Bunny cringed, almost feeling sorry for Hughes getting his head bitten off until she saw the transformation of Joseph’s face. His gaze met hers, her heart lurched, and then he closed his eyes.
“Thank you. We’ll be right down. You did the right thing.”
With the phone still in his ear, he approached one of the richly paneled walls and pressed a hidden catch, releasing the door and pulling it open for her as he ended the call and set the phone aside. “I need to get you to the hospital. It’s your grandmother.”
Her heart plummeted. “Grinnie?” She followed him to the door. “Has there been another drive-by shooting? Was she injured? Was Tristan with her?”
He wrapped his hands around her and held her securely. “They’re running tests, but it looks as though she may have had a stroke last night. We need to hurry.”
“Last night?”
He glanced at the display on his phone and showed her. “It’s morning, fiammetta.”
He urged her through the door that led into his bedroom, and she hurried to the bathroom. He found her standing in the bathroom with her change of clothing in her arms, unsure what to do, so he reached into the shower and turned on the hot water.
“Is there time?” she asked as she looked up at him. He reached for her hair clasp and deftly twisted her hair up and pinned it for her.
“There’s time if you hurry. I’ll help.”
He drew her into the spacious tiled shower and angled one of the showerheads so it wouldn’t get her hair wet. The citrusy scent of the body wash he lathered on the sponge revived her somewhat, and she scrubbed quickly while he lathered and sluiced off. He was waiting with a big bath towel when she stepped out and unpinned and brushed her hair while she put on her undergarments, still struggling with that foggy, shocked feeling.
He stopped to kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to do aftercare on your back. It’s a little red still but won’t be noticeable once your clothing is on.”
“That’s okay. Will she be all right?”
His eyes were filled with sympathy, telling her what he hadn’t with words. “We need to get you there. Tristan needs you.”
That got her moving quicker than anything else, and soon they were both rushing down the corridor to the stairs. After parading around in her birthday suit for hours on end, it felt slightly odd to be fully dressed. Her big red bucket truck was parked out front, but he tugged her toward the BMW parked nearby.
“Mine’s faster, and I don’t want you driving right now.”
“But how will I get my truck back? You shouldn’t have to cart me back and forth…” The whole time she talked he busied himself getting her into the car and buckled, and they were backing out of the parking spot within seconds.
She turned to look at him, his hair still damp, skin still flushed from lovemaking, and dampness showing through the white cotton of his short-sleeved shirt. He hadn’t even taken time to dry off before dressing, in order to help her.
“Thank you, Joseph. Sir. Thank you.”
His hands tightened on the wheel, and then he reached out and laid a gentle hand on her knee. “You’re welcome, fiammetta. I’m happy to do what I can.”
“Your guests,” she said, looking back at the mansion in the distance. “Hector, Juno, and Jillian. What will they think?”
“Hughes will explain, and I’ll call Hector from the hospital once we’ve talked to the doctors and know what’s being done.”
“You haven’t seen Hector and Juno in years. Cutting your time together short isn’t fair to them—or to you. Just drop me off at the emergency room entrance and I can handle it from there.”
He covered her clenched hands with one of his and said, “Like hell I will. I’m staying with you.”
“I’m a big girl. You don’t need to do that.”
“I do, too. There’s no way in hell I’m abandoning you to deal with this on your own, no matter what happens. So don’t ask me to just drop you off!”
He’d never raised his voice to her before or spoken in such a fashion. He was always controlled. Composed.
He lifted her hand to his and kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re sure Hector won’t be upset that you abandoned them?”
“Hector will understand. And if I had considered just dropping you off, he’d have my ass if he ever found out. A real man wouldn’t do that to the woman he loves.”
“What did you…You love me?” she whispered, almost afraid to say the words out loud in case she’d heard him wrong.