Page 111 of A Forbidden Arrangement

Xander sits beside me, where my legs dangle over the side of the hospital bed, ready to get out of here as soon as possible. His brows are pulled down, mouth pinched as he scans over my face.

“Stop hovering,” I laugh and give him a gentle shove. He’s been glued to me this entire time. Not that I exactly hate it.

His hand tightens where it rests against my thigh. “Not hovering,” he mutters.

I give him a sideways look. “You’re literally the definition of hovering.”

He exhales through his nose, eyes flicking down to my legs swinging off the edge of the bed. “You should still be lying down.”

“Ishouldbe home,” I counter.

“Let’s see what the doctor says.” Xander’s low voice is missing its normal control. Instead, it’s laced with worry, and no matter how many times I tell him I’m okay, he hasn’t stopped fussing.

Giving up, I lean into him, letting him wrap his arm around my waist and tuck me closer as I watch the chaos around us.

All of my sisters and brothers-in-law are here. They’d been frantic when they showed up, surrounding me and unleashing a rapid-fire list of questions. They made sure that I received every test known to man: X-ray, MRI, blood test, urine test. You name it, I did it.

The poor doctor had been harassed so much that she snuck out, using the excuse of getting my labs.

Misty glances over at me with motherly concern, then gives me a warm smile. The three women have been rotating, checking on me, keeping their distance after Xander practically growled at them that I needed space.

He’s able to read me entirely too easily now. By the time I realized that I was already feeling overwhelmed, Xander was already telling them to back off.

I’m not used to being surrounded by so many people, worry practically radiating off them. This is the kind of giant family I’ve never had, never dared wish for.

For most of my life, I learned to stay out of the way. My parents didn’t keep me long. Foster homes blurred together after that. Then there was the fiancé who pretended to love me, thencheated. Every time I thought I’d found solid ground, it cracked right under me.

But now, there’s this. Xander’s arm around me, his family taking up every inch of this room. For the first time, I don’t feel like a guest in someone else’s life.

My eyes burn, and I take a breath. Something deep inside me finally settles. I glance at the tattoo peeking out between my wedding rings. As much as I hate to believe it, Xander’s methods may have been just what I needed to truly feel safe.

His warm kiss presses into my forehead, careful to avoid the thin cuts from the broken glass.

“Do you want me to kick them out?”

“No, but do you think you could, even if I wanted you to?”

“There’s nothing that you want that I wouldn’t do for you.” He contemplates that for a second. “Although in this case, you may be the one rescuing me from my sisters.”

I laugh, feeling all warm and bubbly. It hasn’t even been a few hours since someone tried to murder me, but still, I’ve never been so happy.

“Mrs. Everette.” All of the women look toward the doctor coming through the door. Her brows shoot up, and she stumbles for a second, then steadies herself. The wrinkles in her deep brown skin around her eyes and the silver strands weaving through her curls are a strong indicator that this isn’t her first time dealing with nosy families like this. She bypasses the rest of the Everettes, coming to stand in front of me at the bed. “Dahlia.”

“Is she okay?” Xander cuts in, and I elbow him in the ribs.

“I told you I’m fine. Just let her talk so we can get out of here.”

Xander makes a displeased sound but doesn’t interrupt again.

“That’s right, Dahlia. Your results came back clear. Other than some scrapes and bruises, everything is good.” She flips through a few pages of her chart, then smiles at me. “And don’t worry. The baby is doing perfectly too.”

Chapter 47

Xander

“What?”Dahlia and I say in unison.

The doctor’s brow furrows. “You didn’t know?”