Page 136
Story: The Exception
“I’ll meet you there.” I was headed for the door before I’d even ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked. “Where are you going?”
“Sloan. Hospital. Now.” I sounded like a caveman, but it was the best I could manage under the circumstances.
“I’ll drive you,” Lily said, racing ahead.
“No.” I tried to snap myself out of it. Force myself into action. “You should stay here. What about the?—”
“Graham.” She glared at me. “I’m. Driving.”
“Fine,” I huffed, tossing her the keys. I knew I was too distracted to focus on driving safely. Lily used the talk-to-text feature on her phone to send a text to Luc and Jo, asking them to take over in her absence.Oh god, les Journées du patrimoine.We hurried to the car, and I called, “Thank you.”
She said nothing, climbing behind the driver’s seat. She’d thrown the car into reverse before I could even reach for my seat belt. She bypassed the main road, taking a shortcut through the forest I’d never noticed. The road—if you could even call it that—was bumpy. But it avoided all the cars coming up the main drive for the festival.
Lily tightened her grip on the steering wheel, twisting, her knuckles turning white. Even so, she was focused on the road, driving as fast as she safely could while navigating around all the potholes and rocks.
I braced myself, desperate for something to do. Worried about how Sloan was faring. If she was in pain. If she was okay. If the baby was okay.
I dragged a hand down my face, wishing we weren’t in a small town in the French countryside. It was a great spot for vacationing, but I worried Sloan wouldn’t receive the same quality of care here that she would in a big city like London. Could the team ready the private plane fast enough to get her to Paris? London? Could we hire a…
“Almost there,” Lily said, pulling onto a paved road that led toward town. “I’ll drop you off at the front, and then I’ll go park.”
I appreciated Lily’s measured tone. Her planned approach. Because right now, I wasn’t thinking clearly.
The car had barely stopped when I threw open my door and sprinted into the hospital. Pierce and Jasper were in the waiting room.
“What do we know?” I asked, hugging my brother. “What happened?”
When Jasper said nothing, Pierce jumped in. “Jackson’s with Sloan. He said he’d update us as soon as he knew anything.”
“Good.”
Lily burst through the doors, scanning the room and then coming over to us. Lily gave Jasper a hug and then volunteered to get everyone coffee after we told her what we knew—which was basically nothing.
“Pierce?” she asked. “Would you mind giving me a hand?”
“Sure.”
After they left, Jasper and I took a seat, and I tried to steel myself for the unknown.
Jasper bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I just keep picturing the panic in Jackson’s eyes. He’s always so calm and cool, you know? And he was totally losing his shit.”
A chasm opened up in my chest, but I tried not to let it show. “It’s Sloan and the baby. Of course he was concerned. I’d be losing my shit too if something happened to Lily.”
He gave me a funny look.
I grunted, the equivalent of asking, “What?”
“Why did Lily’s family seem surprised to discover that you two were married?”
“Because…” I blew out a breath. “They have a strained relationship, and she hasn’t spoken to them in months.”
He cringed, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. “I wish I’d known. Now I feel like an ass for inviting them.”
I patted his back. “It’s not your fault.”
“Does Lily hate me?” he asked.
“What’s going on?” Lily asked. “Where are you going?”
“Sloan. Hospital. Now.” I sounded like a caveman, but it was the best I could manage under the circumstances.
“I’ll drive you,” Lily said, racing ahead.
“No.” I tried to snap myself out of it. Force myself into action. “You should stay here. What about the?—”
“Graham.” She glared at me. “I’m. Driving.”
“Fine,” I huffed, tossing her the keys. I knew I was too distracted to focus on driving safely. Lily used the talk-to-text feature on her phone to send a text to Luc and Jo, asking them to take over in her absence.Oh god, les Journées du patrimoine.We hurried to the car, and I called, “Thank you.”
She said nothing, climbing behind the driver’s seat. She’d thrown the car into reverse before I could even reach for my seat belt. She bypassed the main road, taking a shortcut through the forest I’d never noticed. The road—if you could even call it that—was bumpy. But it avoided all the cars coming up the main drive for the festival.
Lily tightened her grip on the steering wheel, twisting, her knuckles turning white. Even so, she was focused on the road, driving as fast as she safely could while navigating around all the potholes and rocks.
I braced myself, desperate for something to do. Worried about how Sloan was faring. If she was in pain. If she was okay. If the baby was okay.
I dragged a hand down my face, wishing we weren’t in a small town in the French countryside. It was a great spot for vacationing, but I worried Sloan wouldn’t receive the same quality of care here that she would in a big city like London. Could the team ready the private plane fast enough to get her to Paris? London? Could we hire a…
“Almost there,” Lily said, pulling onto a paved road that led toward town. “I’ll drop you off at the front, and then I’ll go park.”
I appreciated Lily’s measured tone. Her planned approach. Because right now, I wasn’t thinking clearly.
The car had barely stopped when I threw open my door and sprinted into the hospital. Pierce and Jasper were in the waiting room.
“What do we know?” I asked, hugging my brother. “What happened?”
When Jasper said nothing, Pierce jumped in. “Jackson’s with Sloan. He said he’d update us as soon as he knew anything.”
“Good.”
Lily burst through the doors, scanning the room and then coming over to us. Lily gave Jasper a hug and then volunteered to get everyone coffee after we told her what we knew—which was basically nothing.
“Pierce?” she asked. “Would you mind giving me a hand?”
“Sure.”
After they left, Jasper and I took a seat, and I tried to steel myself for the unknown.
Jasper bent forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I just keep picturing the panic in Jackson’s eyes. He’s always so calm and cool, you know? And he was totally losing his shit.”
A chasm opened up in my chest, but I tried not to let it show. “It’s Sloan and the baby. Of course he was concerned. I’d be losing my shit too if something happened to Lily.”
He gave me a funny look.
I grunted, the equivalent of asking, “What?”
“Why did Lily’s family seem surprised to discover that you two were married?”
“Because…” I blew out a breath. “They have a strained relationship, and she hasn’t spoken to them in months.”
He cringed, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. “I wish I’d known. Now I feel like an ass for inviting them.”
I patted his back. “It’s not your fault.”
“Does Lily hate me?” he asked.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149