“There’s been an accident.”

The words echoed endlessly inside Theo’s head as he barreled down the mountain roads toward the Valley Medical Center, where James and the women had been taken. He should have gone to her after their fight, smoothed things over. He should have done something, anything…

Because this was torture. And it was even worse knowing that they’d left things so terribly. If anything had happened to her…to any of them…but especially to Elle…

He swung into the hospital parking lot, striding through the doors of the ER almost before he’d shut off the car. “Elle Davenport,” he directed his words at the nearest person in scrubs. “How is she?”

“Are you family?” the woman asked, giving him a harried look.

“Her boyfriend,” he answered without thinking, even if the word sounded faintly juvenile on his tongue.

“Well, I’m not sure what I’ll be able to tell you, but let me check.” She hustled down the hall, leaving Theo to pace the waiting room.

He felt supercharged, like he might explode from the energy radiating through his body, pulsing in his fingertips, pounding in his heart. It was an unbearable sensation that only grew more intense with each passing moment.

Please let her be okay. Let them all be okay.

“Theo?”

He turned, looking into Elle’s tear-streaked face. “Elle. Thank God.”

She buried her face against his neck, releasing a shuddering breath as her fingers clutched his shirt. “Megan’s hurt.”

He squeezed her tight until he was able to draw a full breath of air into his lungs. Then he moved one hand, tipping her face up to get a better look at her. She was scraped, bruised, and shaking beneath his touch, but whole and in one piece. And if they were letting her walk freely down the halls, she must be okay. His arms tightened around her. “How is she?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Her voice wobbled. “She’s cut pretty bad. A tree branch came through the window…”

“And you?”

“I’m okay,” she whispered, still clinging to him like a life ring in the middle of the ocean.

“And Ruby? James?”

“A little banged up, but they’re okay. They were in the front, so they both got airbags to the face.” She breathed into his shirt, rapid and shaky.

He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “Have you seen Megan?”

“I was sitting next to her in the car…there was so much blood, Theo. So much.” Her voice drifted away almost to nothing, and he noticed for the first time the red stains on her hands and the sleeves of her shirt.

“Is that Megan’s?” he asked, gesturing to it.

She nodded against his chest. “Her face…”

“It’s going to be okay,” he told her, hoping he was right. “Scalp wounds bleed a lot.”

“I think it’s more than that.” Her breath hitched, and warm tears soaked through his shirt.

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. They wheeled her off and won’t let us see her. I need to get back to Ruby. She got a cut on her arm that needed a few stitches. James is there too.” She twined her fingers through his as she started down the hall, tugging him after her.

She walked to one of the curtained off beds on the left, peeking in and saying something to the person on the other side before gesturing for him to follow her. Ruby sat on the bed behind the curtain. Her glasses were nowhere in sight, and she looked different…younger, more vulnerable maybe, without them. Angry red marks marred her face, caused perhaps by the airbag. A white bandage was wrapped around her right arm.

“I just need someone to officially sign me out of here, and then we can go find Megan,” she said, her gaze flitting to Theo. “James is there,” she gestured to a curtained off bed across from hers.

“You can go see him if you want,” Elle said. “I’ll stay here with Ruby.”

There was a visible shift in her demeanor since she’d rejoined Ruby. She’d composed herself, putting on a strong face for her friend after taking a minute to lean on him there in the hallway. It pleased him in some primitive sense that she’d allowed him to comfort her that way.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her with a nod, then crossed the hall. The curtain was only half-drawn around James’s bed, and he could see the driver sitting there, talking to a nurse. His face was bruised, but Theo didn’t see any other immediately obvious signs of injury. He waited until the nurse had left before approaching the bed. “Are you all right?”

James looked up. “Sir, I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Theo told him. “I’m just glad everyone’s more or less okay.”

James continued to look worried. “Maybe if I’d swerved in the other direction…”

“It’s not worth thinking about. You reacted to the best of your ability. I doubt anyone could have done anything more.”

“How are the women? Miss Perl had some pretty deep cuts on her face and arm.”

“I’m not sure about her just yet, but Elle and Ruby are both okay, and they’re about to go track her down. How are you?”

James exhaled, looking down at his hands. “I’m fine, just a little bruised and shaken.”

“Are you being released?”

“Yeah, I just need someone to come by and sign me out of here.”

Theo nodded. “I drove here, so I can take everyone back to the castle once you’re all cleared by the doctors.”

