speaking. “Louisa, you didn’t want a nanny for them, remember?”
“No. I don’t remember. I’m Jazz—have you forgotten? And I’ve decided. I will not be going anywhere with you. Who knows? You might be a serial killer or a stalker.” She crossed her arms and held them against her chest.
“I’m not either of those things. Look, honey, I’m tired. I’ve worked over twenty-five hours this week and it’s only Tuesday. I shouldn’t even have come home when I did, but I promised you that I would make it for dinner.”
“Please don’t call me ‘honey,’ ‘cutie,’ or any of those couple names. We’re not a couple, and besides, they sound silly.”
He didn’t know what to say. Louisa liked his terms of endearment. Didn’t she? The differences between the wife he had left at home this morning and this seemingly new one dumbfounded him.
“Why did you get married and have a family if you weren’t going to participate? What kind of important career do you have? Do you save people’s lives? Are you a surgeon?” She glared at him, waiting for an answer.
Her rapid-fire questioning made him feel like he was standing on the courthouse steps facing a battalion of reporters. It didn’t matter that the question was one he’d been asking himself lately—right now, being home wasn’t feasible. Not with several trial cases and the promise of a partnership dangling in front of him. He didn’t have time for anything. If Louisa wanted to be Jazz, he didn’t care as long as she kept their family life intact. “I’m a lawyer. That means I have a lot to do tonight. So get dressed and we’ll go home. I’m sure you’ll remember everything when we get there.”
“I’m not going with you.” Louisa slid her legs back onto the bed and pulled the sheet up under her chin like a child refusing to go to school. “I’ll get dressed as soon as you leave, and then I’m going to—to—”
“To what? Where are you going to go?” He waited to hear her plan, watching her eyebrows bob up and down while she thought. “Well?”
“I’ll go to a hotel. So there, problem solved. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. You’re free to go.” Again, she waved her hand toward the door, dismissing him as she lay back against the pillow. “If you don’t mind, would you hand me my purse before you leave?”
“It’s at home.” He looked down at her. Her blonde hair feathered across the pillow and caught the light from overhead, softening the silky strands. He reached out to touch it, as he often did, but her icy look kept him at a distance. “That’s what you want? To be here alone in a hospital, in this town, and not knowing anyone?”
She nodded and pointed to the door.
“Then I’ll go.” Collin paused at the doorway and turned to give her a chance to change her mind. She didn’t say anything, just lay there looking like a lost child, eyes wide and fighting tears. “Nice meeting you, Jazz Sweet.” He knew he needed to convince her to come home with him. He couldn’t leave her here until her memory returned. There had to be a way, but for now, he’d let her think she’d won this battle. He left the room and didn’t look back.
Chapter Two
Jazz willed the sharp spears of light to stop stabbing at her closed eyelids. She curled into a ball on the coarse sheet. The thin pillow encased in plastic and covered with cloth crackled under her head. Shivering under the rough blanket, she tried to plan.
She needed answers to basic questions, like where to sleep tonight. Was there a hotel close by? Did she have money or a credit card? Then she remembered—unlike a fashion doll, she didn’t come with accessories. No purse. Did she have shoes? She continued to stress over her lack of information. Her easy option had walked out the door the minute she sent him. Now was not the time to celebrate finding a man who would do what she told him. She’d have to do this alone. Not alone. God is with me, all the