Let It Be Me (Triplets book 1)

Chapter 19

Reyna's recovery was slow. The family wanted to take her home, but she was unable to be moved. The hospital staff was accommodating, and after a while, their fame was hardly noticed. Shay stayed until her mother regained consciousness and was out of the woods.

Sullivan and Sawyer traveled back and forth between the set on Oak Island and south Florida while Ophelia and Pops stayed with Reyna. Word had gotten out that Reyna Richards had been in a boating accident, but none of the details had been released, only that she was resting comfortably in the hospital as she recuperated.

They rented a house, and Sullivan had her car delivered to Ophelia to drive Pops to and from the hospital. It was taxing on all of them, but they worked together to get through it.

Sullivan needed Ophelia to return to Oak Island to help with the final move back to L.A., so Sawyer relieved her to join him.

It had been almost three weeks since Reyna's accident, and her doctors felt she could be safely moved at the end of the fourth week. Sullivan's goal was to be finished shooting and completely off Oak Island when it was time for his mother to leave the hospital.

Ophelia's return to Oak Island was surreal. As she walked from her car to the house, she felt as if everything that had happened three weeks earlier had been a dream.  Had Sullivan found her asleep in his bed, had he kissed her and told her he was attracted to her? Had her mother and half-sister been as rude as she recalled them being? Had Paloma really hit on her?

Did any of it really matter anymore?

It had all seemed so important then, but now, none of it seemed important after almost having lost Reyna.

Ophelia reached the house and climbed the steps, looking at the view. It was still a beautiful place. With a sigh, she turned to open the door, only to have it fly open, and Polly almost knocked her over in welcome.

Ophelia laughed and knelt in front of her holding the wiggling dog as close as she could as she laughed. When she looked towards the door, she saw Sullivan leaning against the jamb, watching the greeting with a smile.

Well, she had almost convinced herself that the part about Sullivan didn't matter, but looking at him now, she realized he would always matter.

He looked good. He was wearing a thick cream cable knit sweater with the sleeves pushed up, blue jeans, and barefoot. His hair was its usual end of shoot untamed mass, and he hadn't shaved in a few days.

Ophelia didn't know how long they stared at each other, but eventually, Sullivan joined her, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek as he took her suitcase and carried it into the house.

Everything was quiet.

"Where are Marc and Paloma?" Ophelia asked as she closed the door behind them, shutting them into what felt like their own little world.

"They left, and the only people left besides us are the crew. They will spend the next few days packing up the set and returning the house to normal." Sullivan left her suitcase by the stairs. "Are you hungry? I thought when you were finished getting unpacked. We could go up to the hotel for dinner."

Ophelia licked her lips in nervousness. Something felt different.

"Why am I here if the crew is packing up?" She reached down and rubbed Polly's ears to ground herself. "I'm not really needed, am I?"

Sullivan shoved his hands in his back pockets as he debated something while he watched Ophelia's hand caress Polly's ear. 

"You are very much needed," He finally said after a few moments of silence. "Can we talk about this over dinner?" he asked again.