I elbow him and he laughs.
“You walk through life with this lightness inside you. It shines like a beacon. Your laugh, your sense of humor, the way you see the world… You remind me that there’s still goodness and kindness out there. Even though you have your own slew of reasons to be bitter or negative… you always see the light.” My voice gets thick with emotion. “And when you share that light with me, it makes me feel like… maybe I don’t have to live in the shadows anymore.”
He leans forward and kisses me until there are tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Okay,” he breathes against my lips. “I’m calling the doctor back in here. Clearly, there was much more intense brain damage than they originally thought. I’m going to suggest brain surgery. Perhaps a pre-frontal lobotomy will restore you back to your former misanthropic self.”
I smack him on the shoulder. “You’re a jerk.”
“I’m your jerk.”
I roll my eyes. “Uh huh.”
“How tired are you?” he asks.
I’m instantly suspicious. “Why?”
“There are some people who’ve been sitting in the waiting room for the past three days,” he says carefully. “If you’re up for it, I think they’d very much like to see you.”
My eyes widen. “There are people here? Who?”
He shrugs. “Everyone.”
“But… why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He kisses me. “Because they love you.” His eyes soften. “We love you.”
My eyes fill with tears and I find I can’t say anything. Not one single word.
Parker doesn’t seem to mind. He just leans forward, brushes his lips against mine, and wipes away my tears with the pads of his thumbs.
“I’ll go get them.”
I nod.
* * *
They come in groups of two — I guess they think it’ll be less overwhelming, that way. Parker supervises from the corner, glaring at anyone who gets too close to my injuries like some kind of demonic guardian angel.
Phoebe and Nate are up first.
“Tink!” Phoebe throws herself onto my hospital bed, knocking the wind out of me. I wrap an awkward arm around her back and try not to wheeze as she crushes my sore ribs.
“Hi, Phoebe.”
“You’re hurting her,” Parker points out in a gruff voice.
“Sorry! Sorry.” Phoebe grimaces. “I’m just so relieved to see you sitting up, talking. You scared the crap out of us!”
“I didn’t mean to,” I say, laughing lightly. “Swear it.”
“You’re okay, though?” Phoebe’s voice is concerned. “Because, I hate to break this to you, but you’re kind of obligated to be a bridesmaid at my wedding. Mostly because I already ordered a dress for you.”
My eyes widen. “You just got engaged, like, last week.”
“It is never too early to start contemplating fashion choices,” she informs me very seriously. “So, what do you say?”
My eyebrows lift.
“Will you be my bridesmaid or not?”
“Oh,” I murmur, my heart squeezing. “Yeah. I suppose I could do that. But, I might not be any good at it. I’ve never been anyone’s bridesmaid, before.”
“Oh.” Phoebe waves my words away. “Me neither. I’m pretty sure we just use it as an excuse to eat too many wedding cake samples and drink wine.”
“Well, in that case, I’m in.” I smile.
She grabs my hand and squeezes. “I’m glad.”
Nate steps up to the bed. “Zoe.”
My eyes snap to his expression, which is even more serious than usual.
“I want to apologize.” His dark eyes hold mine captive. “I made a miscalculation when it came to Birkin. Thought he wasn’t a threat. That’s on me.”
“Nate, it’s not your fault,” I assure him. “I don’t blame you at all. No one blames you. Trust me.”
His eyes slide to Parker and, for the first time, I sense the frosty air between the two men.
I feel my eyes widen. “Oh, please don’t tell me you two are fighting over this.”
“Damn right we’re fighting,” Parker growls. “You never should’ve been at risk.”
“I apologized and acknowledged that fact,” Nate snaps back.
“Boys!” I hiss. “Stop. You’re both being ridiculous.”
“Seriously,” Phoebe chimes in. “Zoe is fine. Lancaster is in jail, and so is the bastard who hurt her. They’ll be financially responsible for every LC employee’s healthcare costs for the rest of their lives, while rotting in prison.” She shrugs. “In my book, that’s as close to a fairy tale ending as you can get.”
I smile at my friend. “Thanks for coming.”
“You kidding?” She leans down and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be here until you’re ready to go home. And when you’re home, I’ll visit you there, too, and cook you whatever you want.” She grins. “I’m a fabulous cook. Anything you want, just name it and I’ll make it for you.”
“Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting,” I say immediately.
“Consider it done.”