burning sensation slicin

uorescent lights of the hospital ceiling blinded her for a secon

was empty. A heart monitor b

Every time she breathed, the sur

walked in, checking the chart at the end of

nal smile. She moved to the side of the bed and checked K

ped. Her throat fe

upping your pain medication. You had an emerg

sed her hand lightly over the

"You signed the surgical consent forms yourself before you went

e blank white wall

ly," Kelsi said. H

he patted Kelsi's arm. "Get some rest. Pr

ce rushed back into the r

d toward the small bedside

trembling slightly from

thirty-two missed calls a

f them were

are

in LA for a shoot, I'm boo

se tell me

isele was her best frie

t the very bottom of the screen, there was one

a minor surgery, don't be so dramatic. I'l

ared at

him and beg for his attention. She replayed his cold words, searching for the familiar sting of heartbreak, but the spot where it sh

ing

sical pain from her surgery was sharp and

xt again. Don't

ath, Jeb had promised to go to the cemetery with her. Instead, he spent the en

trip to Italy. Jeb canceled it three days before the flight because

she needed him,

rself he was just a good man honoring his dead brother

n agony, begging for a ride to the emergency room, he

was a phantom she had created in he

oom holding a thermometer. She

tomorrow morning. Since it was a laparoscopic procedure and you're young and healthy, you can r

ulled the thermomet

miled and

ed back at

Gisele's

well. Don't rush back,

pened her c

ed over the keyboard. Her breathing was slow and even. The panic t

the words with

ne. The engag

er feelings. She didn't accuse him of any

hit

ile, scrolled to the bottom, and hit Block Caller. She open

e and tossed it ont

her surgical wound. For the first time in three