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Sullivan parked his car down the block from Lana’s place and waited. He would have rather followed behind Jessica to make sure she brought Lana home safely, but if Lana had spotted him there would have been hell to pay. This was much easier, even if it was more nerve-wracking for him. He had to make sure she was all right and home without incident.
He couldn’t be sure exactly when they would arrive, but he’d know when they left. He’d charmed one of the nurses on Lana’s floor to text him when she was discharged and heading out the door. If they went straight to Lana’s, then they would be at her place in less than twenty minutes. If they were more than a half hour he’d be forced to take drastic actions. No one, especially him, wanted that to happen. He was already teetering on the edge of exploding. Not having control of the situation already put him at a disadvantage, and Sullivan hated it. He had reacted instead of planning methodically until everything fell the way he wanted them to.
Lana lived in a decent neighborhood—not that there were bad areas in Envill, but there were some that were better than others. This one fell in the middle of the spectrum. She had done all right for herself. A well of something filled him—pride perhaps. Yes, that had to be it. He was amazed at her independence and determination to do things her own way, even when it irritated the hell out of him.
A car door slammed, echoing with another loud bang, making him jump out of his own thoughts. He glanced around the neighborhood, checking for any sight of Jessica and Lana. A dog barked in the distance followed by a shout, “Shut up, Hades, or I’ll send you to the Underworld!”
Sullivan chuckled at that outburst. He wasn’t sure who he felt sorrier for, the owner or the dog. Hades, the poor thing, continued to bark happily, and his owner cussed him to hell and back. The little outburst gave him something else to focus on temporarily. He should probably park a little farther away from Lana’s house. In his current position, she was sure to recognize him and berate him for stalking or some shit.
He was going to check on her, but he’d rather do it when Jessica left. A little alone time was needed between him and Lana. She wasn’t in any condition for anything other than talking, and he desperately wanted to hold her in his arms and do a hell of a lot more than was wise. He’d have to settle for something less satisfying—maybe a hug.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. Sullivan pulled it out and cursed as he recognized the number. He hit the accept button and said, “I assume you have news.”
Wilson Stuart replied, “I have something else I’d like you to see. I don’t trust sending it electronically. Can you come back to the office or perhaps meet me someplace private?”
He wanted to say no. Lana still hadn’t arrived, and he didn’t like not knowing she made it home safe. His company was important though, and he’d made a promise to his father regarding it. There were a lot of expectations that had fallen on his shoulders the moment he took over as CEO of Brady Blue. At the time, he’d been glad for them. Now, though, he wished he’d never taken over and could tell Wilson to shove it.
“How urgent is it?” He forced himself to remain calm. “Can it wait until morning?”
“I’d rather not...” The hesitation in Wilson’s voice echoed through the connection. “I’m afraid this is much bigger than either one of us anticipated. I made copies and had them sent to your home, but this really needs to be addressed as soon as possible. We must meet so I can explain them to you.”
Sullivan swore under his breath. Lana would have to wait, and it killed him to have to admit it. What he wanted didn’t matter anymore. There were some things he couldn’t ignore, and Wilson’s request happened to be one of them. He’d have to suffer through the meeting and check back on Lana later.
“Meet me in my office in a half hour,” Sullivan said and ended the call.
A knock on his car window caught his attention. He glanced up and met Lana’s gaze. Fuck. This wasn’t his night—he’d been so absorbed with his phone call, he hadn’t seen Jessica’s car or noticed her walk up. Speaking of which, where the hell was Jessica?
Lana placed her hands on her hips and stared down at him expectantly. The muscles in her cheek clenched and her face was flushed almost as red as her hair. He was in for a scathing set down and the sick, twisted part of him kind of looked forward to it. Lana was sexy on a good day, but pissed off Lana—hell yes. Too bad he couldn’t do anything about it.
He rolled his window down and lifted a brow. “Yes?”
“What are you doing parked near my house?”
It wasn’t the time to admit he’d been waiting for her to return. She would use it against him, and he’d rather have time to discuss it with her later. Now he had to return to Brady Blue and have his meeting with Wilson Stuart. At least he could relax knowing she was home while he returned to the office.
“I had to pull over for a call.” He wiggled his phone in his hand as an exhibit of his honesty. “It’s not safe to drive and talk, or did you want me to risk my life along with others’?”
Her lip twitched at his rebuke. She didn’t like the response, but it amused him to watch her react to it. How had he managed to resist her as long as he had? He was a damn fool, that was why.
“Bullshit,” she said. “There is no reason for you to be in this neighborhood. I don’t buy it.”
“Would you like to look at my phone?” He held it out to her. “You can see what time my last call was accepted.”
She blew out a breath and shook her head. “I am tired and quite frankly sick of looking at you. Leave or I’ll call the police and tell them there is a stranger stalking the children in the neighborhood.”
