“What? What is it?” I ask, feeling slightly frantic now.
My sisters look to Amelia to explain. “Let me start by saying, he’s okay—”
She no sooner gets the words out than I shoot to my feet. “What happened to him?!”
“I didn’t tell you sooner because he made me promise not to say anything until most of the bruising has healed, so it wouldn’t scare you.”
“Oh my God, bruising?!” I’m about to cry again. Is Will almost dead? Images of him hooked up to a sad beeping machine in the hospital plays in my mind.
“There was a superfan who made it onto the premises the other day. He hopped the gate and then sprinted up toward the house because he really wanted me to have a pair of his blue underwear to carry with me down the aisle as my something borrowed and something blue.”
“Thoughtful of him,” Maddie interjects.
“Will had to take him down, and the guy turned out to be really aggressive for someone wearing a T-shirt with my face all over it.” I feel like I’m going to pass out. “Anyway, Will got hold of the situation pretty quickly, but the guy managed to get a few good hits in before that. But when Will tackled him onto the gravel driveway, his shoulder landed on a sharp rock and it made a big gash—” She cuts off as I whirl around and take off toward the door, grab my keys, and slam the door behind me on my way out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Will
I step out of the shower and look in the mirror. The swelling of my eye has gone way down, which is good, but my shoulder is still tender. I had to get five stitches—which in the grand scheme of things is nothing. The pain is manageable with Tylenol, and I’m just glad Amelia’s safe.
The guy was arrested and taken into custody. Beyond that, it’s out of my hands.
Suddenly I hear the sound of my door slamming, and I realize I forgot to lock it. Adrenaline kicks through my veins. I quickly throw a towel around my waist and fling open the bathroom door, ready to take an intruder by surprise rather than the opposite. And that’s when I see her, standing in the middle of my room.
“Annie?” My shoulders relax for only a second before I take in how she looks. “What’s wrong? Why the hell are you barefoot and wearing a penis necklace?”
She’s breathing heavily as her eyes scan my body. “How dare you!”
“Me?” I ask, feeling drunk with how disoriented I am.
“Yes, you! I’m so angry with you I could tear you apart limb by limb.”
She advances toward me and instinctively I take a step away. “What did I do?”
“Nothing, Will!” Annie’s blue eyes are blazing. “And that’s the problem. You were attacked and injured, and you didn’t tell me. Look at you! You have a black eye and a big bandage on your shoulder, and you didn’t immediately call me and let me come over and take care of you. You’re not just avoiding me, Will, you’re phasing me out.”
She wags her finger at me. “Don’t bother denying it because whether you like it or not, William Griffin, I know you.” She doesn’t even stop to breathe. The lung capacity on this woman is impressive. “But you can’t phase me out. I won’t let you! If you never want anything romantic, fine. But I can’t go through life without knowing you, and talking to you, and holding your hand when I go on an adventure because you promised. Because I’ve never felt with anyone what I feel with you.”
Her chest is heaving and her face is flushed and her eyes are teary.
“Say something…” she demands, some of her bluster failing now.
I laugh. “Oh, it’s my turn now?”
“Yes, obviously that was your cue,” she concedes, but then her eyes drop to my torso and the towel barely hanging on around my waist, and she frowns. “But you’re naked. And I think I’m going to have a very hard time paying attention to anything you say while you’re naked.”
“I’m not naked, I’m wearing a towel—”
At that exact moment, said towel drops from my waist, and I am now, in fact, very naked. Naked and wet from my shower and standing fully frontal to Annie. I immediately cup my hands in front of me as Annie’s jaw hits the floor. “Oh my gosh,” she says in a whisper that doesn’t sound like she hates what she sees. Which is not helping the hiding of my groin issue.
“Shit—Annie…would you mind?”
She sucks in a sharp breath and covers her eyes. “Why do you look like that, Will?”