Nonna cannot, will not, shouldn’t even think about dying. I realize she’s old, but I’m not ready to lose her. Why didn’t I spend more time with her lately? Because I’m an asshole who got obsessed with his own goals. I didn’t make time for the only family I have.

I make myself focus on the road and Makenna’s driving.

“You might want to stop at the red lights.” Granted, the traffic light was yellow when we breezed through, but Makenna doesn’t seem to notice. The tires squeal as she enters the freeway.

I clench my fists to stop from grabbing onto something. She accelerates a little more and I cock my head to the left so I can check out her speedometer. Not a good idea.

This is not how I want to meet my maker. My father died in a car. The crash killed him instantly.

At this rate, I’ll make it to the great beyond before Nonna does.

Makenna maneuvers around a semi. “I’m getting you there, aren’t I?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Yeah.” She glances at the side mirror and changes lanes. The driver in back of us lays on his horn.

“Not that I’m criticizing your driving abilities, but I have this great love of life. You know, past the age of twenty-four. Also, I need to work on my glutes.”

She turns her head toward me at that comment, an error in judgment on my part since I need her eyes on the road.

“And why are you thinking of your…um glutes now?” she asks. Thankfully, she looks ahead again.

“My glutes are getting quite the workout during this ride with you.”

Her mouth curves into a smile so brief I almost miss it.

We don’t talk for several minutes. She skips turning on a blinker and exits doing 60 mph. A car travels on the cross street and throws on its brakes to avoid colliding with us.

My nerves scream for her to slow the fuck down. Use a blinker. Or the brakes. Maybe a parachute.

“Makenna,” I say, barking her name. It comes out harsh and militant—maybe the only thing that will get her attention. I decide to stop this bullshit before she kills us.

“What?” she yells.

“Dammit,” I say between my teeth. “Slow down. You’re going to get pulled over and that’s not going to help me get there.”

She lifts her foot from the gas pedal at my words. The dashboard gives off just enough light for me to see her concerned expression.

“I don’t want you to miss saying good-bye.” Makenna shakes her head. “It’s important. There’s nothing worse than living with regret.”

A blue light and siren sounds to our right. Someone would think I conjured the cop with my words. Makenna brakes and maneuvers to the side of the road before banging both hands on the steering wheel.

“No, no, no,” she moans under her breath.

We sit waiting in silence while the cop takes his time to get out of his patrol car.

At his approach, Makenna lowers her window. The cop ducks his head and studies me, then stands again. “Do you know how fast you were going?”

“Yes, sir,” Makenna answers.

“I clocked you at sixty-seven in a forty zone. Have you been drinking this evening?”

“No. Of course not. Do I look drunk?” She sounds angry and defensive—not a good stand to take against the guy holding a ticket pad and wearing handcuffs on his belt. He’s wearing two sets of cuffs. Wonderful. We can each have our own.

“I need your license and registration.”

“This is an emergen—”

“License and registration, please.” His tone brooks no argument.

She reaches behind her seat to grab her purse and sifts through the contents until she finds her wallet. Looking at me, she motions her head to the glove compartment. “Can you please find my registration in there?”

I’m glad to have something helpful to do. A dull ache forces me to press a hand on my forehead, my heartbeat centered over my swollen eye. I find what she needs and hand it to her.

The cop accepts both items and returns to his car. After what seems like a silent eternity, he returns. He gives us both a stern look, his brow furrowing as he points his flashlight into the dark car. I suddenly remember what I must look like to him with my swollen eye.

“I’m giving you a traffic violation for exceeding the speed limit.” He shines his flashlight into my face, causing me to blink hard. “What happened to you?” he asks me while absently handing Makenna the ticket.

“But—” she starts to argue, and I place a hand on her forearm to stop her.

“I bartend at Dastardly Bastards and a girl hit me. Accidentally. You know how people can be on New Year’s,” I say with a smile on my face.

“Sure it wasn’t this one?” he gives Makenna the side-eye as if making a joke. Makenna’s lips press together and she grabs the steering wheel, her knuckles whitening underneath her grip.

He straightens and becomes serious again. “I suggest you two stay off the streets tonight.”

“Thank you,” she says without sincerity. “We’re heading to the hospital now. Did you hear that? The hospital.”

The cop nods and strolls back to his patrol car while we watch in the rear view mirror.

