.

  With that in mind, I drained the last of my coffee and went to take a shower. The cubicle was nicer than the one in my apartment, and the water pressure was even better. I smiled under the spray, shaking my head at it at the same time.

  One of the fluffiest towels that had ever touched my skin waited for me in the cabinet. Marco had even had the foresight to leave out a change of clothes for me.

  I ran my fingertips along the fabric of my favorite comfortable pair of yoga pants. Then I grinned like a maniac when I saw he’d paired them with a stylish but supremely soft black cardigan and matching flat pumps. I swear, he has to be the only man in the universe who would have thought so far ahead. And to have grabbed my favorite comfort wear under the amount of pressure we’d been under when he’d packed.

  Once I was fully dressed, I went in search of said man and threw my arms around him. “You’re the best.”

  Words I’d never said to him or any other man—except for Kyle, but he didn’t count in this instance—sat on the tip of my tongue. But this was so not the time for that.

  He hugged me tight against him. “Only for the best.”

  Our embrace was broken off when an air hostess I honestly hadn’t even realized was on the plane brought trays of food out to us. We’d only just shoveled the last bites in when the plane’s wheels touched the ground. Guess the tray-table rule only applies when it’s not your own plane.

  As we disembarked, my stomach turned when the gravity of the reason behind my visit back here filtered in again. I barely saw anything of the place I used to call home on our way to the hospital.

  Thankfully, Marco didn’t seem to mind my silence and only offered his support by taking my hand. I must have told him which hospital Kyle was in because before I knew it, we were pulling up outside its doors.

  He gave me a quick kiss before the wheels stopped turning, as if he could sense I would bolt as soon as we stopped. Kyle’s friend had texted me the room number, and I blindly ran through the corridors in search of the right ward.

  My rubber soles squeaked against the floors, but no one stopped me. Hospitals and airports seemed to be the two places where all odd behavior was completely normal.

  When I made it to Kyle’s room, there was a young man sitting on a chair outside. I assumed it was his friend, but his head was rolled to the side as he slept. I wanted to thank him for waiting for me, but I didn’t want to wake him.

  Carefully pushing down on the handle to let myself into the room, I opened it slowly so as not to disturb either of them. Kyle, however, was awake.

  He blinked in surprise when he saw me. Then his face split into a wide grin and he opened his arms. “Baby sis! I didn’t believe it when Drew told me you were coming. How did you get here so fast?”

  “My boss flew me over.” Tears glistened in my eyes as I went to my brother, gingerly climbing onto the foot of his bed.

  He huffed out a breath, motioning for me to come closer. “Get in here, Addy. God, I’ve missed you.”

  As soon as he wrapped his arms around me, I burst into ugly, heaving sobs. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Don’t ever do that to me again.”

  I felt him grinning against the side of my face. “I’ll be sure to let the old ticker know to behave from here on out.”

  “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “Apparently, it’s common. It wasn’t as serious an episode as they first thought. I’m going to be fine. I just have to eat my leafy greens and what not.”
<
br />   “Kyle.” I bumped his arm very gently. “This isn’t something to joke about.”

  “I know.” His tone was more serious, and I released him to look into his deep blue eyes. “I’m sorry you came all the way over here for nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing. I could never have stayed there knowing you’d had a freaking heart attack.”

  My brother lifted one of his blond eyebrows at me. “We’re not referring to it as that. It was an episode. That’s it.”

  I surveyed every inch of his handsome, familiar face. His eyes were a little red, and his skin was a little clammy, but I’d expected much worse.

  He leaned forward. “What are you looking at? I don’t have that many new wrinkles, do I?”

  “You do actually.” A relieved laugh bubbled out of me as I hugged him again. “You scared me.”

  We caught up for a few minutes before I remembered Marco was outside somewhere. “Shit. I forgot about my boss. I’ll be back in a sec.”

  Kyle’s head jerked back. “Your boss is here? As in the boss you work for in Italy, thousands of miles away?”

