Chapter 26

Mira’s POV

I stared at Alejandro like he had just spoken a language I had never heard before.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

The words floated in the air between us, heavy and impossible to ignore. My brain refused to catch up with them. This was Alejandro Montenegro we were talking about. The same man who had spent weeks driving me insane, insulting my patience, and acting like emotions were beneath him.

And now he was standing there looking almost nervous.

Alejandro Montenegro. Nervous.

I opened my mouth, ready to say something, anything.

Nothing came out.

What was I supposed to say to that? Thank you? Congratulations? Did people usually carry around confessions like that and drop them casually in hospital rooms?

Before I could decide whether to faint again just to avoid the conversation, the door suddenly burst open.

“Mira!”

I turned just in time to see Ace storming inside the room like a hurricane.

Perfect.

Of course he would show up now.

Ace rushed straight to the bed, his worried eyes scanning my face like he expected to find broken bones.

“Are you okay?” he asked quickly. “The receptionist told me you collapsed when I came searching for you and Dro. What happened?”

Before I could even answer, he grabbed my hand in both of his.

“I swear you nearly gave us a heart attack,” he continued. “When I heard you were in the hospital I almost drove into a building trying to get here.”

“That’s not comforting,” I muttered.

Ace ignored the sarcasm completely.

“You look pale,” he added, leaning closer.

“I am in a hospital bed,” I pointed out. “People here usually aren’t glowing with health.”

Ace let out a small laugh, though the worry in his eyes didn’t disappear.

Alejandro stood beside the bed in silence. I could feel the tension radiating from him.

Ace finally glanced in his direction.

“Oh. Hey Dro.”

Alejandro nodded once.

“That’s it?” Ace asked with a slight grin. “No speech about how irresponsible it is to scare people like this?”

“I think she’s heard enough lectures tonight,” Alejandro replied calmly.

His voice sounded normal. Too normal.

Ace turned his attention right back to me.

“Did the doctor say what happened?”

“Apparently my body decided drama was the best way to get attention,” I said.

Ace shook his head.

“You should be more careful.”

“I’ll add it to my daily to-do list.”

For a moment the three of us stood there in awkward silence.

Ace still hovered close to the bed like a protective guard dog and Alejandro looked distant. One would think they were strangers.

Finally he cleared his throat.

“I should let you two talk.”

I frowned. “You don’t have to leave.”

“It’s fine,” he said quietly.

His eyes lingered on me for half a second before he turned and walked out of the room.

The door closed behind him.

Ace looked between the door and me. “That was strange.”

“Everything today has been strange,” I replied.

Ace pulled the chair beside the bed closer and sat down.

“So what actually happened?” he asked again.

I shrugged. “I probably skipped too many meals.”

“You fainted because you didn’t eat?”

“That’s my theory.”

Ace studied me for a moment. Then he sighed. “You’re terrible at lying.”

“Good thing I’m not trying very hard.”

He leaned back in the chair. “Well next time you decide to collapse dramatically, try doing it somewhere less stressful.”

“I’ll schedule it better.”

But the truth was I wasn’t really listening to him anymore.

My mind had drifted back to Alejandro.

I think I’m in love with you.

What kind of person drops a sentence like that and then just leaves the room?

An incredibly annoying one, apparently.

Later that afternoon the doctor finally discharged me and Zara insisted on hovering around me like an overly dramatic nurse.

“Walk slower,” she ordered.

“I am walking normally.”

“That’s exactly what someone about to faint again would say.”

Ace offered to drive us to the airport, but Alejandro quietly insisted instead. He had booked our flights back already without informing anyone and well I was tired of this wretched town too.

The flight out of Willows peak was painfully silent.

No one mentioned the hospital. No one mentioned the garden. And Alejandro definitely didn’t mention the ridiculous confession he had dropped on me like a grenade.

By the time we landed I was convinced the universe enjoyed making things awkward.

Manuel came to pick us up and Zara stretched as soon as the car stopped outside her apartment.

“Well,” she announced, “I’m going home to sleep for approximately fourteen hours.”

“You’re exaggerating,” I said.

“Twelve then.”

She waved dramatically before disappearing inside her building.

Which meant I was stuck with Alejandro again. And neither of us said a word.

The days that followed were  uncomfortable.

Not terrible. Just strange.

Alejandro and I somehow managed to avoid each other almost completely.

If I entered the kitchen, he suddenly remembered something in his office.

If he walked into the living room, I suddenly needed fresh air.

Once he actually started to say something while we passed each other in the hallway.

“Mira—”

Then he stopped. And walked away.

Which was incredibly irritating.

Because now I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Three days of this nonsense was more than enough.

One evening I finally found him sitting in the living room with his laptop.

I walked straight up to him without a care in the world.

“We need to talk.”

Alejandro looked up slowly.

“About what?”

“Oh I don’t know,” I said sharply. “Maybe about the weird silence that’s been haunting this house for the last three days.”

He closed the laptop. “I didn’t think it bothered you.”

“Of course it bothers me.”

He leaned back slightly. “I assumed you needed space and just wanted to do your job like a professional.”

“Too late to talk about professionalism. Besides I didn’t ask for space.”

A quiet sigh escaped him. “You didn’t say anything either.”

“Well maybe that’s because someone confessed they were in love with me and then ran away like a coward.”

Alejandro blinked. “I didn’t run away.”

“You absolutely did.”

For a moment he said nothing.

Then he spoke quietly. “I didn’t expect a miracle.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I know I haven’t exactly been kind to you since we met.”

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

He ignored the comment.

“So when I told you how I felt,  I didn’t expect you to suddenly feel the same way.”

My irritation softened slightly.

“And when Ace walked into the hospital,” he continued, “the way he looked at you…”

“What about it?”

“It looked like he cared about you. In fact, I know he feels something for you that is beyond friendship.”

“Well he does care about me but anything other than that isn’t true.”

Alejandro nodded once. “And the way you looked back at him.”

“I didn’t look at him in any special way,” I interrupted.

He shrugged faintly. “From where I was standing it looked different.”

I crossed my arms.“There’s nothing between me and Ace.”

Alejandro studied my face carefully. “Nothing?”

“Nothing,” I repeated firmly.

Silence filled the room. Then I stepped closer.

“There’s something you should know too.”

His eyes lifted to meet mine. “What?”

I hesitated for half a second before saying it.

“I feel the same way.”