“I appreciate that, sir,” James said.

“I’ll check back with you in a little while,” Theo told him before crossing the hallway to where he’d left Elle and Ruby.

“Megan’s still being treated,” Elle told him, her green eyes clouded with worry. “They said she’ll probably have to stay overnight.”

“I’m sure she’s going to be just fine,” he told her, hoping like hell it was true.

Elle nodded absently, as if by wishing they could make it so. He knew as well as anyone that wasn’t always the case. He sat in a plastic chair against the wall while Elle sat next to Ruby on the bed, their hands clasped, matching furrows between their brows. They waited for what felt like an eternity until a nurse came in, carrying a tablet under her arm.

“Your friend is all stitched up,” she told them.

Elle lurched to her feet. “Can we see her? Is she okay?”

“She’s going to be fine, although she’s got a bit of recovery ahead of her,” the nurse told them. “Down the hall in triage four, but not all of you at once.” She glanced between them with a severe look. “They’ll be taking her upstairs to get her settled for the night shortly.”

They all nodded, and then they were on their way down the hall. Elle and Ruby exchanged worried glances, and hell, he was concerned too. He hoped Megan wasn’t injured too badly, that she wasn’t in pain, that she wouldn’t be left with scars.

When they reached the door marked Triage 4, he stopped in the hallway. “You two go in. I’ll wait out here.”

“Thanks, Theo.” Elle leaned in to brush her lips against his cheek.

He lingered in the area meant for nurses, watching through the glass as they gathered at their friend’s bedside. The left side of Megan’s face and her arm were heavily bandaged, but she appeared to be awake and alert. Theo could see her speaking to them, although she wasn’t moving much, just lying there on the bed. Sedated maybe, for the pain.

Elle sat beside her, perched on the edge of the bed, taking Megan’s hand in hers and speaking in a tone he could almost hear without sound, kind and soothing as she assured her friend everything was going to be okay. Not wanting to intrude, he stepped into the hallway and occupied himself with his phone until Elle rejoined him sometime later.

“Hey,” she said softly, stopping a few feet away, her expression hesitant.

They’d gotten caught up in the emotional aftermath of the accident when he first arrived, but there was no escaping the argument they’d had earlier, and they’d have to address it sooner or later. “How is she?”

Elle exhaled slowly, a grimace tugging at her lips. “Her cuts are pretty deep. She has stitches down the left side of her face, and there was a lot of damage to her arm too.”

“Jesus.” He stepped closer, unsure whether or not to reach for Elle.

“They called in a plastic surgeon to do the stitches on her face, but even so, there may be scarring.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I just…I feel so bad for her.”

“I know you do.” And he couldn’t help himself. He reached out and folded her into his arms. She burrowed against his chest, just breathing for a long minute, the movement occasionally hitched by tears.

“Ruby’s going to stay with her tonight. The nurses okayed it. They’re going to bring in a cot for her once Megan’s settled in her room.”

“That’s good,” he said quietly. “I know Megan will appreciate having her there. You said they’re just keeping her overnight?”

She nodded against his chest.

“We’ll come back in the morning with clothes and things for them. For now, let me take you home if you’re ready.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“We need to find James. He should have been released by now.”

She nodded again, following him quietly down the hall. They found James, and the three of them drove back to the castle in mostly subdued silence. It was almost two in the morning by the time he finally pulled up the curved drive. He waited until James had headed toward the garage before taking Elle’s hand.

“Stay with me tonight,” he said quietly. “We have things to discuss, but for tonight, just let me be here for you.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, giving him a look of utter exhaustion mixed with hurt and confusion. “I need to check on our foster animals before I go to bed, and I have to oversee breakfast before I head back to the hospital in the morning.”

“I’ll help,” he said, as surprised by the words as Elle seemed to be.

She stared at him wide-eyed, then followed silently as he led the way up the castle steps.

Adrenaline had kept Elle going, blazing through her veins while she was at the hospital, but now that they were back at the castle, she was so tired, she felt like her bones might collapse in on themselves. Her head hurt, her neck ached, and she couldn’t seem to sort through the chaos inside her brain.

Theo led the way upstairs. “Tell me what needs to be done.”

She pressed a palm against her forehead. “Louie needs to be walked, and the cats need to be checked on. One of them takes medication for a kidney problem.”

Theo nodded. “I’ll walk the dog. You tend to the cats.”