“He didn’t believe me.” She passes me the ticket and turns the motor back on. “Jerk.”

I exhale. “I’ll pay your ticket. You wouldn’t have been speeding if it weren’t for me.” I place the ticket in the console and notice a yellow toy car sitting in her cup holder.

“Don’t worry about that right now. We’re almost there.” We pull back onto the road. “Five more minutes.”

We’re at the hospital in less than five. I race into the main entrance and ask the woman at the night desk for directions to ICU.

She points and hands me the hospital’s paper map.

“Thanks for the ride,” I say to Makenna. I grab one of the hospital’s pens from a container. “Your number? I want to pay for the ticket,” I add as an excuse.

“I’ll come with you. You shouldn’t go alone. Just in case…” She doesn’t finish her thought and I’m glad.

“All right.”

* * *

Nonna lies unmoving on the hospital bed. She looks small and frail, like a wrinkled child. The equipment on each side of her unnerves me with all the beeping and humming. Lights and readouts. Wires and tubes everywhere.

I shift closer to take her cool hand in my warm one. The IV needle has bruised the delicate skin of her hand. I press a light kiss to her wrinkled forehead.

Makenna hangs back. I look at her questioningly. Is she uncomfortable here? She answers my unspoken question with a smile.

Her eyelids flutter open. “Antonio?”

This alarms me more than anything, as Antonio was my grandfather’s name.

“It’s me, Nonna. It’s Aiden.” I sweep her hair from her face. “Why are you here?” I tease. “Are you trying to catch a doctor now? Is that what this is about?”

Her lips tip into a smile on one side. “Aiden.”

“Yes. I came right away.”

Makenna waves at me and points toward the door to let me know she’s stepping outside. I nod at her.

Nonna’s gaze flicks to the foot of the bed where Makenna stands. “Who is this?”

Makenna smiles at Nonna. “Hi,” she says softly. “I’m Mak. I was just leaving so you two can have some privacy.”

“Come closer.” Nonna motions. “Let me see you, Mak.”

Makenna looks to me and then to Nonna as if unsure of what to do.

“Now, before I’m dead.” Nonna rolls her eyes. There’s the woman I know. Sassy and demanding, no matter the circumstances. She could lead an army from a hospital bed.

Mak tilts her head at me with wide eyes. “OK, then.” She walks forward. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“You may call me Nonna.” She reaches out to take Makenna’s hand.

I sit on the side of her bed and look out the glass walls. I count three nurses at the oval desk in the center of ICU. I scan the area for a doctor. Absently, I glance at Makenna. “Nonna means grandmother.”

“Nonna,” she repeats. “That’s beautiful.”

“Finally,” my grandmother says. “He is finally granting my dying wish.”

My head jerks back to Nonna. Dying wish? My palms grow sweaty and I rub them on my thighs.

She turns away from Makenna but still holds her hand. “This is the one, isn’t she?”

Nonna’s eyes—eyes that still seem as sharp as they did the last time I visited her—fill with tears.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurting?” I push off the bed and look to the nursing station.

“Why did you keep this a secret? You are like your father. You didn’t want to tell me until I could meet her.” She gives a heavy sigh and looks away from me. “Mak. I know he is stubborn. But he is a good man. You will take good care of him. I can see that you love him. I don’t know why he didn’t tell me earlier. I don’t like surprises.”

Ah, shit. Nonna is clearly confused. I look to Makenna to see her reaction. She winks at me and steps even closer to Nonna.

Wow. The girl takes everything in stride. And her conspirator’s wink does something weird to my chest.

“Tell you what?” Makenna says.

“That he has finally found someone to marry.” Fat tears roll down Nonna’s thin cheeks. “He is a good man.”

I shuffle nervously. How fragile is she in this state? “Nonna, I—”

Makenna clears her throat to stop my words. “You’re right. He is a good one.”

For a brief second, I stare at her. She sounds sincere.

Nonna exhales, blowing the air out like she’s been running. “I’m so tired. And what happened to your face, Aiden?”

“Makenna hit me. But that’s beside the point—”

Nonna hoots, her laughter a little psychotic in the quiet hospital. “It’s true love. It’s good that you have passion.”

My gaze snaps to Makenna’s. Her lips part into a slow smile, like maybe she’s thinking about our kiss or whether or not there is something between us that others can see. Or maybe I’m imagining it all.

