Come To Me (9 page)

Chapter
Eleven

       Baron
didn’t know what to do. His instinct was to gather her in his arms and tell her
he loved her and it would be all right. He didn’t want her thinking she’d been
cheating on Tony. He realized that’s the conclusion she’d come to. It ate at
him. But he remembered what the doctor had said and it was clear to him her head
hurt the more she tried to force her memories. This was screwed up, but he couldn’t
stand her in pain. He only answered truthfully what she asked. He’d be damned
if he lied to her. Or let her ache like this.

“You
didn’t cheat on Tony.” Damn he’d spoken and forgotten she couldn’t hear him.
She’d placed her hands over her face to hide her tears. He touched her wrists and
brought them down, wiping at her tears. He couldn’t help himself. He grasped
her shoulders. Leaning forward, he kissed her eyelids then her nose before he
moved to her mouth. At first, her lips trembled against his own, followed by
the rest of her body. But she opened for him and he touched her tongue with
his. Everything exploded in his chest he had to pull her closer go deeper into
her.

Suddenly,
she groaned before she leaned back, but what he’d taken as a sound of pleasure
was really one of pain when she cried out, “My head.”

He
watched as her eyes glazed over and rolled up into her skull, then she went
limp in his arms. He pushed the call button then ran out of the door to get the
nurse. She met him at the threshold and ran past him.

“She
just fainted,” he said. “She cried out ‘my head’, like she was in pain.”

The
nurse examined her and picked up the phone and paged her physician.

“What’s
wrong with her,” he asked.

“I’m
not sure. The doctor will be here any moment and look at her.”

It
felt like they waited for eons but it was just minutes before a tall, stocky
man in a white coat entered the room. He didn’t recognize him, perhaps he was
the one on call. Gladys repeated what he’d told her to the physician, who
glanced up at him and asked him to wait outside. The nurse ushered him out of
the room before he had his wits about him enough to voice a protest. The door
closed in his face, and he stood against the far wall staring at nothing. He
wasn’t budging until they told him what was going on and that she was going to
be all right. Suddenly the nurse rushed out slamming the door behind her. She
was only gone a minute before she hurried back with a tray in her hand. He saw
several small packets on it. She ran past him fast then shut him out again. His
heart hammered in fear.

Time
seemed to flow through a tunnel. Everything at one end of it still moved, but
on the side where he stood against the wall, it had stopped. It didn’t start
again until Gladys came out and told him he could come back in. The doctor
stood at the foot of Jas’ bed writing something on her chart, then he looked up
at him.

“She’s
fine. I think maybe her memory is trying to reassert itself and that’s
triggering her headaches and caused her to pass out. Can you tell me what you
were talking about before she fainted?”

“I
kissed her.”

“Ah,
I see. And you’re her fiancé?”

“Yes,
but she doesn’t know that. She thinks my best friend is.”

The
doctor’s eyebrows rose. “I see. Did she ask you about that?”

He
shook his head. “No. She thinks we’ve been cheating on him. Oh fuck! What a
mess.” He raked his hand through his hair.

“Don’t
be too upset. There’s no reason why her memory shouldn’t return in time. The
results so far don’t indicate any long-term damage. She came to and her head
was still hurting, so I gave her a mild sedative to help her sleep. Let’s see
how she’s doing in the morning and maybe after a CT scan. We might be able to release
her if the results are good and just keep an eye on her. We’ll follow up in a
few days. Meanwhile, if she is discharged, I’ll give her a prescription for her
headaches.”

“Should
I tell her who I really am to her?”

“She
doesn’t recognize you?”

“No.
But she feels something for me. I believe it’s because she does that she’s so
upset thinking she’s cheated on the man she thinks is her fiancé.” Baron
snorted at the irony.

“It’s
best, in these situations, to go slowly. When she is released, she should
return home, be in familiar surroundings and hopefully that will help trigger
her memories.”

“We
live together, Doctor. We’re supposed to be getting married in two months.”

“Then
I think it might be best to tell her the truth. Explain it in the morning. Let
her get a good night’s sleep, you too. I’ll see her again in the morning after
the scan. And if everything checks out, she’ll be free to go.”

“Thank
you, Doctor.” He shook his hand and left.

Baron
moved over to the bed and stared at the woman sleeping on it. He ran his
fingers through her soft hair. “Come back to me, Jasmine. I love you so much.
Remember me. Remember our love, our plans, our future.” He bent and kissed her.
As he pulled away he whispered against her lips, “Remember me.”

The
sun had barely risen when Baron got off the elevator on Jasmine’s floor. He’d
gone home but he couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t beside him. In the three months
that they’d been together, he’d been traveling more than usual and he knew she
didn’t like it. Neither did he. But this last trip was the final one. From now
on, he’d only have to travel a couple of times a year. He would not leave her
for long again.

Jasmine
woke up and the headache was gone. She tried to rise just as the door opened
and Baron stepped in. He didn’t look like he’d slept much. Purple shadows
underlined his beautiful eyes and they appeared wary and a little sad. She
blinked. How could she read him so well? She remembered their kiss like
something they’d done often. The blood rushing through her system and heat
pooling in her lower abdomen told her this was something she wanted to do a
thousand times. And even more than just kiss. But it wasn’t right.

He
flashed a beautiful set of pearly whites at her and pulled the chair near the
bed even closer before he sat and took her hand. “Hi.”

He’d
mouthed the words but she understood him. She grinned. “Good morning.”

The
writing pad rested on the nightstand. He wrote on it so she could see.
‘The doctor said he might release you
today.’

