Skye squeezed her hand and fought tears. “Nothing that dramatic. Oh, Izzy, I’m sorry we’ve been fighting. I’ve felt awful about that.”
“I staged the explosion for just this reaction. I love it when a plan goes well.”
“It worked perfectly. I was so angry at you and I can’t even say why.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you or say you couldn’t get the guy. There was just something about him.”
“He was working for Garth.”
“What?” Izzy nearly rose into a sitting position before falling back onto the bed. “No way.”
“Oh, yeah. He was being paid and everything. I don’t know if it was to actually try to get me engaged or to play us against each other.”
“I’ll bet he was just supposed to make trouble.”
“And we played right into his hands,” Skye said with a sigh.
“You more so than me,” Izzy told her.
“As always, your support brings me such joy.”
Izzy smiled, then the smile faded. “Working for Garth. That asshole.”
“Tell me about it. Are you okay? Did you care about T.J.?”
“No. He was mildly interesting.” She squeezed Skye’s fingers. “I’m sorry I slept with him. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“You were a little.”
Izzy hesitated. “Maybe. You’re very sanctimonious sometimes with your perfect life.”
“My life isn’t perfect.”
“Of course it is. You’re a great mother raising a great kid. You started a foundation to feed hungry children. How are the rest of us supposed to compete with that?”
Skye didn’t know what to say. “It’s not a competition.”
“Sometimes it feels like it. Lexi is all smart and business-y. You’re like Mother Teresa with breasts and red hair and I’m the idiot who gets blown up.”
“Don’t say that,” Skye told her, fighting tears. “You’re my sister and I love you. I don’t know what happened with T.J. I really don’t. He pushed our buttons, that’s for sure. You’re all sexy and adventurous. Guys are into that.”
“Maybe.” She touched the bandages on her eyes with her free hand. “How did you find out about T.J.?”
“Mitch heard him talking to Garth. But I should probably tell you that after you told me you’d slept with T.J. and he was still planning to go out to dinner with me, I decided to teach him a lesson.”
Izzy grinned. “Yeah?”
“Uh-huh.” Skye told her about the dinner and the not-so-subtle invitation to bed. “He jumped at it, which is disgusting. He’d just been with you. So I told him off.”
Izzy laughed. “On the sidewalk?”
“Right outside the restaurant. After I had his car towed.”
“Go, Skye.”
“Thank you. It felt good. Then I called Lexi and we’ve been spreading some very nasty rumors about him. Everything from him being bad in bed to embezzlement to having a dick the size of a peanut.”
“So I was seriously flirting with danger by pissing you off,” Izzy said.
“You were, but you’ve always been brave. Which is why I know you’ll want to schedule the surgery right away.”
Izzy pulled her hand free. “That wasn’t a very smooth transition.”
“Come on. You know you’re going to do this.”
“I don’t know. I have to think about it.”
“What’s to think about?”
“Total blindness.”
“If you don’t have the surgery, you’ll be stuck where you are.”
“Until the bandages come off, I don’t know what that means. It’s my decision, Skye. Back off.”
“But you have to-”
Izzy pointed in the general direction of the door. “Aren’t visiting hours over? Shouldn’t you be leaving?”
“Izzy, don’t. I’ll stop talking about it.”
“Just go. I’m tired. I don’t want to talk anymore. Go on. You can come back later.”
Skye wasn’t sure what to do. After a few seconds, she rose and kissed her sister’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I won’t mention it again.”
“Like I believe that.”
“I’ll be by later.”
“It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
Skye left. Everything had gone great with the visit, right up until the end. Why couldn’t she leave well enough alone? Why did she have to push?
She paused in the hallway, not sure what to do. Should she wait and see her sister in a couple of hours or come back later? Before she could decide, she saw a man walking toward her.
Every part of her went still, as if knowing he was here made her world right again. She didn’t have to decide on her own. She could ask his opinion because he would tell her what he thought and he thought things through. He was tough and difficult and smart and sexy and he made her laugh. He protected her and Erin. He was someone she could depend on. Just as important, she burned for him.
She walked toward him. When they were next to each other, he pulled her close.
“You okay?” Mitch asked.
“No. Izzy and I had a fight. I was pushing. Why do I do that? She’s still in the hospital. I shouldn’t be pushing.”
He led her over to a couple of plastic chairs in an alcove. They sat down. He laced their fingers together.
“Why were you fighting?”
“She needs surgery. The doctors can’t know for sure, but they expect her eyesight to be at about thirty percent when the bandages come off. It should stabilize there, but there’s also a chance it could get worse.”
“That has to scare the hell out of her,” he said.
“It does. But it can all be fixed with surgery. They can repair the damage and restore her to full sight. She’ll be better than new.”
Mitch’s dark eyes stared into her. “What’s the downside?”
“If the surgery goes wrong, she’ll be totally blind. The odds are tiny. The surgeon has never had it happen. But Izzy hasn’t scheduled the operation. I was pushing her to get it done, to get everything fixed, then move on. She won’t.”
“It’s only been a couple of days. Give her time. She’s adjusting to a lot.”
She wanted to snatch back her hand but was determined not to act like a five-year-old. “Are you taking her side?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no reason to rush the surgery. She has time. Let her come to terms with what’s happened to her. It’s a big shock.”
Her gaze dropped to his leg. In his jeans and boots, she couldn’t see the proof that he knew what he was talking about but it was there.
“Have I mentioned I hate it when you’re reasonable?” she asked.
“No, but I’m not surprised.”
That made her smile. She drew in a breath. “Fine. I’ll let it go for now. You’re right. There’s no huge rush. It’s just this isn’t like her. She doesn’t usually react so passively.”
“She just got blown up, Skye. Give her a break.”
“There’s that logic thing again. She’s my sister. I want her to be okay.”
“She will be.” He glanced at his watch. “Are you going to stay here? Do you want me to meet Erin’s bus?”
Because her daughter would be home in a couple of hours after her last day of school. Because someone had to be there for her. But Erin wasn’t his responsibility. Not that the information would stop Mitch. He would do the right