  “Yeah, I told you he flew me over.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t think he’d flown himself over with you.”

  “He’s a good guy. Just be nice, okay?”

  “I’m always nice.” He scoffed before motioning to the tube in his arm. “Go get your boss. I’ll be here.”

  I rolled my eyes at him but climbed off the bed as fast as I could without jostling it. I found Marco outside and brought him back to Kyle’s room with me.

  When I introduced the two of them, I was nervous. They sized each other up for a minute, but then Kyle grinned. “Thank you for bringing my sister home for this. There aren’t many bosses who would’ve done the same thing.”

  Marco sent a tiny frown my way, but it was so small it was almost imperceptible. He smoothed out his features before giving my brother a tight smile. “You’re welcome. She’s a really valuable employee. There’s not much the company wouldn’t do for her.”

  There were pauses before the words “employee” and “the company.” Kyle didn’t seem to pick up on anything, though. The two men made polite small talk for a couple of minutes before Marco nodded at the door.

  “I’ll leave you two alone.” He focused on Kyle. “If there’s anything you need, please let me know.”

  There was a weird, stabbing feeling in my lower belly. I winced, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. Marco was almost at the door when it came back, and this time, I cried out.

  Doubling over as I clutched my stomach, my vision blurred from the pain. There was a frenzy of activity around me, some yelling, and the floor started swimming beneath me.

  I didn’t know what the hell was happening, but it hurt like the fucking devil himself was scratching his horns against the inside of my abdomen. The next thing I saw, the tiles were rushing up at me and I slumped back into a pair of muscular arms.

  Then there was just… nothing.

  Chapter 31

  Marco

  There were thirty-two lights in the corridor Addy’s hospital room was in. Ten of them flickered incessantly.

  As I marched restlessly up and down, I counted eight chairs in the waiting room and forty squares on the floor. It had been almost two hours since Addy had screamed out in what had sounded like terrible pain, one hour and forty-nine minutes since the nurses had pried her out of my arms.

  I still hadn’t received any news, and I was slowly but surely losing my motherfucking mind. I’d replayed our flight and the day leading up to it over and over, but I was positive Addy hadn’t said anything about not feeling well.

  It made no sense whatsoever. Having spent almost every minute of the last two weeks with her, I would have known if there was something wrong with her. Surely. Right?

  I’d asked myself that question countless times since I’d caught her, but I didn’t have an answer. A nurse that had gone into her room some time ago opened the door and popped her head out. She turned, searching the corridor until her gaze landed on me. “Mr. Ricci?”

  “That’s me.” My long legs ate up the distance between us.

  She smiled. “You can go in now.”

  When she stepped aside, I swept past her. Addy lay on a standard hospital bed. At some point, they’d changed her into a gown. Her clothes were folded on a small chest of drawers beside the bed.

  She lifted her head, smiling when she saw it was me. “Hey, you. Sorry about all that.”

  “Are you okay?” I sank into the chair nearest to her, moving it forward until my knees touched the metal bars. She reached for my hand and I took it, feeling every wall I’d built up to protect myself tumbling down. “Jesus, Addy. You scared the shit out of me. What happened? How are you feeling?”

  “Better,” she said, her vivid blue eyes wide and earnest as she shook her head. “I have no idea what caused the pain, but it’s gone now. I think it was just stress. I’ve never been good at stress.”

  “Sure,” I murmured, leaning over to rest my forehead against the back of her cool hand. “Stress, huh? Is that what the doctors said?”

  “No, they haven’t come back yet. They took some blood and ran a bunch of tests, but the nurse who just left said they were still waiting on the results.” She shrugged her shoulders, rolling her lips into her mouth before releasing them with a soft pop. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m pretty sure it’s just stress.”

  “Whatever it is, I’m here for you. Okay?” A pack of wild dogs and another of horses wouldn’t drag me away from her again. “Being outside was torture, knowing you were right in here and I couldn’t get to you.”