She
smiled. “That’s great. Maybe if I’m back in my own place I’ll begin to
remember.”

He
nodded and wrote.
‘Yes, that’s what he
thinks, too.’

“Is
Tony coming by later to take me home?” Again, a flash of hurt crossed his
features when she mentioned Tony. She had to know. That kiss… “There is more
between us than just friends. I feel that much, but if I’m engaged to Tony….”

He
shook his head and spoke, but she shrugged and pointed at the notebook. Her
heart raced as she read what he’d written, surprisingly there was no blinding
pain. It made sense. She had been attracted to Baron from the first time she’d
laid eyes on him and on a level she didn’t understand. More so than her fiancé.
Who according to what he wrote,
‘You’re
not engaged to Tony,’
means Tony wasn’t her fiancé at all.

She
raised her hand and stared at her ring, and then at him. “Who am I engaged to?”

“Me.”

He
didn’t need to put that on the pad. She understood him perfectly. He leaned
over and kissed her. She kissed him back. He placed his hands at her sides, and
she wrapped her arms around his neck. Yes. This felt right. He felt right. His
arms around her, his scent, all of it familiar. Yet she still couldn’t remember
her life with him and pulled back.

“I’m
so sorry,” she cried. “When I woke up and saw Tony, well, his was the last face
I could remember.”

“Shhh.”
He placed his fingers over her lips to silence her and found the pad with his
other hand.
‘It’s all right. I understand.
Tony is my best friend and I will be forever grateful to him for saving your
life. Just know that I love you. Always.’

She
cried even more, knowing in the depths of her soul what he told her was true.
He loved her. But did she love him? She stared at him and thought she might.
Initially, she thought she was engaged to Tony. Why would she think that? Was
she having an affair with Tony? No.

A
different nurse came by to take her to imaging. When she got back she brought
her breakfast, and Baron ran to get a cup of coffee. By the time he returned,
the doctor was there. He’d sent her home her with a prescription for pain meds
and she had to follow-up in a few days. If her memory and hearing still hadn’t
returned by then, he would send her to see a specialist.

She
didn’t bother to eat her food. Once she had her walking papers, Baron helped
her pack her stuff up and they left. She watched the traffic as they drove down
the highway—none of it looked familiar to her. When they pulled off the
main road and into an underground garage, she turned to Baron.

“Is
this your place?” she asked.

“Ours,”
he mouthed.

She
grinned and shook her head. “Ours.”

He
nodded and got out of the car coming around to meet her, but she opened the
door and was already standing by the time he reached her. He took her arm.

“It’s okay. I can walk,” she said.

He
slid his hand down from her arm to entwine their fingers together. She glanced
down at their joined hands. She liked that much better, enjoying his touch, and
squeezed him. He winked at her, led the way over to the elevators, then hit the
button for the eighth floor.

She
wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she arrived at the condo, but there was
no recognition at all. There was a small entrance area with a door that looked
like a closet, then beyond that was an open kitchen area. She went further into
the room, which was really the living room. The furnishings appeared to be more
on the masculine side, all dark greens and browns. She frowned. How long had
they been living together? She moved over to a bookshelf and picked up a framed
photograph of her and Baron on the top shelf. They had their arms entwined
around each other and they weren’t staring at the camera but at each other. The
photographer had captured the moment. It answered part of her question. The
camera had highlighted a spark in her eyes. She did love Baron. At least when
that picture had been taken she had. She wished she could remember it.

Jasmine
needed to talk to Tony. She had to be sure they hadn’t been having some sort of
affair. Why would she have been with him that night and not Baron? She didn’t
want to ask Baron these questions, but she wasn’t quite sure how to bring Tony
up. Pain had crossed his features last night and earlier this morning when
she’d mentioned his pal’s name.

Baron
came over to her and touched her shoulders. When he began to speak, she shook
her head. He held up one finger then turned away from her and headed down the
hallway on the right. She followed behind him into a bedroom. It held the same
colors in the living room but in reverse. Where green dominated the living
area, brown dominated the bedroom. The furnishing was heavy dark wood. Only the
bedspread looked like something a woman would have chosen. It was a green silk
spread with a brown leaf pattern threaded across it. He moved beside the bed
and saw the iPad
that lay on the
nightstand. He turned it on, typed on it, then handed it to her.

‘How are you feeling?’

“I’m
fine,” she said. “But I’m sorry I don’t recognize anything.”

He
squeezed her shoulders and then kissed her nose. Stepping back from her, he
typed again.
‘Don’t worry about it. It
will come back to you in time. Are you hungry?’

The
hospital had served her breakfast but it had looked unappealing so she didn’t
eat it. She realized she was hungry now. “Yes, I can go for something.”

Baron
suddenly pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

She watched his
mouth move. Frankly, what she wanted to do was kiss those full lips of his. She
grinned at the thought and sat on the bed looking around the room. Nothing
there seemed familiar. Baron finished his call and sat next to her.

“Everything
okay?” she asked.

He
nodded. Then typed on the iPad.
‘Yes,
that was Tony. I told him not to stop by the hospital, that we’re home.’

She
realized there was only one way to deal with her fears. She needed to talk to
Tony. The sooner the better. Jasmine couldn’t move forward with Baron until her
memories returned or until she knew that Tony was not a factor in their
relationship. Stupid maybe, but she was too confused. She didn’t want to upset either
man needlessly.

“Can
he join us for lunch? I don’t want to go out, though. Do we have anything
here?”

“Okay,”
he mouthed.