Page 98 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal

"Stable, but…" I ran my hand through my hair and let my shoulders sink as we both turned to look down at her. Our shoulders touched, but Tessa didn’t pull away. "The doctors say her brain activity is good, but she hasn't woken up since the accident. A drunk driver ran a red light downtown. Her car flipped twice."

Tessa's sharp intake of breath made me look at her more closely.

Tears were gathering in her eyes as she watched Elena's motionless form, and the compassion on her face reminded me why I'd fallen in love with her in the first place.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I know I don't have any right to be here, but?—"

"You have every right." I took her hand and squeezed it but didn’t look at her. I didn't want to scare her away. Somehow, she had shown up and was an answer to a prayer. "And I want you here."

A shadow crossed Tessa's face and her chin tucked downward toward her chest. "Luci…"

"Thank you for coming," I said, and I turned to face her, hoping she would do the same, but she remained facing Elena, watching the monitors as they hummed and clicked.

"Daniel told me about the MBA grant," she said, changing the subject with obvious effort. "I wanted to thank you." She had come because of personal reasons, but she was still pretending to be professional.

But none of my other employees had stopped by, only Daniel, and he didn't come into the room once.

I had to respect that Tessa was trying to mend whatever had been broken by coming, but the professional stuff made my heart ache. I shook my head. "You don't need to thank me. You earned it."

"We both know that's not entirely true."

"It is true." I stepped closer, close enough to catch her familiar scent beneath the hospital's antiseptic smell. "You're brilliant, Tessa. You deserve the world, not just some grant from Cross Capital."

That broke her composure completely. Tears spilled over, and she covered her face with her hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Without thinking, I closed the distance between us and pulled her against my chest, feeling her warmth seep through my wrinkled shirt.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry things got so messed up. I never meant for you to carry all this weight alone. The pressure from the board, from Viktoria, from me—you shouldn't have had to handle any of it."

She clung to me, her tears soaking through the fabric, and for a moment the hospital room faded away.

This was what I'd been missing—not just her body, but her presence, her trust, the way she fit perfectly against me when the world felt too heavy.

"Luci," she said against my chest, her voice muffled and shaky.

"What?"

She pulled back to look at me, and the expression on her face made my heart stop. Fear, hope, desperation—all warring in her hazel eyes that danced around my face with eyebrows high, seeking recognition.

"It worked," she whispered.

I didn't understand immediately. "What worked?"

"Our arrangement. What we were trying to do." Her hands gripped my shirt, holding on as if I might disappear. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" I mumbled as her words sank in. Of course she was pregnant.

We'd been purposefully having as much sex as possible to make that dream of hers a reality, and she was here to tell me.

Something pinched in my chest, twisting and writhing against the relief I'd felt only moments before.

Tessa was here to tell me she was having my baby, and I was an idiot to think she'd come for me.

I almost let her go, but I couldn't.

The pain screaming in my chest made me hold her more tightly.

Tears welled up as I buried my face in her hair and clamped my eyes shut. "That's so amazing. I'm so happy for you," I told her, but the words were broken, choked out and mumbled.