Page 47 of Reputation (Tempt)

And then he took a breath, as if seeming to realize that we were watching him. ThatIwas watching him.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him so worked up about anything that wasn’t related to Brooklyn. And definitely not in public. He was always very controlled, his public persona firmly in place.

So to see him upset on my behalf, to realize he cared so much—about me—was quite the shock. And it was the only excuse I had for my continued silence.

“We’ve already kept her longer than we would’ve ordinarily,” the doctor said, giving Nate a pointed look. What was that about? “We wouldn’t discharge her if we had concerns. As it is, we have limited beds, and your fiancée’s case isn’t life-threatening.”

Fiancée?I opened my mouth then shut it just as quickly. Surely I’d misheard.

“Fine.” Nate pinched the bridge of his nose. Had he— I whipped my head between the doctor and Nate. Had he not heard that? Had I imagined it? I glanced down at my ring finger, but it was bare like always. “I’ll arrange for someone to pick us up. Can we use the helipad?”

The nurse gaped at him, but the doctor merely shook his head. “Emergencies only.”

Hell, I would’ve gaped at him too, were I not still stuck on the fiancée comment.

“Then I assume you have a private entrance,” he said in a curt tone.

“Yes, sir,” the nurse said as the doctor wrote something down.

“We’re supposed to leave for Abu Dhabi in a few days,” Nate said. “Will we need to postpone?”

“What?” I jerked my head back, distracted from the fiancée comment—at least for right now. “Nate, we can’t postpone the trip.”

He ignored me, his attention fully on the doctor who said, “It should be fine, but I’d have the number of a local doctor just in case.”

“The hotel has one on call. I’ve already been in contact with them.”

He had?

My head was spinning. I could barely keep up with this conversation.

“Good,” the doctor said.

“But what about flying?” Nate asked, clearly unwilling to let it go. At this point, all I could do was stare.

“Just keep an eye on her. No alcohol. Minimize stress. Take a doctor on the plane with you if you’re concerned.”

Nate nodded.

The nurse said, “I’ll be back to escort you in a bit.” And then the two of them left.

As soon as the door closed, I expected Nate to say something.Anything.But after a minute, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Funny thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I think I’m hallucinating because the doctor just referred to me as your fiancée.”

I expected Nate to laugh it off. To tell me I was crazy, but instead, he started pacing. Stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose. Started again. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Nate so…flustered.

“Nate?” I asked, concern creeping into my voice. “Why do they think I’m your fiancée?”

“Because…” He blew out a breath. “Because I may have told them we were engaged so they’d let me see you.”

My eyes went wide. “You didwhatnow?” My voice rose with every word until the last one came out as more of a shriek.

“And now everyone thinks we’re engaged.”

“What do you mean by ‘everyone’? Who thinks we’re engaged?” My tone was low. Lethal. “Just the hospital staff, right?”