I wasn't regretting my decision to donate to Iggy, but as my drug-assisted slumber began to fade, I was definitely ready to get out of the hospital.

My part of the procedure had been finished by early afternoon yesterday, but after a negative reaction to the anesthesia, the doctors wanted to keep me in overnight, which meant I hadn't been home in days. As I became more aware of myself, I realized that I felt better than when I woke up yesterday, but still, all I wanted was to go home and curl up in my own bed.

I'd had some weird form of post-operative hypothermia, one that hadn't just given me chills but a fever as well. I'd been groggy through everything, but Everett had been here, and I'd focused on his voice as he talked to the doctors. As he calmly discussed my reaction, I was glad I hadn't called my parents to tell them about the surgery. Mom would've been freaking out, and I probably would've been lectured about taking unnecessary risks. I loved her, but when it came to us kids, she always overreacted. Then again, I supposed having watched her brother go through losing a child didn't really make it overreacting.

"Her temperature's back where it should be."

A woman's voice I recognized as belonging to the doctor cut through the haze. My eyelids still felt too heavy to open, so I focused on listening.

"Once she wakes up, I'll have a better idea of when she can be discharged. I want to monitor her temperature for at least a couple hours when she's awake, and make sure she can hold down water and solid food."

Food.

I hadn't eaten anything yesterday, I remembered now. My teeth had been chattering and my stomach queasy, so they'd put some stuff in my IV to make sure I didn't get dehydrated.

Food sounded good. I wasn't so sure about hospital food, but I'd take anything I could get right now. When I got home, I'd have Everett get me all of my favorites. For once, I wouldn't argue with him taking care of me.

"And you really can't tell me why she had surgery?"

That wasn't Everett's voice, but I knew it. Why did I know it?

"You're lucky I gave you that much. Mr. Blount may have said you were going to take care of things today, but Miss Birch is my patient, and until she says it's okay, I won't give you any additional private information. No matter who your father was."

That should have been a clue, but my brain was still trying to muddle through the last of the drugs I'd been given. So much so that it took me a minute to realize that if I opened my eyes, I'd be able to see who it was rather than trying to puzzle it out.

I heard the steady beeping of my heart increase as I gathered my strength and forced my eyes open. As the room slowly came into focus, so did the man standing near the doorway. Pale hair. Broad shoulders. Athletic build.

"Jace?"

My voice was raspy, his name little more than a whisper, but he turned as soon as I said it. His eyes widened, and then he crossed the distance between us in just a few long strides.

"Savannah." He went to his knees next to the bed, wrapping his hands around mine. "I'm so glad you're okay."

I stared at him, wondering for a moment if I was seeing things because he surely couldn't be here. Not after the horrible things he said. But I could feel the heat from his hands around mine. Could see the dark smudges under blood-shot eyes. So he was real.

"You look like shit." As soon as the words came out, I winced. Not because of what I said but because they made my throat hurt. Before I could ask for something to drink though, Jace was on his feet and getting me a glass of water.

I drank it slowly, hoping the cool liquid would help my mind clear. When I finished, Jace took the cup and put it back on the tray, then took a seat in the chair next to the bed. He leaned close but didn't take my hand again.

"Why are you here?" It came out harsher than I intended. I coughed to clear the emotion from overtaking my throat. "I mean, you and not Everett. And how did you know I was here?"

"Ah." Color rose in his cheeks. "I may have gone to your work and your boss told me you'd taken sick leave. I was worried, so I asked him where I could find Everett."

"Maybe my mind's still fuzzy from the drugs and everything," I worked to keep my voice even, "but that still doesn't explain why you're here."

"I came to apologize."

If I'd heard the slightest bit of arrogance in his voice, or even a hint that he was expecting an apology from me, I would've told him to get out, then had a few choice words for Everett for ratting me out.

But he not only sounded sincere, he sounded like he was...in pain.

"I don't even know where to start to tell you how sorry I am for what I said to you." His hands were curled into fists so tightly that his knuckles were white. "I won't make excuses, because I know that's all they'd be. Absolutely nothing is a good reason for how I behaved. It was childish, immature..."

He paused, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Go on."

One corner of his mouth twitched up, but the sincerity in his eyes stayed the same. "Juvenile, asinine, loathsome, despicable..." He put his hands on the edge of my bed. "I'll go through a whole thesaurus of words describing how horrible my behavior was, and I'll mean every word of it."

"Miss Birch."

The cheerful voice of the doctor interrupted, and the next few minutes were all about being poked and prodded and answering questions while Jace hung around in the hallway, pacing in front of the door. After I promised the doctor I'd eat whatever breakfast they brought me, she said she'd return in a bit to see if I was ready to be discharged.

While that should have been foremost in my mind, all I could think about was Jace coming back in and continuing our conversation. My head kept telling me to kick him out and call Everett, but if my best friend had already talked to Jace and hadn't kicked his ass, then maybe Jace had something worth saying.

"Is everything okay?" he asked as he came back to his seat.

I nodded. "Just the usual precautions."

He blew out a long breath. "I'd like to know why you're here, what happened, but I'm not going to push. What I did was unforgivable, and I know I've lost your trust. I have to earn it back, if I can."

I wanted to tell him that what he did hadn't been unforgivable. He hadn't cheated, or hit me, or anything like that. He didn't want to give me excuses, but I knew that between his mother and his ex, his being guarded and assumptive wasn't entirely without cause. Still, it didn't mean I was going to jump back into whatever our relationship was with him without giving it some hard thought.

He reached out and put his hand on my cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. "Even if you can never forgive me, I plan to do whatever is necessary to make things right between us."

"I want to believe you," I whispered as he dropped his hand.

"From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you." He raked all ten fingers through his hair. "But it was more than just physical, even then. We connected."

"We did."

"It wasn't until I lost you – until I chased you away – that I let myself admit what I'd never imagined was possible."

My heart began to race, and color flooded my cheeks as the heart monitor made sure Jace knew about it.

He didn't comment on increased pulse, didn't even look at it, but I had no doubt he could hear it. "Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you. I don't know if it was when you laughed at the misunderstanding the first time we met. Or when I realize how amazing we were together, how well we complemented each other. Or maybe not until I began sculpting again and everything my hands made was you."

He fell in love with me?

He took my hand in his again and raised them, kissing my knuckles. "I love you, Savannah, and I will do whatever you want me to do to prove it to you."

Part of me wished this conversation could have come without us having gone through all the shit of the past few days, but another part of me wondered if Jace would have ever admitted any of these feelings if I hadn't walked away from him.

I could feel the tension radiating off of him as he waited for me to respond, but I didn't rush it. This was serious, and even though I was still in the hospital, I didn't want to postpone my answer. I'd rather take a little bit of extra time and be able to tell him the truth.

When it finally came, I knew it wasn't completely what he wanted to hear. "I love you too, but I don't trust you." His grip on my hand tightened. "I forgive you, and I want to work past all of this. It's just going to take some time."

He nodded. "I'll give you all the time you need." His eyes met mine, burning with the truth of everything he'd said. "Just don't give up on me."

Before I could reassure him, someone knocked at the door.

I looked up just as Veronica Randell walked into the room. She'd taken only a couple steps when her breath caught in her throat, eyes fixed on her son.

"Mom?" Jace stood so slowly I wasn't sure his legs would support his weight. He looked down at me, confusion in his gaze.

"You wanted to know why I'm here," I said quietly. "To do that, you need to meet your sister."