This guy will be the death of me. He’s breaking my heart all over again, and he has barely spoken a few sentences since I arrived. But the way he says my name, the way he holds on to me and asks me to stay, the way he asks what’s wrong… That’s the Kaden I knew and loved. The man I fell in love with, head over heels.

The guy I’ve been trying to forget.

How long can this charade last? How long can I pretend I’m fine, that we are fine?

Remember he’s not well, I remind myself. This isn’t about you, Hailey, it’s about him. No matter what, I’d never want any harm coming to him, and if being here is what it takes…

Though I still don’t know how long it will take. I have my life back in Chicago.

You mean Mags? A treacherous little voice whispers in the back of my mind. Or Trent who’s been harassing you day and night?

Or… did you mean your photography? Because you have your camera right here, and the guy who’s been starring in all the photos you picked. You could make new photos. The ones you’re missing for your exhibition.

And get his consent to use them.

Sounds like a plan.

Fine, then. I look at him again, fighting against the magnetic pull of his gaze with all I have, and nod. “I’ll stay.”

The relief washing over his face is real. The smile tugging at his full mouth is real. He’s real, solid and warm beside me, and what I feel for him sure is real. It wouldn’t hurt so much otherwise.

It’s killing me that everything else is fake.

* * *

A nurse brings in a cot for “Mr. Hansen’s fiancée” and it makes me wonder what Kaden’s brother told them about me.

What else, I mean. I’ve never been Kaden’s fiancée. He never seemed interested in making our relationship official in any way. I met his brother purely by chance. They dropped in to visit without warning, not knowing anything about me.

I guess he never really took me seriously. I should have heeded the signs. Not my first rodeo, after all.

Don’t know why I thought I could trust him.

Then again…he’s so frigging gorgeous it’s easy to see why I let my defenses down. Yikes. I lie down on my cot with its starchy sheets and its smell of antiseptic and watch him sleep. Even exhausted and banged up as he is, he looks too hot to be legal. His beard glints silver in the lowlight of the bedside lamp, his hair like gold, and relaxed in sleep, his face is beautiful. The strong lines of his jaw and nose, the fair crescents of his lashes, his soft mouth.

I’d reach for my camera, but I don’t want to make noise and wake him up. The docs said he’ll need lots of sleep in the next days and weeks. They don’t like that he still can’t remember stuff.

Like me and him and all that happened.

But they are quite happy with his balance and focus, even if it seems way off to me. They think he’ll be okay with lots of rest.

And they asked if I could stay for a few days. Until he remembers. Because he’s calmer when I’m around, apparently, and that helps the healing process.

Yeah, I’d already decided that, so here I am.

Staring at his handsome face and wondering how I’ll survive this craziness.

Just a few more days, Hailey, I tell myself as I force my eyes shut and chase after sleep. You can do this. You can be around him and not break down, not tell him the truth before he remembers and not slap his rugged, handsome face.

Then if he gets angry with you for playing this game, just leave. Don’t let it destroy you.

Don’t fall for him again.

But I’m afraid it’s already too late.

* * *

Kaden’s sleep is restless. It doesn’t help that my cot is as comfortable as a plank of wood. He groans so loudly at some point that I get up to check on him, worried about him.

Is this normal? He sounds like he’s in agony.

He’s not moving, but his back is arched, tendons standing out in his neck. His lips are peeled back, his teeth bared. Looks like one hell of a nightmare, and my heart squeezes in my chest.

I hate seeing him suffer.

Shouldn’t I like watching him suffer after everything?

What’s wrong with me?

Why do I still care?

I carefully put a hand on his shoulder, debate shaking him and decide against it. I’m pretty sure a person with a concussion doesn’t need his brain rattled any more than it already is.

So I just squeeze the rock-hard muscle of his shoulder, take a deep breath and start talking to him. “Kaden. Kade! Wake up. Come on. It’s just a dream. Everything’s okay, I promise. Just wake up. Open your eyes for me. It’s me, Hailey. You know me. Come on, look at me.”

It takes what feels like an eternity before he blinks up at me, panting harshly, his eyes wide. His face is shiny with sweat and I grab a towel from the bedside table to dry it.

He grabs my wrist before I even touch the towel to his face. “You’re here,” he whispers, and I open my mouth, then close it, caught in the heat of his green eyes. “You’re okay.”

And the fact he was worried, that he’d probably been dreaming about me, cuts my strings. I sit down heavily on the bed beside him. “I’m here.”

“I thought you’d left. Left me.” He frowns up at me, his fist tight around my wrist, and I shouldn’t like it so much, how much it feels like a shackle, but I do. With him, I do. “I thought you left so far I couldn’t reach you ever again. As if you walked over a bridge, and that bridge was gone and I couldn’t cross—”

“I’m here.”I lift my other, free hand and stroke back his hair. His eyes close as I touch the silky strands, his ragged breath easing. “I said I’d stay, didn’t I?”

“You stayed.”

“I did. And—”

“Lie down with me.”

“What? Kade, no—”

But he’s already tugging me, using his hold on my wrist to pull me down beside him. His bed is barely wider than my cot, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care. He keeps pulling, a faint smile on his face, until I relent and stretch out beside him.

“Christ, I love having you pressed to me,” he whispers, burying his face in my hair, and I swallow hard.

Because me too. God, so much. Can’t believe how much I missed his shape, his scent, his hold on me. I won’t be able to sleep like this, not with the feel of his strong body against mine, his arm around my shoulders, his breath on my forehead.

Not when I can’t believe I’m here, can’t believe how happy I am and how scared.

And that’s my last thought before morning.