“Have a seat, sir. I’ll let the doctor know you’re here.”
He moved away from the window and paced the lobby. He checked his phone for the time. There was no way he could make it across town for the ultrasound. Disappointment and frustration flared. Then unease over Zahara’s reaction. She’d understand, wouldn’t she? This was serious, wasn’t it? He couldn’t just ignore a call from a paramedic, could he?
The doors to the emergency department opened, and a nurse called Chase’s name.
“Hi,” he said to the nurse as he trailed along. “How is she?”
“I’ll let you tell me.” Her voice reflected a rough shift, dry and irritated. “She’s right here.”
“Would someone please get me a mirror, for God’s sake?” Lila’s quavering voice was pitched too high, bordering on hysteria. False hysteria. Chase had heard it enough to know. The mere fact she was coherent and talking lit a burner beneath his annoyance.
The nurse stopped beside an exam room, gave him a look, and pulled the curtain aside. “Good luck with that.”
Then she walked away.
“Oh, Chase. Finally.” She was reclined on a gurney, holding an ice pack against her head. A trickle of blood stained her temple. Tears streaked her cheeks and smeared her mascara.
“Chase, could you get one of the nurses in here? I’ve been asking for water forever.”
He cut a look at a paper cup on a silver tray. It was filled with ice water and a straw. Chase offered it to her, but Lila rolled her head, closed her eyes and pressed the ice pack to her forehead again.
Melodrama. So vintage Lila.
Chase cut a glance down her body. She was still fully dressed in jeans, heels, and a gauzy blouse. Not another drop of blood or scratch in sight. He clenched his teeth to keep himself in check.
“What happened, Lila?”
“That stupid car rental company gave me a tank, that’s what happened.” She huffed. “It’s not my fault I couldn’t handle the damn thing. I asked for a full-size sedan, not an SUV—”
His temper flared. Instead of jumping down her throat before he had all the information, he walked out of the room and paused at the nurse’s desk, where the woman who’d walked him in spoke on the phone. He waited for her to hang up and set a say-the-wrong-thing-and-you’ll-regret-it look on him.
“She’s a little too distressed to give me a straight answer. Is the cut on her head her only injury?”
“Yes.”
Chase waited a beat. When it was obvious the nurse wasn’t going to embellish, he asked, “She’s acting like the world is coming to an end over a bump on her forehead?”
“Yes.”
“Chase?” Lila called from the room. “Chase, where’d you go? Where did everyone go? Hello?”
Chase rubbed his eyes. His stomach burned with anger. “What kind of additional medical treatment will she need? Stitches? X-rays?”
“No, sir. The doctor has signed her release, and I’ve instructed her to come back if she has any complications or to contact her regular physician for follow-up in a few days. She’s free to go.”
Chase ground his teeth.
“Chase?” Lila called again, annoyed now. “Chase, where are you?”
“Thank you,” he told the nurse. “And I apologize for her high-strung behavior.”
“Weren’t you in here a week or so ago with a different woman?” the nurse asked.
His mind jumped to Zahara, and regret over missing the ultrasound hit him hard. “I was.”
“I liked her better.”
“Me too.” He returned to the room. “You c