Page 22 of Believing in a Billionaire (Hearts and Holdings #7)

“You’re not. You’re exhausted. You’re stressed. You need some sleep.”

“I’m not going home,” he answered as he leaned back in his chair.

She arched an eyebrow. “Fine. And I’m not certain it’s an upgrade, but you can share this awful bed with me.”

“Well, that’s too good an offer to pass up,” he said with a tired smile as he rose and climbed in next to her, wrapping her in his arms.

She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heart thrum against his ribs as she closed her eyes. Before she drifted off the sleep, she felt some of the tension in his shoulders relax.

When she opened her eyes again, she found him up and staring at his phone. She yawned and stretched before she asked, “More trouble?”

He snapped his gaze up to her, attempting a reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No. Just checking some messages. How did you sleep?”

“Not bad,” she said. “Must have been the company.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked, the grin lingering on his lips.

“Better. Finally.”

A scrub-clad woman flitted into the room with a tray of food. “And I actually feel like eating. Maybe I can escape this place soon.”

“Let’s hope,” he said as she picked at the food on her plate.

“Why don’t you go get something to eat?”

“I’m fine.”

“Grant, let’s not pretend you don’t need to eat or sleep. I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about him, Step-mommy,” Sierra said as she stomped her way into the room carrying a bag and a drink tray. “I’ve got it all covered.”

“Oh, Sierra, you are the best,” Grant said as he grabbed the coffee she offered him and sipped it.

She passed him a breakfast sandwich before she swished the straw in her iced coffee and took a sip. “And I have everything else covered, too. Don’t worry, Julia, those pictures are no longer at the forefront of anyone’s mind.”

Julia sipped at the orange juice as she furrowed her brow. “How did you manage that?”

Sierra shifted her gaze to her father before she refocused on Julia. “Doesn’t matter. But I did it.”

“Sierra…” Julia began.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about Julia.”

“I’m not worried, I’m just curious,” she answered.

“Suffice it to say, the only blame bouncing around the board is aimed at Kyle.”

Julia’s stomach twisted at the words. “You blamed it all on Kyle?”

“Well, he did it.”

”But–“

“Julia,” Grant said, his tone warning, “we’re walking a fine line here. And, again, it’s nothing you should be concerned with. Focus on your recovery.”

Frustration built within her, and she tightened her grip on the plastic fork.

“It’s fine, Step-mommy,” Sierra said as she plopped on the edge of Julia’s mattress. “It’s not like I said he was a pervert or anything. I just…said he had some confused and unrequited feelings after all the drama we’d lived through, but that it was all in the past.”

Julia sucked in a breath as she polished off the eggs on her plate. Before she could answer, a white-coated doctor hurried into the room, a tablet clutched in her hand. “Mrs. Harrington, how are you feeling this morning?”

“A lot better,” she answered as she shifted to sit higher on the mattress. “Where is Kyle?”

The doctor glanced up from the screen. “Uh, Dr. Carter? He’s not on shift right now, so I’m reviewing your case, and I’ve got some good news.”

Julia offered her a tentative smile. “Can I go home?”

“You can,” she said with a smile. “Your bloodwork looks good. Your latest tox screen came back negative for any traces of poison. You can sleep in your own bed tonight.”

The grin on her lips broadened. “Thank you. How quickly can you sign me out?”

“I’ll get your paperwork started.” The doctor tapped on the tablet before she smiled and strode from the room.

“Thank you,” Julia called after her again.

Sierra wrapped her in a tight hug. “Yay! I’m so glad you’re going home.”

“So am I!” Julia exclaimed before she reached for Grant’s hand and squeezed it.

Her euphoria was replaced by some confusion. She furrowed her brow as her sister hurried inside. “You’re going home?”

“Ally, yes,” Julia said, reaching for her sister and pulling her into a hug.

“Thank goodness. Oh, Juju. I was so worried, but this is such good news.”

“I know. I’m excited to go home. And I promise I will rest and take care of myself.”

“Yes, you will,” Grant said. “I’m going to make sure of that.”

“And so will I,” Alicia said.

Sierra lifted her chin. “Me too. You are not going to move from your bed, Julia. We’re all going to take good care of you.”

“And I am going to let all of you,” Julia promised with a smile.

She leaned back against the pillow, counting the minutes until the nurse returned with her discharge instructions. She drummed her fingers on the bed as she waited for them to go over everything with her.

