“I know I may never be able to earn your forgiveness, but don’t take this out on Emery. She’ll be crushed if you don’t want a relationship with her.”

“How much of your version of the truth does she know?”

“I tried to do better the second time around.”

“Well, she loves you and thinks the world of you, so I guess your second family won out, didn’t it?” I blow out a breath, trying to manage the overwhelming anger and shock. “I’d like a relationship with Emery. She’s a good person, and I’d like to know her better.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that.” His smile is eclipsed by his pain, but I won’t own that because I’m not the reason for it in the first place.

My phone buzzes, and I check the message. “I need to go.”

He stands along with me. “Is Carmen here? I’d like to see her.”

I hold up a hand. “I don’t think that’s the best idea right now. It would be better if we arranged something after I’ve had a chance to talk to her. She doesn’t deserve to be blind-sided like I was.”

“Right. Yes. Of course. Should I give you my contact information? We’re staying in Minneapolis for a few days and I’m happy to extend our visit if she needs time to consider it. I hope I’ll have the chance to speak with her.”

“I’ll talk to her and she can decide if that’s something she wants.”

He recites his number, and I add it to my contacts. This whole thing is like an out-of-body experience.

“Delilah.”

I open the door and look over my shoulder. If he tells me he loves me, I may lose it on him. I’ve been pretty reasonable up until this point. I need to get away from him so I can think, process, wrap my head around this.

He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I wish I’d made different choices.”

“Me, too.”

On my way to the front entrance, I run into Dr. Lovely again. “I was coming to check on you.”

“Wanted to make sure you didn’t have another head trauma on your hands?”

He falls into step beside me. “Something like that. How is your head?”

“Other than sore and full of more crap than I’d care to deal with in the next lifetime, fine. Carmen’s waiting for me in the parking lot, so now I get to tell her we have a half sister we didn’t know about, and our father is in town.”

The automatic doors slide open and we step outside into the crisp afternoon. “How do you think she’ll react?”

“I have no idea. Hopefully she doesn’t faint like I did, or else no one will be able to drive. What’re you doing?” He’s still walking with me. It’s starting to feel a little weird.

“Making sure you get safely to your sister.”

I can’t decide if it’s his medical duty making him so ultra attentive, or if I’m just hypersensitive to it. Carmen’s car is parked at the emergency entrance in the no-parking zone. “She’s right there—I’m good. You can go back to doctoring now.”

He ignores me and strides over to her car, opening the door and ushering me inside. He takes it upon himself to roll my window down from the inside, which is also strange. I buckle myself in while he closes the door and bends down so he can see into the car.

“Hello, Carmen.” He smiles placidly at my sister.

“Noah.”

“Thank you for coming to pick up Lilah. She’s had a bit of a rough afternoon. If there’s any nausea or vomiting, or if the headache gets worse, please call my pager.” He extends his arm through the window, bypassing me to hand his card to my sister.

“Do you have a concussion?” Her eyes are wide, her gaze moving to Dr. Lovely. “Does she have a concussion?”

“It doesn’t appear that way. However, I would prefer not to take any chances with my staff.”

“Right. Okay.”

“Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have concerns or questions.” She tries to take the card, but he holds on to it, eyes shifting to me. “I’d like an update on how you’re feeling tomorrow, Lilah.”

I give him an army salute. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“Get some rest, please.” He lets go of the card. “Drive safely.” Then he removes his head from the window and disappears back inside the hospital.

“Jeez, he’s intense,” I mutter.

“Sure is.” Carmen pulls away from the entrance. “What happened?”

“I think it would be best for me to tell you when we get to my place.”

“This sounds bad.”

“It’s … complicated.”

“Does it have to do with Ethan?”

“No, it has nothing to do with Ethan.” Not directly, anyway. But it may impact how things unfold with him from here on out.

“Can I at least get a hint or something? This is seriously stressing me out, Lilah.”

I drop my head against the headrest and suck in a breath at the pain, quickly leaning forward again. I run my fingers over the lump at the back of my head. It’s practically a goose egg. “Trust me—it’ll be better if we’re not in a moving vehicle when I tell you.”

She sighs but lets it go, for now.

“How do you know Dr. Lovely, anyway?” I ask as she heads toward my house.

“We went to high school together.”

“He’s a few years older than you, though, isn’t he?”

“I was a freshman when he was a junior.” She taps the steering wheel.

“Did you have a crush on him or something?”

Carmen rolls her eyes. “Have you seen that man? He just gets better looking all the time. It’s totally unfair. Every girl in the entire school had a crush on him. It was ridiculous. Anyway, he tutored me in science when he was a senior.” Her face is a little red.

“Want to tell me more about that?”

“There’s nothing to tell. He tutored me and I didn’t fail my science class. All was right with the world.”

I don’t buy it, but then who knows with Carmen? Maybe it was that simple and I’m just reading into things. I close my eyes and try to focus on something other than the throb in my head. A few minutes later Carmen pulls into my driveway and cuts the engine. “You need to spill it, right after you make me a margarita.”

Once we’re in the house, I fix her a drink and stick with water for myself, because alcohol and head injuries aren’t a good mix. I take a seat on the couch beside my sister. “You remember that girl I told you about, the one who shattered her ankle?”

Carmen shrugs. “Sure.”

I can’t tell if she actually remembers or she’s just saying she does—not that it matters. I have to come out and tell her—no sugarcoating. “She’s our half sister.”

She’s quiet for a few very long seconds before she reaches for her purse. “I’m sorry … How hard did you hit your head?”

“I’m serious, Carm. She’s our half sister.”

“Okay. And how do you know this?”

“Because our father picked her up at the hospital this afternoon.”

She blinks several times but doesn’t say anything.