A Wifey for the Bad Boy(127)

“Stop it, Corrine,” he said, holding her but she was still doing it.

“You selfish son of a bitch!” she went on and he held her hands in his own.

“Corrine. I SAID STOP IT!” She suddenly stopped talking and looked into his eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I lost my phone and I got a concussion…”

“What?” she asked, surprised.

“I was trying to help with the rescue efforts. And there was a child trapped under a broken slab… I was trying to move it and something dropped on my back of my head. Next thing I knew I was waking up in a hospital and with the mess that was going on with the explosion… I was a John Doe until I woke up two days ago.”

“You only woke up two days ago?” She was suddenly feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. “And who the hell is that?” she asked when she saw a blond walking into the room.

“My house nurse. That was the only way I was going to get released… Gloria Velez, this is my girlfriend, Corrine.”

Corrine looked into his eyes.

Girlfriend, he had said. He already thought of her as a girlfriend. She suddenly felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

“Nice to meet you Corrine but Mr. Giovanni you need to sit down,” Gloria said. “If you are not going to stay in bed then you should at least keep off your feet.” She turned to Corrine. “You know he got out of hospital AMA? I mean, with his concussion, he shouldn’t even be flying.”

“I needed to be back home. I needed to see Corrine,” he said as he sat down. He looked at Corrine for a long second before he turned to look at Gloria. “Would you give us some privacy? I need to talk to Corrine. Alone.”

Gloria looked a little uncomfortable but Corrine forced herself to smile at her.

“I’ll make sure he stays off his feet,” she said.

“And make sure he drinks this,” Gloria said as she handed Corrine a glass of what looked like green goo.

“Not the goo again,” Dante muttered.

“The goo will replenish your electrolytes,” Gloria said. She looked at Corrine. “I can count you, right?”

“He will take every last drop,” Corrine said. “I promise.”

“Good. I’ll go to the hospital and pick up some supplies and maybe pass by the grocery store.” Gloria took her bag and began walking towards the door. “I should be back in an hour and a half. Two tops.”

Corrine looked at the glass in her hand and shrugged.

“What on earth is this?” she asked sniffing the cold goo.

“I don’t know but so far, I know there is spinach in there, banana, avocado, beets and oranges.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “At least that is what I can make out.”

She walked up to where he was and handed him the glass.

“Do I have to?” he asked.

“Doctor’s orders.” She sat down next to him and looked at him as he looked into his glass almost like he was trying to plan out how he was going to drink it.

“Would you at least get me a bottle of water to wash it down?” he asked and she nodded. “Kitchen’s right down there.”

“Thanks,” she said as she stood up. “So, I have to admit. I was really angry with you,” she said when she came back holding two bottles of water.

“I can only imagine,” he said before he downed the glass of goo. He then opened the bottle of water and took a few sips. “But you have to understand, I would have never put you through that. Deliberately.”

She forced a smile and shrugged.

“You believe me, don’t you?” he asked and she nodded reluctantly. “Corrine… I don’t want to freak you out but I am falling for you and I would never hurt you. You have to know that.”

She bit her lower lip and opened her own bottle before she took a long sip. It was not that she did not believe him. It was that she was not sure what she was about to tell him was going to make things worse or better.

“Corrine, what’s on your mind? You look like you are a million miles away right now.”

She took a long deep breath.

“Dante, I’m late,” she said in a low voice.

“Late? For what?” he asked and she shrugged. “Oh… oh… wow… okay. Are you sure?”

She shook her head.

“I took a pill after… you know but I guess things just didn’t…” she sighed. “I got a couple of home pregnancy tests… or five. Can’t leave this to chance…” her voice trailed off. “But you don’t have to feel obliged to stick around or anything…” He reached for her neck and pulled her down to kiss her. It was a long soft kiss, the kind that put all her doubts to rest. The kind that let her know he meant every single word of what he had been saying not just at that moment but also what he had been telling her all those months earlier.