“Okay,” she agreed, too tired and muddled to resist his help. She pointed him toward Louie’s crate in Megan’s room before heading down the hall to check on their foster cats. She topped off their food and water, scooped their litter, gave Cameo her medication, and then trudged upstairs to do the same with Ruby’s cats.

By the time she made it to her room, Theo was there, sitting in the chair beside her bed with Louie at his feet. “Pack a bag, or would you rather I stayed here with you tonight?”

“Oh—what?” She stopped in her tracks, choking back a laugh because the idea of Theo staying in her room was just that absurd.

“It’s late. You have to be up early, and I presume you need a shower before you go to sleep, so it probably makes most sense to stay where we are,” he said levelly, as if this made all the sense in the world, and it should, because she did have to be up and back here in the castle in just a few short hours. She glanced down at herself, saw the blood streaking her arms and clothing.

“Shower,” she repeated, immediately obsessed with the idea. “Yes.”

Theo stood and closed her bedroom door before removing Louie’s leash, then led the way into the adjoining bathroom. “Unless you mind company?”

“Um…” She was too tired to think anymore, and she didn’t want to be alone, not even for the amount of time it took to shower. “No, I don’t mind.”

So she let Theo start the shower, help her out of her clothes, and wash the blood from her skin as the hot water pounded some of the soreness out of her muscles. Once she was clean, she climbed into her pajamas, swallowed the ibuprofen he handed her, and crawled into bed, unable to resist a tiny smile at the idea of Theo up here in her bed in the tiniest bedroom in the castle he owned. So ridiculous.

So ridiculously sweet.

She was so mad at him, but she loved him so much too. They had so much to say, to discuss, to fight over most likely, but for tonight, she slept easy just knowing he was beside her, for the few precious hours until her alarm went off.

Theo’s low groan greeted her what felt like minutes later as her phone began to play the cheery little tune that awoke her every morning. His arm came around her waist, drawing her against the warmth of his body. “Too early,” he grumbled.

“Mm hmm,” she agreed, keeping her eyes closed for another minute, just enjoying the feel of him here in her bed, the gentle puff of his breath on her neck, and the way her hips fit so snugly against his. Until she opened her eyes, she could stay in this safe, warm cocoon.

But they sprang open almost against her will, reminding her of everything that had happened yesterday. Theo had sold the castle. The accident. Megan’s injuries.

A dull ache radiated through her body, and she knew she’d have all kinds of aches and pains once she got up and started moving. Scrapes and bruises. Nothing compared to what Megan had suffered… Tears pressed against the backs of her eyelids, burning there, and her breath hitched in her lungs.

“It’s going to be all right,” Theo said from behind her, his arm tightening around her waist. “And I’ll be right here with you, whatever you need.”

She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “Thank you.”

She rolled to face him, kissing him until the five-minute snooze on her phone began to play, reminding her that she really, really had to get up and serve breakfast. “I have to go.”

“I’ll come downstairs with you.” Theo sat up, his cheeks coated in a day’s worth of scruff, hair sticking out in a slightly disreputable mess.

“You don’t have to do that.” She slid out of bed, wincing as those aches and pains she’d anticipated began to make themselves known.

“I know that. Do you have a razor I can borrow?” he asked. “I have some fresh clothes downstairs I can change into.”

“I do.” She couldn’t help the smile that crept across her face as she handed Theo her girly, pink razor and vanilla-scented shaving cream. He took it with a playful wink, and they spent the next ten minutes bumping into each other as they got ready in her bathroom. Her hair had air dried while she slept last night and was consequently a wavy mess, so she wound it into a loose knot at her neck, smoothing down the fly-aways with cream.

In another ten minutes, they were headed downstairs. She had on a floral-print shift dress and blue ballet flats. Theo was in last night’s slightly-rumpled clothes as he headed down the hall toward his office in search of something clean. Elle took Louie outside before heading into the kitchen, where Beatrice folded her straight into a hug.

“Oh my goodness, Elle, I heard what happened last night. Are you okay? Let me look at you.” She held Elle at arm’s length, eyeing her with a motherly sort of look that had fresh tears blooming in Elle’s eyes.

“I’m okay,” she managed, croaking over the pain in her throat. “Megan got the worst of it. She’s still at the hospital. Ruby spent the night there with her.”

“I heard.” Beatrice’s expression turned more serious. “So scary. I know so many people who’ve had accidents caused by deer. I’m glad no one was hurt any worse.”