Lana would do it too. She never held back and always did what she said she would. It was one of the things he liked about her. The no-nonsense attitude and intelligence radiated from her. “As luck would have it, I have to return to the office. If you need...”
“I won’t,” she interrupted. “Go, Sully. I can take care of myself.”
That may be true, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to take care of her. Sometimes it felt like he’d loved her forever, and he wasn’t going to walk out of her life permanently again. The days of him acting the fool were done. He would make her realize they belonged together no matter how long it took. His unwavering patience would come in handy in this situation. That was if he could discover where he’d misplaced it. With Lana, he’d failed to tap into that particular skill set of his. In the end, he’d win her over. He refused to believe in any other outcome.
“Trust me,” he said and then smiled. “All of us are well aware of your independence and capabilities. That doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help from time to time. That’s what family is for.”
She jerked back as if he’d slapped her. What was wrong with what he’d said? Everyone in his family would do anything for her. Surely she understood that. His parents adored her and always had. That was why they’d offered to pay for her schooling. Stubborn as she was, Lana had insisted on paying them back and somehow managed to do it too. They loved her even more for that because it showed she didn’t want to take advantage of their connection.
“Right,” she said stiffly. “Family.”
“Yes,” he replied cautiously. “Call my office or the mansion. Anyone there will help you if you need it.”
“As I said, I don’t. You would be the last person I turned to for anything.” She wrapped one of her arms around her stomach. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to lay down and rest for a while. This trip home has been more exhausting then I thought it would be.”
Shit. “Where is Jessica? Wasn’t she bringing you home?” Maybe he should get out of the car and see her inside. He didn’t like how she looked. All the color had drained from her face and she was a little breathless. Maybe she shouldn’t have left the hospital yet.
“Jessica already left,” she said. “I told her to go; she was suffocating me. I happened to look outside and saw your car. I’ve been home for over a half hour now.”
How was that possible? He should have made it to the house before them. The damn nurse had failed to text him. His charm never failed before... What had gone wrong? He didn’t like this one bit.
He flipped his phone over and unlocked it. A missed text message glowed on the screen. How the hell had he failed to notice that? Had he been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized she’d texted him? He was off his game, but at least he wasn’t as far off as he’d thought. The nurse had come through—it was him who had failed to follow through.
“Missing something important?” Lana asked, annoyance filling the words.
He shook his head. “Nothing I can’t see to later.” Surely, Wilson could wait a little longer. It couldn’t be that important... Lana needed him even if she didn’t want to admit it. He’d see her back inside, and then he’d go back to the office. He wouldn’t feel right if he left her alone in the middle of the block while he drove off.
“Don’t put it off on my account.” She turned to walk away. Not once did she look back at him. He glanced down at his phone and then back at her. He clutched it tight in his hand and made a snap decision. Her reaction had pissed him off, so he grabbed his keys and stepped out of his car to follow behind her.
“Lana, wait,” he called after her. “Let me...”
She spun on her heels on the sidewalk outside of her house and faced him. “What do you want from me, Sully? You’ve been acting strange since I woke up in the hospital?”
He stopped short in front of her. Should he tell her how he felt? No. Laying it all out for her now would make her run far and fast in the opposite direction. He wanted her too much to make that mistake now. She would have to be wooed or she’d never give him a chance. He wanted a life with her too much to mess it up. That made it difficult to completely answer her question. He could give her some truth and hope she accepted it.
“You scared us—me,” he admitted softly. “It’ll be a while before I can shake that feeling. The only way I can reassure myself you’re all right is to check on you from time to time. Is that so bad?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down. He didn’t like that one bit. He wanted to look into her eyes and see that she understood what he was saying. Sullivan reached out and placed his hand under her chin. She glanced up and met his gaze. The pain in her eyes broke his heart a little bit. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, unable to stop himself. She leaned into him, placing her hands on his chest and sighed. The need to push for more grew inside of him, but he tampered it down. She wasn’t ready for any of that. He pulled back from the sweetest kiss he’d ever known before it escalated into the passionate one he craved.
His phone vibrated in his hand, and he wanted to crush it for interrupting the moment. It had been breathtaking and left him hopeful for more. He clutched the offensive phone in his hand and fought not to look at it. Lana darted her gaze toward it and then took it as a reason to step back. She shook her head and said, “Don’t. Go see to whoever that is. I’m going inside my house.”
This time he let her, but he made sure to watch until she disappeared inside. There was plenty of time to come by later and finish their discussion and see if there was a chance of convincing her they had something between them. He believed there was, and that little interchange convinced him she thought so too. Sullivan glanced down at his phone and cursed. This time the text was from his assistant, demanding he return to the office. What the hell had happened now?