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“You won’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“Schön thought you might be here.”
“I see.” When she walked over to the window, I saw she had a slight limp and used a cane.
I set the bouquet and bottle of wine on the table and joined her.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she was close enough for me to kiss her. If only I thought that was what she wanted.
“Can I get you a glass of wine?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. Not with the, um, medication I’m on.”
“Glass of water? An espresso? I’ve gotten pretty good at making them.”
She smiled. “No, thanks.”
“Can we sit?” I asked when I noticed her rest both hands on the cane.
“Sure.”
I motioned for her to go ahead of me, disappointed when she chose a chair over the sofa. I had to be close to her, so I sat on the ottoman in front of her. “What happened? I mean, I know what happened that day on the helipad. What came next?”
“Surgery. Three actually. Where the bullet hit, there was damage to my spine.”
I moved closer and spread my legs so hers were between mine, then put my hands on the outside of her thighs.
“I had to, um, I mean, it took some time for me to be able to walk.”
It was so hard to not ask why Typhon hadn’t told anyone. Why she hadn’t contacted me, but I stopped myself. Alena was at least talking. I’d let her tell me in her own time.
My thumbs caressed her legs beneath her trousers, and I kept my eyes riveted to hers.
“I, um…”
“What?” I whispered after she didn’t continue for several seconds.
She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. “My brother was there. He helped.”
“I’m glad he could be with you.”
“I’m sorry, Zeppelin. I just couldn’t…”
“Zeppelin couldn’t make it. Henry is here.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and when she broke down, I lifted her into my arms as gently as I could, carried her over to the bed, and held her while she cried.
We stayed that way, neither of us speaking, until the sun was going down. “I’ll light the fire,” I said when she shivered.
I set the logs as quickly as possible, struck the match, then lay beside her like I was before, and pulled a blanket over us before wrapping my arms around her.
“There were times I thought it was all a dream.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of her. “It wasn’t.”
“What happened between us. It was so fast.”