“Me too.” Elle busied herself fussing with plates for their guests. Thankfully they only had two couples staying with them and no one new checking in today, since she was on her own this morning.

“I saw James this morning,” Beatrice said as she turned back to the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal that smelled heavenly. “I’m sure his skill helped keep it from being any worse.”

“Definitely.” He’d remained so calm as the car careened off the road into the trees, bringing them to a halt before they plunged down the steeper incline ahead.

“Would you like some?” Beatrice gestured to the oatmeal.

“I’d love some.” Elle peeked into the dining room, relieved that no guests were down quite yet so she had a moment to eat. Getting a little substance in her would go a long way toward powering through this morning. She accepted the bowl Beatrice held toward her and poured herself a cup of coffee to go with it just as Theo walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, Beatrice,” he said, leaning in to give Elle a quick kiss on the lips right in front of his chef. Well, that was new. “I’m lending Elle a hand with breakfast this morning.”

“You are?” she asked, eyebrows climbing her forehead as she sat at the island, bringing the mug to her lips.

He sat next to her. “I told you I was going to help.”

Beatrice beamed as she prepared a bowl of oatmeal for Theo, setting it in front of him.

“There are only four guests. I can handle it,” Elle told him, trying to imagine the disbelief and delight on the guests’ faces if the Earl of Highcastle served their breakfast. Bookings would go through the roof as soon as word spread.

Except they wouldn’t, because Theo sold the castle. They’d already stopped taking new reservations. She and Theo had so much to talk about.

“I’d like to help,” he said with such earnestness that her heart melted all over again.

Damn him.

“If you’re sure.” She eyed him over her oatmeal. “But you know you’re going to cause a scene…a good kind of scene, but a scene nonetheless.”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “I’m aware.”

“Okay then.”

So Elle and Theo served breakfast together on that fateful morning, much to the delight of their guests, who gushed and fawned all over him and posed for all manner of selfies with him before Elle finally ushered him back into the kitchen, where Beatrice lingered in the doorway, laughter in her eyes.

“This is so ridiculous,” Elle said, rubbing at her head. It was sore, as was her neck, her back, her knees, and pretty much every other part of her.

“Come on, you enjoyed it.” He put a hand at her waist, guiding her toward the counter. They lingered in the kitchen, carrying each course in and out of the dining room until the last guest had finished eating and wandered out into the castle.

“I need to get back to the hospital,” she murmured to Theo as she carried the last of the dishes back into the kitchen.

“I’ll drive.”

You don’t have to do that, she started to say but stopped herself. He wanted to help, wanted to be here for her today, really and sincerely, and she needed to stop questioning it. Just accept his kindness and be glad for it. And above all else, not read too much into it, because it was all coming to an end so friggin’ soon.

She checked on the cats while he took Louie for another quick walk. She packed fresh clothes and toiletries for Megan and Ruby and then they were on their way. Her chest grew increasingly heavy as he drove. How would Megan look this morning? Because she’d looked pretty damn awful last night. Elle was sick over the possibility of her friend’s beautiful face being permanently scarred.

“You’re thinking so loud over there I can hear it,” Theo said, breaking in on her internal turmoil.

“Sorry,” she murmured, loosening the fingers she’d inadvertently clenched into the fabric of her skirt.

“Don’t apologize. You have every right to be worried.”

“I’m just so worried about Megan. All those stitches. It must be so painful. Her face…”

“I know.” Theo reached a hand over to grip hers. “It’s bad, but it happened, and now we’re just going to do the best for her that we can.”

His words should have been obvious, but she’d needed to hear them more than she realized, because she felt something inside her relax as he spoke them. Yes, it sucked. But they’d get through it. Megan would recover. Scars would fade. She’d still be gorgeous, no matter what that tree had done to her face.

She exhaled. “You’re right.”

Theo turned in at the hospital and parked. Elle gathered the bag she’d packed for her friends, and together they walked inside, headed for Megan’s room. As she knocked, she could already hear a murmur of voices from inside. The door swung open, and Elle found herself facing Megan’s mom, Ruth.

“Oh, Elle, it’s so good to see you.” She pulled Elle in for a big hug.

“You too.” Elle felt tears welling in her eyes all over again. She’d known Megan’s parents since she was a little girl, so long that Ruth and Elle’s mom had been friends themselves. “I’m so glad you guys are here.”