It had been hours since the doctor had given her the update. Her sister, Sierra, and Grant had all hovered over her as they waited to take her home. But where was Kyle?

She sucked in a breath as she finally slid into the backseat, and they headed for Harrington House. Pleased to leave the hospital behind, though worried Alicia and Sierra may kill each other on the ride home, she couldn’t stop wondering about her wayward stepson.

She found her gaze drifting up the stairs as they entered the house, greeted by Worthington.

“Mrs. Harrington, so pleased to have you home. However, I do have a request.”

“Name it,” she said.

“Please stop scaring us like that.”

She chuckled as Grant wrapped an arm around her. “I’ll try. Believe me, I have been in the hospital enough. I would like very much never to see the inside of one again.”

“Time for you to rest,” Grant said. “You heard the nurse.”

“Actually, I only paid a limited amount of attention to her. Before I go to bed, I just want to–“

“No, no, no,” Grant said with a shake of his head. “You’re not going to just do anything. You’re going straight to bed.”

“For once, I agree with him,” Alicia said. “And we don’t agree often, so…”

Grant nodded. “She’s right. You’re outvoted. Upstairs and straight to bed. Alicia, if she gives you any trouble, handcuff her.”

Julia offered him an unimpressed glance. “You’re not coming up?”

“I just have a few calls to make, then I’ll be up,” he promised before he gave her a light peck.

“Don’t work too hard.”

“Upstairs, sis,” Alicia said. “And yes, I will use the handcuffs if I have to.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Julia answered with her hands held in the air.

They reached the upstairs and Julia veered toward a back hall.

“Whoa, whoa, that’s not the way to your room,” Alicia said as she tugged her sister toward another hall.

“But I–“

“But nothing. You’re going to bed.”

With her hands firmly clamped on her sister’s shoulders, she guided her to the bedroom and tucked her under the covers before plopping in an armchair. Julia fidgeted, poking at the pillows as she scanned the night table.

“Need something, Juju?” Alicia asked.

“My phone.”

“And what do you need that for?”

Julia’s shoulders slumped as her unease grew. “I want to check my messages.”

“Waiting for a certain call?” Alicia asked as she rose and crossed to her sister’s purse. She dug through it before she waved the phone in the air and delivered it to her sister.

“Thank you,” Julia said. A press of the display button showed her a red battery. “Ugh, it’s dead. Damn it.”

“What’s wrong? What is so important on that phone?”

Julia grabbed the cord poking from behind the nightstand and plugged it in, powering it on. “I haven’t heard from Kyle since last night.”

“The crazy doctor? That’s who you’re going nuts over?”

She drummed her fingers against the phone’s side as she waited for her messages to load. “He’s not crazy. And yes, I think it’s very strange that he wasn’t at the hospital this morning.”

“So, he’s off and didn’t want to come in. What’s the big deal?”

“Ally, if I have so much as a paper cut, Kyle monitors it like it’s a gunshot wound. I had arsenic poisoning, and he didn’t come by?”

“Maybe he had something to do.” Alicia eased onto the edge of the bed as Julia scrolled through her notifications, her heart dropping.

“No, he had a fight with Grant last night, and he took off. I’m a little worried. No messages from him.”

She pressed the call icon next to his name and waited as the line trilled until it reached his voicemail. She cursed under her breath again as she ended the call without leaving a message.

The absence of any communication from Kyle twisted into a knot of worry that sat heavy in Julia’s stomach.

“He’s probably just blowing off some steam. Look, if the kid had a thing for you, and then got into it with his dad, he’s just cooling off somewhere. I mean, you did just pick his father over him.”

“Did it seem like that was bothering him while I was sick? No. We talked about it. Things were fine. Something’s wrong.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Alicia said. “What’s wrong is you sitting here worried over a grown man who left of his own free will after a fight with his dad? You need to stop worrying about him and start worrying about you.”

Julia shook her head, her forehead pinching as she settled back in the pillows.

The relief of being home was tinged by the shadow of Kyle’s absence.

She supposed her sister had a point, but she couldn’t shake the bad feeling she had.

“I’ll text him. I just…I don’t like this. I have a really bad feeling.”

The concern that gnawed at her felt like the precursor to a raging storm, something that threatened to unravel the delicate family tapestry they’d woven.