“About eight hours. They had to sedate you.”
“When can I leave? I need to get out.”
“I know. We were just waiting for you to wake up.”
He held her tight. Spoke softly, but firmly, never treating her like she was crazy or weak. And remembering how insane she’d acted after that cave wall had collapsed, the way she’d fought when she realized they’d brought her to the hospital… She’d definitely earned a looney-tunes label.
He pulled back and met her eyes. “The doctor wants to check you over one more time. If you’re all good, you can go.”
She nodded and let one arm fall from his shoulders to wipe at wet cheeks. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Troy grinned and shook his head, then pressed a button on a remote nearby. “You still fuckin’ amaze me.”
A nurse slid the glass door to her room open and offered a tentative smile for Giselle. “Look who’s awake. How do you feel?”
She nodded. “Better.”
“The doctor’s seeing another patient, but I’ll send him your way when he’s finished.”
When she slid the door shut again, Giselle dropped her head and covered her face with both hands. “Oh my God. Please, tell me I’m here under an alias.”
“Yes, ma’am, Miss Susie Cue.”
A puff of laughter escaped her, and she dropped her hands. “You named me Susie Cue?”
“I wish I’d thought of it, but no, actually, the hospital named you. Turns out they’re quite familiar with the rich-and-famous protocol. But the press is already swarming. There were some big stars at the site today, so this is going to stay on the radar awhile.”
“Does Chad know?” Dread flooded her belly. He would be so bent out of shape. So worried about every show she missed, every conceivable contract glitch, every potential endorsement blip. “Is he here?”
“He brought you some of your things and went back to the hotel to reschedule your concerts. Everything’s fine.”
“Reschedule— No. No, he can’t. I can’t… Oh God. No, no, no. Where’s my phone?”
“Ellie.” Troy lifted her chin until her eyes met his. “Can you hear yourself? You sound like an addict who needs a hit. And if you even try to sing one line of ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ your head’s going to hurt so bad, you’ll be begging someone to shoot you.”
As if the mention of her head made the injury a reality, pain stabbed her skull, and she winced.
He took her face gently in both hands and smiled so sweetly, she wanted to melt. “It’s okay. Performers get sick all the time. They have accidents. Family emergencies. They’re human. Venues schedule backup acts for situations just like this.”
She closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped. This didn’t happen to her. She never missed a concert. She never let a venue’s manager or her fans down. None of this had to be her fault for her to still feel bad. And even though she had enough money saved to live the rest of her life comfortably if she used it wisely, she doubted she’d ever get over the ingrained fear of going hungry or homeless if she failed.
“This is one of the reasons you pay Chad to manage your career. Let him manage. He wants you to take the time you need to get better so you can come back full steam.”
Tension ebbed from her shoulders, but she frowned. “He…does?”
“Do you doubt that?”
“No, no.” She shook her head and looked away, but she was having a hard time envisioning Chad saying such a thing. Then again, she’d never been gravely ill or seriously injured, so she couldn’t say she really knew how he’d act in this situation. “It’s just, I’m at a sort of pivotal point in my career…”
She trailed off, her mind filling with all the promotional networking they had planned. All the concerts she still had scheduled…
Troy’s dry laugh drew her gaze to his smirk. “When was the last time your career wasn’t at a pivotal point?”
Her brow pulled harder. “What does that mean?”
“It means that when you’re in entertainment, every step you take seems pivotal, especially as you gain notoriety.” He took a deep breath and blew it out, his shoulders relaxing. “When I’m under a lot of pressure to get a stunt right, say, one I can’t repeat because it will cost a ton of money or because it would be too dangerous or simply because it’s a one-time-only situation, I always, always, take a moment to step back and assess the big picture before I go for broke.
“I can’t tell you how many times that’s saved money, time, injuries, and even lives. It also makes for better filming, because that moment of perspective gives me one more layer of security, allowing me to give the stunt my all.