She looks back to Nonna.

The nurse enters the room, giving us a friendly smile. She reads the paper on her clipboard, then looks up at Nonna. “How are you, Mrs. Alesini?”

“Better,” she says on a sigh, her voice smaller and weaker. She must be tiring with all this talk.

I make eye contact with the nurse. “Can I talk with you in a minute after you finish? I’d like to get all the details.”

“My grandson brought his future wife,” Nonna says to the nurse. “Isn’t she beautiful? Doesn’t she have lovely skin? And look at her full bosom!”

Heat crawls up my face and I avoid looking anywhere near Makenna. Nonna is clearly on some good drugs.

“Yes, she’s very pretty,” the nurse says but looks at me. “What happened to your eye?”

“An accident.” I stare at Makenna, who hasn’t said a thing to deny Nonna’s misunderstanding.

The nurse returns her attention to the clipboard. “It’s time for me to check Mrs. Alesini. I’m sorry, but you both will have to wait outside. There’s a special ICU waiting room.”

Nonna releases Makenna’s hand. “I am so tired.”

“We’ll be waiting.” I lean over and kiss her weathered cheek, then walk carefully around the bed and out of Nonna’s room.

Makenna follows me to the waiting room. A large family sits together on one side, so I lead her to the opposite end.

“You didn’t have to do that.” I place my hands on my hips and look at my feet. “About letting her think that you and I… But it was nice. It meant a lot. I mean…just in case something happens and she…” My voice cracks so I stop talking.

Makenna grabs my forearm and rubs along the bare skin, sending an electric current of awareness throughout my entire body. I lift my head and meet her gaze.

I lean in, wishing for nothing more than to be able to take her in my arms. The desire for comfort almost overwhelms me, but I step back before I can let myself do something stupid.

We barely know each other, aside from my stolen kiss.

Then she puts both arms around me and squeezes. Her head fits in the curve of my neck. “You are a good man.”

When she pulls away, I want to grab her hands and place her back in the spot she’s left. But it’s too late.

“I wanted to make her happy.” Makenna sits in the nearest chair. “Your grandma’s sweet. A little bossy, but sweet. And loopy. She won’t remember any of it. I hope someone would do that for me.”

“Thanks for coming out here with me. You must have somewhere you need to go. I’m going to stick around here.” I pull my phone out. “I still don’t have your number.”

“I won’t let you pay the ticket,” she says.

“You know that’s not the only reason I want it.”

“Yeah. I should go. I have to be up early for my shift at Angel’s. It’s a shelter where I volunteer.” She stands and takes two steps back, glances over at the hallway leading to the elevators, then back at me. “Are you sure you’ll be OK? Someone is coming to be with you?”

She wants to stay with me. I’m positive she does and the knowledge fills me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s only been hours and something has connected us to each other.

I want to know everything about her. I want to know about her career, her likes and dislikes, even why she won’t give me her number. Maybe she’s in a relationship and I shouldn’t have kissed her.

Idiot. I didn’t even ask. But she feels like she’s mine already. Dammit. This is Nonna’s fault.

“I’ll be fine,” I say. I need to ask her. If there’s a reason she won’t let me call, I can get her out of my head. Then I can close this chapter in my search for the perfect girl. “Hey. Are you seeing someone? Because if you are, I’m sorry I…”

She pulls her T-shirt straight and fidgets with the waist of her jeans, looking so damn cute I want to scoop her up and kiss her again.

“It’s not like that, but I have someone that I spend a lot of time with,” she says.

I stop breathing for a second. Somehow, I hadn’t expected that answer. Disappointment presses on every cell of my body. “Oh. Sure. I understand.”

Makenna takes two more steps backward in the direction of the hallway. “It’s complicated.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Maybe she feels guilty that I kissed her at midnight and it was more than an innocent kiss between strangers. It ignited a spark between us.

She takes another step back and she’s at the threshold of the hallway. “I have a kid. Ryder. And he’s my life.”

I open my mouth to argue, but I’m not sure what to say. A child. She’s a mother. What do I say? I haven’t been around kids, but I think I like them.

I think I was meant to kiss you tonight.

Maybe Nonna’s right and I need to be with you.

“It was nice being your fiancée for a few minutes in there, Aiden Alesini,” she says, my name sounding like a song on her lips. And then she’s gone.