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“Is she out of the hospital yet?”

“Not yet. I’m driving there now to go see her before visiting hours are over.”

As I pulled to a stop at a red light, Frankie asked, “Oh, so were you out grabbing dinner?”

It took massive effort not to burst into tears.

I wished I’d been out getting dinner.Sadly, I’d already been on edge merely coming to Landing. After my encounter with Liam, I felt even more unsettled. Food was the last thing on my mind.

The light changed, and I began driving again.

“Actually, I’ve been spending my days at my mom’s store. I visit with her first thing in the morning and every evening after I close the shop,” I explained.

“Oh, wow. And here I thought this would have been like a little vacation for you. Wait. Sorry. That didn’t come out right. Obviously, I never thought your mom being in this accident and needing help was going to be fun and games. I just meant that you wouldn’t need to go through your normal routine of work here. That’s all.”

Laughter spilled out of me. “I know what you meant by that. But yeah, it’s not going to be pleasant when she’s out of the hospital. With the amount of damage done in the accident, she’s got a lot of painful and difficult days of recovery and rehabilitation ahead. I’m hoping we’ll get an answer today about when they expect she’ll be discharged to go home, but no matter when it is, things are going to be particularly challenging for both her and me.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you know you can call me.”

More warmth spread through me. “I do. Thanks, Frankie. It means everything to me to know I can count on you. So, how’s it going there? Anything to report from work?”

She sighed audibly. “That depends on whetheryou’re asking about the specifics of the actual job, or if you want to know more about the gossip.”

I would take any possible distraction I could get. “The gossip, please,” I begged. “Any crazed brides come in over the last few days?”

For the remainder of my drive to the hospital, Frankie gave me the reprieve I needed. She filled me in on the latest gossip and even threw in a story about our cranky elderly neighbor, too. It was just what I needed after the last few days.

Before I knew it, I had ended my call with my dear friend and was making my way through the hospital parking lot toward the front entrance. Minutes later, I walked into my mom’s room.

She was awake and alert, spotting me almost as soon as I stepped over the threshold. “Hey, Mom.”

She smiled at me. “Hi, Layla.”

“How are you feeling today?”

“I’m doing okay. Did you see Carmen?”

My brows knit together. “Carmen? No. Why?”

My mom lifted her hand and pointed at the door. “She just left. In fact, when you walked in, I thought it was her coming back for something.”

I shook my head. “No. I didn’t see her. Maybe she stopped off in the bathroom or hopped on the other elevator as I got off.”

Nodding, she agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. How was your day?”

My feet carried me to the chair beside her bed. After I sat down and let out a sigh, I offered a small smile. “It was good. There were quite a few people who stopped into the store today.”

“I really can’t thank you enough for going over there and taking that on for me.”

I reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t mind. And anyway, with it being so busy today, the day passed in a flash. It didn’t even feel like work.”

Before she could respond, the nurse walked in to take my mom’s vitals. As she did that and chatted with my mom, I allowed my thoughts to drift. And all the work Frankie had done to help me forget about the one thing that was weighing the most heavily on my mind went out the window.

It had been more than twenty-four hours now since I saw him.

I hadn’t been able to sort through all that I felt after he walked out of the store. Part of me wanted to run and hide. To head right back to New York and pretend none of this had happened.

But there was a much bigger part of me that felt the opposite. That part of me felt overwhelming longing and regret and sadness. And all I wanted to do was find a way to fix what I’d destroyed.