Page 101 of For Your Consideration

I might not be able to fix Iris, but I could be there for them.

“Sweetheart.”

Her eyes snapped to mine. Before she even seemed to fully register it was me, she was running. I opened my arms in time for her to crash into my chest, both her arms wrapping around my waist. I breathed for what felt like the first time in hours and ran one of my hands through her hair at the back of her head.

“You’re here,” she whispered, sounding surprised, a little dazed, and definitely tired.

“Nowhere else I would be.”

She took a deep breath, like she was inhaling my scent. She pulled back and I wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“Thank you, Ash.” Her voice was weak.

I took her elbow and moved her back to the chairs. My friends had all watched our display but I didn’t even care; they already knew how I felt about her. I pushed her gently back onto the small couch and reached for Sophie, whose arms were already outstretched for me as she let out a sad wail.

“Hey, sunshine.” Pulling her into my chest, I cradled her in my arms and the crying stopped as she shoved her face into my side. Quinn smiled and shook her head.

“I’ve been trying to settle her for an hour.” She reached over and put the soother in Sophie’s mouth. She started slow blinking and I gave her a couple of kisses on the head. I could feel her heat from how upset she’d gotten, her little cheeks all rosy.

“He’s a damn baby whisperer.” Sutton gave a small smile. The guys all took it as their cue to settle into the seats around us.

“My girl’s just tired.” Sophie closed her eyes when I ran a finger gently down her forehead. “What do we know?”

“We all need to stop meeting like this.”

I glanced toward the door to see Pearson coming in, looking serious. When I made eye contact with Oli, his chin dipped slightly, confirming that he’d called him.

Richard Pearson was the majority shareholder at the hospital and had helped us when Quinn was admitted after an accident last year. He got us a private room, allowed us to visit at all hours, and didn’t question the group of guards we had assigned to her. He was a handy man to know.

“Thanks for coming down, Richard.” Oli reached out and shook his hand.

“This time I was still in the building.”

Oli looked to me. “I waited until you got here.”

“You’re Sutton Bennett?” Richard looked at Sutton who nodded. “I looked into Iris Harris’s case and spoke with her doctor.” Sutton sat up and I used the arm that wasn’t cradling Sophie to reach out and grab her hand. She squeezed it tightly back. “She presented unresponsive with shallow breathing and a large laceration on her head from her fall. They’re finishing tests but it looks like she has a severe case of hypotension or low blood pressure. It seems to be caused by damage to some of her heart valves. We’re currently confirming that diagnosis with an echocardiogram.”

Sutton let out a breath of air as her grip on my hand tightened. “What does that mean long term?”

“We’re waiting for a few more tests and we want her to wake up first but it’s likely that she will need surgery to replace the valve and then she will be put on medication to increase her blood pressure. She’ll need some rehab but at this point we’re expecting her to make a full recovery. She will need to make some lifestyle changes like increasing her salt intake and fluids.”

I glanced over at Sutton who sat there with a little frown, her eyes misty and a lost look on her face.

“When can Sutton see her?” I asked after a few moments of letting that sit with her.

“Iris’s doctor will come get you once she’s settled in her room. It will be another hour or so before that happens. Private as requested.” Pearson nodded at Oli.

Sutton frowned at me but didn’t ask me anything about it. Which wasn’t a good sign.

“Thank you.” She let out another breath, her shoulders dropping with relief.

“No problem. Oliver has my number. Please let me know if you need anything.” With that Pearson walked out of the waiting room and I wrapped my arm around Sutton’s shoulder, pulling her into my side. She came easily.

“She’s going to be okay,” I whispered and placed a kiss on her head. She nodded but didn’t say anything. I didn’t like how quiet she’d been since I got here but having her in my arms settled me down. That was a small win and I was taking it.

The guys all started talking to each other about nothing in particular, just trying to keep the mood relaxed. I looked over and saw Knight and Quinn sitting very similarly to Sutton and me and I tried not to smile. Sutton didn’t move, instead she settled herself down so she was leaning more into my chest.

Thank God for these small couches so we weren’t blocked by an armrest.