Soraya released my cock from her mouth and jumped back when she processed the words on the answering machine. I ran to the phone and picked it up, but Cambria had already hung up.
Tucking myself back into my pants, I was in a complete fog when I looked back over at her. “I need to head to the hospital.”
Soraya started frantically putting her clothes back on. “I’m going with you.”
I practically tripped over Blackie, who was apparently riled up, because he was humping his toy on the ground. I prayed that one of the best nights of my life didn’t turn into one of the worst.
CHAPTER 12
SORAYA
MY STOMACH WAS NAUSEOUS the entire ride to the hospital.
Poor Graham.
The worry in his eyes was evident as he kept staring blankly ahead. His driver had taken the rest of the night off, so Graham drove us in his BMW to Westchester.
I placed my hand on his leg. “She’ll be okay.”
“Yeah,” he said without taking his eyes off the road.
An hour later, we pulled up to Westchester Hospital. Graham took my hand as we scurried toward the entrance.
“My grandmother is here. Lil Morgan. Where can I find her?” Graham asked the woman at the front desk.
“Room 257,” she said.
The elevator ride was extremely nerve-wracking. The antiseptic smell of the hospital made me sick to my stomach. When we got to the room, a doctor and a nurse were standing next to Lil’s bed.
I immediately recognized her as the old woman with blue hair from the pictures in Graham’s phone. My heart warmed at the way her eyes brightened when she saw him.
“Graham. Who told you I was here?”
“Cambria called. Are you okay?”
“I didn’t want her to worry you.”
“She did the right thing. What happened?”
“I don’t remember. I slipped and fell, but I don’t know how it happened. They’re saying I broke my hip.”
The male doctor held out his hand. “Mr. Morgan, I’m Dr. Spork.”
“Doctor, can we speak outside for a moment?”
“Certainly.”
Graham walked out of the room with the doctor, and the nurse followed them out. They’d left me all alone with Lil.
I’d still been looking out toward the door when her voice startled me.
“You must be Soraya.”
It floored me that she knew my name, that he’d mentioned me to her.
“That’s right. It’s nice to meet you, Lil.” I smiled and sat down on the chair adjacent to her bed.
“I can see now why he’s so taken with you. You have a dark, natural beauty that’s rare to come by.”
“Thank you so much.”
Her voice sounded tired and weak. “Graham is very private. He may never give me the chance to get you alone again, so forgive me if I’m laying a lot on you at once…”
I swallowed, not expecting an interrogation. “Okay.”
“I know, at times, my grandson can be an absolute prick.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding and laughed. “Yeah. I found that out pretty quickly when we first met.”
“And I heard that you called him out on his crap.”
“I did.”
“Good. But you know, that’s not really who he is deep down.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
“When his mother died, he internalized everything. It took a long time for him to put himself out there, and the one time he took a chance, he got burned.”
“Genevieve?”
Lil looked shocked. “So, he told you about her…”
“Well, I know a little. I know that she’s with his former friend, Liam, now.”
“Yes. That situation was bad. In many ways, it undid any progress he’d made after my daughter Celia died. I honestly wasn’t sure if Graham would ever open his heart to anyone again. But I sense it might be happening with you.”
Hearing her say that made my heart feel like it was going to burst. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that there’s a lot more to him than he shows. It seems you know more than I thought you did, which is good. Just don’t let him convince you that he’s unbreakable.”
“I’m more afraid of him breaking me, to be honest.”
“Don’t be afraid to get hurt. It’s far better than never experiencing anything earth-shattering. Even temporary joy is better than nothing at all. You’re afraid of getting hurt like I’m afraid to die. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to live every day to its fullest.”
I placed my hand over hers. “Thank you for that advice.”
Graham walked in at that exact moment. “Uh oh. I smell trouble stirring up.”