Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            After returning the cup to the table next to his bed, she did something on an iPad before smiling down at him again. “Dr. Lorenzo will be in soon to discuss the procedure. Your wife should be back in just a minute. She was exhausted from sitting up all night, so I sent her down to get some coffee—”

            Vlad’s brain was sluggish, so it took him a second to catch up to what she said. “My what?”

            The nurse looked up from her iPad. “Your wife? Elena?”

            “M-my wife is not here.”

            The nurse’s smile turned amused. “You don’t remember her getting in last night?”

            Vlad shook his head as his heart began to pound. No, that was a dream. Wasn’t it? But the wisp of a memory pulled his eyes toward the couch by the window. On the floor was a suitcase and a backpack. Her backpack.

            Everything is going to be okay.

            The sound of the door brought his gaze in the other direction. He rose up on his elbows as she walked in with a to-go cup of coffee, her fist pressed against a wide yawn. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she wore a large sweatshirt with the word MEDILL emblazoned across her chest.

            She stopped short when she saw him, and the yawn became a gentle smile. “You’re awake,” she said in English.

            Vlad coughed against his dry throat. “You are really here?”

            The nurse laughed and looked at Elena. “He doesn’t remember much about last night. I was just telling him that the surgeon will be in in a few minutes. Do you need anything until then?”

            The question was directed at him, but Vlad was still staring at Elena. She answered for him with a quiet, “No, thank you.”

            The nurse left a moment later, and when the door clicked shut, it was as loud as an air horn announcing to the world that they were alone. Vlad tried twice to speak but failed both times as she inched toward his bed. He still didn’t trust that he was actually awake. This could all just be a hallucination to distract him from the nightmare of his reality. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him by dangling the illusion of the only thing he wanted more than hockey.

            “Are you okay?” Elena set down her coffee next to his water and then rested her hands on the arm of his bed. “Can I do anything?”

            He licked his dry lips as he reclined again. “How did you get here?”

            “Josh got me a flight.”

            Josh had said that he would call Vlad’s family. He hadn’t said anything about calling Elena. “I don’t understand. Why are you here?”

            The brusqueness of the question, which was more a product of his shock than his intent, made her lips part in surprise. “Josh thought—I mean, we didn’t want you to be alone.”

            That was the last thing he needed. Her pity. “I’m sorry he bothered you. You didn’t have to come.”

            Her mouth fell open again. “He didn’t bother me. I thought—”

            “Where’s my phone?”

            She started again at his tone. “I—I don’t know. I think they put your stuff in the closet.”

            “I need to check my messages.”

            “I’m sure anyone who texted you will understand if you haven’t responded yet.”

            “My parents—”

            “I can call and update them.”

            “I need to do it. My mom will get her hopes up.”

            “She should. You’re going to be fine.”

            He dragged a frustrated hand down his jaw. “About us, Elena. If she knows you’re here, she’ll get her hopes up about us. So just . . . just let me handle my own family.”

            She reacted as if he’d reached across the arm of the bed and smacked her. Her eyes pinched at the corners as her lips tightened. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Let me find your phone, and I will step out so you can call them.”