“We got on the first flight out this morning,” she said, stepping back to motion Elle and Theo into the room.

“Theo Langdon,” he said, extending a hand.

“Ruth Perl, Megan’s mother,” she said, ignoring his hand and giving Theo a warm hug instead. “That’s my husband, David.” She paused, and her eyes widened. “Langdon…oh, you’re the man who owns the castle.”

“That’s right, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Very sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”

“These are unfortunately the kind of circumstances that tend to bring people together, though, aren’t they?” Ruth said with a sad smile, and Elle felt a surge of affection for this woman she’d known most of her life. Megan’s parents were good people, the best really.

“And don’t you dare ma’am me,” she added, pointing a finger in Theo’s direction. “It’s Ruth.”

Theo’s eyes twinkled. “Got it, Ruth.”

Across the room, Elle could see Ruby sitting in a chair in the corner, squinting at her phone. It was strange to see her without her glasses, but the airbag had completely wrecked them. Megan’s dad sat at her bedside, talking to her. Megan turned toward Elle, and she hurried forward to give her friend a gentle hug, mindful of her bandages.

“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.

If anything, Megan looked a little worse than she had last night. Her wounds had been so fresh then, but now they’d had time to swell and bruise, leaving the left side of her face puffy and discolored, her eye swollen almost shut. “Sore,” she said quietly. “Pissed.”

Elle squeezed her hand. “They still letting you out this morning?”

“Yeah.”

Something inside Elle’s chest felt like it had broken, hearing the subdued, defeated tone of Megan’s voice. Megan, who always found something to laugh about, to joke about, who always made difficult situations brighter, looked like she might cry, and now Elle was choking back tears of her own. “Whatever you need, we’re here for you.”

“I’m going home for a while,” Megan said.

Ruth came and sat beside them. “We’re going to drive her back to Orlando tomorrow. She needs to rest and take it easy on those stitches.”

“Definitely,” Elle agreed, as her chest constricted with sadness that Megan was leaving the castle. Of course, it made sense. She couldn’t work right now, and they all had to leave in a week and a half anyway. In fact, Megan probably wouldn’t be back. This was the beginning of the end of their time here together.

Elle fought the urge to bury her face on Megan’s shoulder and cry.

“Sometimes a girl just needs her mother.” Ruth bent to kiss the undamaged side of Megan’s face, before turning to Elle with a stricken look. “I’m sorry. That was tactless of me.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Elle assured her with a smile, although Ruth’s words had indeed poked at the sore spot in her heart that still missed her mom, but she wasn’t fragile about it and had never wanted or expected people to tiptoe around the subject with her. “I’m going to miss the hell out of you here in Virginia, though, Meg.”

Megan gave her a withering look that fell a little flat.

“We’ll be happy to put you up at the castle for as long as you need before you return to Orlando,” Theo said, speaking to Megan’s parents.

“Thank you. We really appreciate that,” David told him.

“I’m glad we’ll get a chance to see it,” Ruth said with a smile. “We’ve heard so much about it from Megan the last few months.”

“The room closest to Megan’s is open right now,” Elle told them, grateful Theo had made the offer she’d wanted to make on her own. “I’ll get you set up there as soon as we get back.”

“Sounds wonderful. Thank you, Elle.”

They spent a few more minutes talking. Elle gave Megan and Ruby the stuff she’d brought for them, and Ruby went into the bathroom to get dressed. She’d changed into scrubs at some point overnight and was very glad to have a clean set of her own clothes to put on. Since Megan’s parents were there to drive her back to the castle after she’d been discharged, Elle and Theo left with Ruby.

“I’m going to be wearing these for a while,” Ruby said, sliding on the prescription sunglasses Elle had brought her as they walked outside.

“Don’t you have another pair?”

“I have an old pair I use as a backup, but the prescription’s a little out of date. I’ll order a new pair this afternoon.”

“How’s your arm?” Elle asked her as they climbed into Theo’s car.

“Sore.” Ruby looked down at the bandage on her right arm. “I can only imagine how Megan’s feeling.”

“Just you and me for our last week here.” Elle looked over her shoulder at her friend before shifting her gaze to Theo. “Not how we imagined our time here ending.”

He kept his eyes on the road as he pulled out of the parking lot, his expression unreadable.

“No,” Ruby agreed. “But then again, things rarely end the way we’re expecting them to, do they?”