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured, dragging her fingers through my hair. “I told them they had my consent to let you in, but they said no one was allowed while the tests are being done.”

  “That’s a stupid fucking rule,” I grumbled. “I’m not leaving you again. They can forget about it.”

  She chuckled softly, but there wasn’t much humor in the sound. “I’d appreciate that. I hate hospitals.”

  “Same.” I hadn’t stepped foot in one since we’d lost my father. Before Addy had come to get me earlier, I’d been on the verge of hyperventilation at the prospect of having to face the familiar beeping sounds and the awful smells again.

  I wasn’t sure I would’ve done it for anyone other than her. “Are you still in pain?”

  “No. They gave me something. I’m not sure if it’s just that, but it’s gone away completely.”

  “At least that’s good news.” I exhaled a deep breath and leaned forward to rest my head on her forearm as I squeezed her fingers. “Addy, there’s something I need—”

  “You’re awake,” a deep voice boomed from behind me.

  I jerked back, releasing Addy’s hand in the same second. She’d introduced me to Kyle as her boss. At the time, I’d assumed she wanted to tell him what was really going on between us when they were alone.

  I’d been about to give them some space for the discussion to happen when she’d collapsed. Since I doubted she wanted her only family to find out about our relationship this way, I slid the chair back a few inches.

  Kyle must not have noticed it, but that wasn’t surprising. He only had eyes for his sister. They looked a lot alike, and it wasn’t difficult for me to read him now that I knew her so well.

  His eyes were a shade or two darker than Addy’s, but there was no hiding the fear and concern in them. In fact, a lot of his body exhibited similar signs as hers had the day before when she’d heard the news about him.

  God, has it really been less than twenty-four hours since I walked into her office? It was almost impossible to believe, but time worked in mysterious ways. Especially when you traveled back in it like we had.

  “How are you feeling, princess?” He’d walked around to the other side of her bed and was tenderly brushing her hair out of her face.

  “I’m fine.” She smiled up at him with an ex
pression so sweet, even I melted and it wasn’t directed at me. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

  He wiggled the arm with his IV in it. “I brought my own party. Don’t worry. I’m not here to steal some of yours.”

  “What a sorry fucking pair we make.” She motioned around the room with a small shake of her head. “How did it happen that we’re taking up two rooms in this here fine establishment? When I woke up yesterday, or at least I think it was yesterday, we were both completely healthy.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe our hearts just missed each other too much.”

  And she called me cheesy? Really?

  But when Addy burst out laughing, I knew it had been a joke. “That was terrible. Your heart didn’t literally break because of me. Also, it’s way too soon. We’re not even out of the hospital yet.”

  “Maybe not, but we will be soon. When are the prison wardens coming round to see you?”

  I frowned. Prison wardens?

  Addy laughed again. “They’ll be by soon with my test results.”

  Doctors. Right. The lack of sleep was messing with my brain. Then again, I’d gotten three hours at most on the plane. Now we were on Saturday afternoon in my time, and it hadn’t exactly been a relaxing day.

  “Yeah, they’re expecting my doc to come back during rounds at some ungodly hour,” Kyle said, his voice snapping me out of the exhaustion that had been trying to drag me under.

  For a hospital chair, the one I was on was actually pretty comfy. My head rested back against it, and I caught the edge of a small smile Addy sent to me. “You should go get some sleep, Marco. I’ll be fine here. Go to the hotel. I’ll call you when I get discharged, or you just let me know which hotel and I’ll get a cab.”

  My spine jerked straight. “No. Nope. I’m fine.” I cleared the scratchiness out of my voice. “I’ll wait for you here. We can go to the hotel together.”

  “It’s okay, man,” Kyle said. “You’ve already gone above and beyond as a boss. I’ve got it from here. There’s also no way my sister is staying in a hotel while she’s in town. She’s coming home with me.”