“He’s okay. I can tell he’s scared about the surgery.”

“That’s natural. I would be too,” Connor said as he carefully lowered Julia down.

“I need to talk to you about Friday,” I said.

“What about it? That’s the day of Denny’s surgery.”

That was all he said. He didn’t mention anything about the opening or my showing. It must’ve slipped his mind with everything going on. I wasn’t going to discuss it further. I was going to get in and get out of that gallery as fast as I could. I’d be home before Connor even noticed I was missing.

“I just wanted to tell you that Mason is keeping Julia all day and all night at his place.”

“That’s fine,” he said as he leaned over and kissed me, forcing me on my back as he wouldn’t stop.

Our make-out session was interrupted by Julia’s screeches. Connor broke our kiss and we looked at her. She was on her knees, rocking back and forth.

“Oh my God, Connor, she’s going to crawl!” I exclaimed.

Instantly, he sat up and held his arms out to her. “Come to Daddy, Julia,” he said.

She stayed in that position and smiled. When she wouldn’t move, I took all her toys and moved them away from her and set one block in front of her, but far enough away so that she would have to crawl to reach it. She started to get frustrated as she kept falling over. Soon, she’d had enough and let out a full-blown cry. Connor picked her up and held her. I would never get tired of seeing him with her. Then I started to think about what Denny said and the what if’s.

“I’ll go get her a bottle. She’s probably hungry,” I said as I got up.

As I walked to the kitchen, I remembered that I had to call Vinnie and tell him not to mention the opening to Connor. That was the last thing I wanted him to worry about. I got Julia’s bottle ready and walked back to the living room, where I found Connor asleep in the oversized leather recliner and Julia curled up on his chest. Smiling, I snapped a picture with my phone and sent it to Peyton.

Since Denny’s surgery was scheduled for six o’clock in the morning, Mason had come and picked up Julia the night before. When the alarm went off, Connor rolled over and put his arm around me as I reached over and turned it off. I snuggled closer to him for a few minutes before we had to get up and get ready to go to the hospital.

“Me and you need to have a talk,” he said in a serious tone.

“About?” I replied.

“The art gallery and showing tonight.”

Shit, I thought to myself. I should have never underestimated him and thought that he’d forget something.

“What about it?”

“I’m a little pissed off that you failed to mention it to me and the fact that you’re going without me.”

I rolled over and looked at him. “How did you remember with everything going on, and how did you know I was going without you?”

“My pilot called me last night to confirm.”

“Damn him. Why didn’t you say anything last night?” I asked.

“Because Mason had just picked up Julia and I wanted to devour your body. I figured if I mentioned it, we’d fight and then no body devouring for me.”

I cocked my head in disbelief that he had just said what he did. “Are you serious?” I asked.

“Yes, I am, and I wasn’t giving that up. It’s not that often that Julia isn’t here to interrupt us.”

“I’m not talking about this now. We need to get ready and go to the hospital,” I said as I got out of bed.

Connor climbed out of bed and followed me into the bathroom. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Ellery. We are going to discuss it now.”

Who the hell did he think he was, starting an argument with me before I even had my first cup of coffee? I slipped on my silk robe and headed towards the kitchen and Connor followed behind.

“I’m coming with you; end of discussion. See, now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Connor.”

He walked over to me, picked me up, and set me on the counter. “Listen to me. You’re my wife and this is something that’s very important to you, and it’s important to me too. “

“But—”

He cut me off and brought his finger to my lips. “No buts. I love Denny and we’ll be here for his surgery. But I’m getting on that plane with you and we’re going to that art gallery together. I would never miss your first showing, or any showing, and to think that you were going to go by yourself really hurt me, Ellery.”

As I stared into his eyes, I could see the hurt in them. What the hell did I do? My eyes started to swell with tears as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I’m so sorry. I just feel so guilty having to go to this showing while someone that I love very much will be having brain surgery. I feel so selfish, Connor, and I didn’t want you to have to make a decision.”

“There was never a decision to be made, honey. I was going with you all along.”

“I’m sorry.” I began to cry.

“Let’s go upstairs and finish getting dressed so we can get to the hospital,” he said as he kissed me on my head and picked me up off the counter.

Thanks to the morning New York City traffic, we arrived at the hospital just as the nurse was getting ready to wheel Denny out of the room and into the operating room.

“I didn’t think I’d see you two before I went under the big knife and got my brain cut open,” he said.

“Damn traffic,” Connor said. “We’ll be here waiting for you when you get out, so make it quick.” He smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll try.” Denny smiled back.

After I gave him a kiss on the cheek, I whispered, “You’re strong and you can do this. Remember, I’m out here waiting for you, so you better come back.”

“I will,” he said as they wheeled him down the hallway.

Connor put his arm around Dana and led her to the waiting room. Dana’s family arrived and tried to keep her as occupied as possible. Connor and I left the waiting room and went up to the cafeteria to grab some lunch.

“Are you nervous about tonight?” he asked.

“Yes!” I smiled.

“Don’t be. You’re a very talented artist, and everyone is going to love your paintings.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re my husband.” I smiled and stuck out my tongue at him.

Connor laughed and threw a straw wrapper at me and then he glanced at his watch. “It’s been six hours already since Denny went into surgery. We should get back to the waiting room.”

He grabbed our trays and then my hand as we walked back to the waiting room. We weren’t back very long when the doctor came to speak to us.

“We were able to remove the tumor, but it did cause some cerebral hemorrhaging and there was significant swelling in the brain. During the surgery, he slipped into a coma.”

Connor grabbed Dana as she almost fell to the ground. Instantly, a sick feeling washed over me, and I needed to sit down. This can’t be happening. Doctor Armstrong continued as Connor kept a tight grip on Dana.

“This isn’t uncommon, and we’re keeping an eye on him very carefully.”

“How long will he be in a coma?” Connor asked.

Dr. Armstrong sighed as he looked at us. “There’s no telling. It could be up to twelve hours or twelve days. I wish I had an exact answer for you, but I don’t. The good news is that the tumor is gone, and the cancer didn’t spread to any other organs. So now, we just have to wait. He’s back in his room and you may go see him.”

“Thank you, Dr. Armstrong,” Connor said as he walked away.

He looked over at me and shook his head as Dana sobbed in his arms. “Come on, Dana, let’s go see him,” he said, leading her to Denny’s room.

I got up from my chair and followed behind. When we reached the room and I saw Denny lying there, tears started to fill my eyes. The soft beeps of the machines to which he was hooked up, and the white bandage that was wrapped around his head were horrifying. Dana almost collapsed before Connor sat her down in the chair. He looked over at me as the tears streamed down my face. As Dana reached over and ran her hand across Denny’s cheek, Connor came over and pulled me into him.