“I don’t believe this! How long?”

“A couple of weeks.” She walked away from him, her hand over her mouth. Alex followed right behind. “Can you start answering some of my questions?”

She spun around. “Then how do you know about me spending the night with Luke?”

Alex froze. Up until that second, he’d held out hope that was some kind of misunderstanding, just the made up ramblings of a mad man. He swallowed hard. “You told me you didn’t sleep with him.” His voice was finally down to a whisper.

“I didn’t!”

“Yo, Alex!”

Alex turned to see Romero standing with Valerie’s step mom, Norma. “He’s awake now, Hon.” Norma’s teary eyes addressed Valerie. “We can go in and see him.”

He turned back in time so see Valerie’s face crumble, and she rushed to Norma’s side. Alex stood there feeling like he’d just run a marathon breathing hard, not sure what was happening. Romero came to him. Valerie disappeared into the emergency room with Norma.

Romero filled him in on Valerie’s father. Luke had told him about her getting the call at the office and her losing it. She’d been in no shape to drive, so he drove her. Alex felt his stomach bottom out. He hadn’t been there again when she had to deal with her dad’s health. Worst yet he’d gone off on her at the worst time imaginable.

CHAPTER 27

Overwhelmed with a plethora of emotion, Valerie stepped quietly into her father’s hospital room. The doctors explained that the stroke wasn’t nearly as bad as they’d first feared. In fact, they weren’t even convinced it was a stroke.

Valerie took a deep breath. She’d completely expected to see her father looking as pathetic as he had months ago when he’d been in the hospital. Except for the IV drip in his arm, he wasn’t hooked up to all the machines she was so sure he’d be. He did look very pale and weaker than normal. The enormous fear of losing him was still there, but she refused to break down in front of him.

“Daddy.” Her voice squeaked as she picked up his hand and held it to her cheek.

Her dad’s sunken eyes followed hers but he didn’t speak. His fingers squeezed back weakly. She kissed his hand then fussed over his hair. All the while, she struggled not to break down. “I love you. Be strong for me… please.”

His hand squeezed hers again. Norma stood on the other side of the bed holding his other hand. “You’re gonna be just fine, my love. You have to be. Who else is going to rile up all my friends at bingo every week?”

Valerie smiled. Her dad always hated going to bingo with Norma. The only reason he did was because he’d questioned their rules several time, and spoke out about them quite belligerently according to Norma. All it took was for Norma to mention one time some of her bingo friends had requested she leave him home. He hadn’t missed a day since.

After her dad fell asleep, Valerie sat at his bedside still holding his hand. Thoughts of Alex having her followed and actually looking into her relationship with Luke came crashing back. She’d known all along that he’d been plagued with the need to know more about her and Luke. But she’d never imagined he’d take things this far. It was a complete lack of respect to her privacy. What else had he tapped into? She never would’ve believed it if he hadn’t told her himself.

She’d truly begun to believe she could be with him forever. That he was perfect in almost every way. Having gotten past her belief that he was a womanizer who could never commit, she could deal with all his other imperfections. Some people might consider his overbearing personality a flaw, but she embraced it. It was part of his charm and she was used to it. Most importantly, she knew how to deal with it…with him. Or at least she thought she could. She never thought it would happen, but he’d crossed the line from shielding and protective to controlling.

*

Valerie didn’t even remember falling asleep, but she woke up a little after one in the morning, her back feeling the effects of the chair she’d slept in. Her dad was sound asleep, and so was Norma—on the ottoman they’d provided her. She leaned over and kissed her dad on the forehead.

She walked out of the room a bit disoriented, but she still remembered from the last time her dad had been here the general direction to the cafeteria. She needed coffee. When she reached the ground floor, she couldn’t believe it. Alex was there in one of the seats along the hallway, asleep. She almost walked past him, not wanting to wake him, then decided she may as well tell him to go home.

Walking up to him, she couldn’t help but admire him. Even as he slept in that chair he barely fit in, he was so magnificently beautiful. As mad and hurt as she was with him still, she couldn’t help caressing his face before waking him. His eyes opened slowly. Then they were wide and he sat up straight. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she whispered.

He was on his feet in an instant. Sloppy as he was, he was alert. “How’s your dad?”

“He’s better.”

Alex’s arms were around her in an instant. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

As wonderful as it felt to have his arms around her, the thought of their exchange earlier was still too raw. She pushed away. “I don’t want to talk about that now, Alex.”

She started back toward the elevator, her appetite suddenly shot. Alex walked right along side her.

“We don’t have to. I’m just…Valerie, if I had known—”