There was no way in hell I was leaving my brother’s wedding, and I didn’t even care if there was some blood in my hair. The bleeding had stopped, my vision had cleared, and while I had a headache worth writing home about, it was nothing I couldn’t handle despite clenching my teeth to get through it. If I left my brother’s wedding, it would transform into a nightmare. Leaving Amy in charge of the reception would end the reception. The disaster would be talked about for years. Somehow, she would make it even worse than me taking a baseball to the head.
Luckily for me, the blow had been a graze, it hadn’t hit anything important, and I figured the only reason I bled was thanks to one of the dumbass clips taming my hair.
I wanted to keep the wedding disasters to the things I hadn’t planned for. A baseball to the head counted, but it wouldn’t kill me.
I hoped.
Some risks were worth taking, and I’d have to remind my brother later I loved him that much.
A call to Wolfgang would fix my ruined dress and makeup problem, but I hesitated. Telling him what had happened would result in well-earned mockery. I retrieved my phone from its cleavage prison to discover it still had some life left in it. Dialing his number worsened my headache.
The rest of the day would suck, but I would make it through somehow.
“What went wrong?” Wolfgang answered.
“I took a stray baseball to the head. I need your makeup skills and my reception dress. Help a woman out? Please? I’m not above begging at this point.”
“A baseball? To the head? How did that happen? Are you all right? If you were hit with a baseball—”
“Don’t you even dare suggest I go to the hospital.”
Wolfgang sighed. “What happened?”
“Fate, karma, the universe, or whatever you want to call it, wishes I would die already. I fell into the pond. I bet I’ll make the front page. Who knows? Maybe someone caught the whole thing on video. I might go viral.”
The groan on the other end of line promised Wolfgang was at the end of his rope, too. “Your brother must be freaking out.”
“Ben’s keeping him busy taking pretty pictures to immortalize the day I almost drowned in the botanical gardens pond.”
“Where were you hit?”
“It was a graze off the side of my head. My hair should hide any bumps. The bleeding stopped.”
“Are you dizzy, have a headache, or feel ill?”
I suspected once I tried to get up and walk around, I would be dizzy. I wasn’t a fan of my own head right now, and I could be honest about otherwise being all right. Unfortunately, if I lied, he would know it. He always knew. “Maybe.”
“I’ll be there in twenty. I’ll bring the dress and your makeup, but you’re going to the hospital before the reception. If you go to the reception.”
“I am not.”
“You are, because I am taking you there.”
“If you take me there, I’ll miss the reception,” I hissed.
“My mother can handle the reception organization if we’re not done in time. She’ll have fun.”
She would, too. The woman could probably organize a rally given ten minutes and a bullhorn. “I’m not going to the hospital.”
Someone reached over my shoulder and stole my phone, and I recognized Rick’s chuckle. “I’ve no idea whom I’m speaking to, but I’ll contain the lady until her ride to the hospital. I’ve been recruited to make certain she goes. Yes, by Mat. Twenty minutes, you say? Excellent. I’ll see you then. I’ll bring her to the gate.”
My damned traitor of a brother. “Hey. That’s my phone. I was using that.”
“Now I’m using it to make certain you go to the hospital. The groom’s wishes trump yours in this case, princess.”
A god-level adversary had crossed my path, and unless I did something about it, I would lose to him and his wicked ways and theft of my phone. “I will get revenge on you both if you make me go to the hospital.” Ignoring my brother would earn me a scolding later, but Rick would be the true challenge of the pair; I bet he’d ignore my fussing without any effort at all on his part. “I will begin with stealing your puppy’s love.”
Rick laughed. “She loves everyone, but I will always be her favorite. I wish you the best of luck with that. Ah, pardon me, Wolfgang. Hope’s putting up a fight. Is she, perhaps, allergic to hospitals?”
“Yes, I am. Can I have my phone back now? I need to schedule in a meeting with your puppy to steal her love and become her favorite. You’ll be reduced to begging for scraps of affection.”
My newfound rival ignored me. “I’ll bring the lady to the gate and come with you. Also, Ben wanted me to tell you that Hope could really use a milkshake, and she needs all of the cherries, so we’ll have to sacrifice ours.”
I was surrounded by traitors. “Ben, too?”
My brother strolled to me, bent over, and dared to look down his nose at me. “You’re going to the hospital.”
“But it’s your wedding day, Mat!”
“And you took a baseball to the head. You’re going. Thank you for containing her, Rick. She’s slippery, so she will try to give you the run around if you let her. I’d recommend a leash, but I didn’t think I needed to bring one today.”
My brother did not play fair. Before I could protest, Rick said, “Glad to help. I’ll bring her to the reception hall if we’re done in time.”
“Take your time. I’d rather the hospital be thorough rather than have her try to rush through her examination stubbornly trying to attend the reception. I meant it, Rick. She’s slippery. Good luck. You’ll need it,” my brother announced before turning to leave.
“I’m not dying, damn it.”
Mat snorted. “We’ll let the hospital decide that. Thanks again, Rick.”
Rick snapped my brother a salute, and the motion reminded me of a professional soldier standing at attention. “Glad to help. Try to enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll text you with updates on how she’s doing.”
“I didn’t even bleed much,” I complained. “And the paramedic already checked to see if I’d cracked my skull. And despite being unconscious in the pond, I didn’t drown. You’re being unreasonable.”
“The only reason you didn’t drown is because I fished you out of the pond. At least I caught something this time. I usually don’t. I love to fish, but I’m terrible at it. This’ll go a lot faster if you don’t fight it. Anyway, head injuries can be nasty. Be grateful I told Mat you’d be unhappy if he skipped his reception to drag you to the hospital himself.”
“But you’ll miss the reception.”
“Going to the hospital with you is more interesting than attending a reception, even your brother’s. I hate watching a bunch of rich prudes get drunk before trying to pretend they’re not drunk. I deal with that too often during the week. I hate receptions, and I have to go if you skip your hospital trip. That would be a tragedy. Save me. I’m a defenseless gentleman about to be taken hostage at a reception.”
My brows shot up at that. “Do I look like a hero to you?”
“No, but you look like a heroine—possibly a princess in disguise. I’ll have to do a closer examination to determine the truth about your secret identity of heroine or princess.”