I'll Be There (Book 3) ***Series moving to Galatea***

Andrew

Of course she is here. She is one of Emily’s best friends, and this is her and Seth’s graduation party. God, she is just as beautiful as I remember her. But she is off limits because of a promise I made to Emily years ago. I do not think I have ever regretted a promise as much as I do this one, though.

Sighing, I shake my head and make my way over towards Arthur, Seth and a few other guys. Coming to a stop, standing beside Seth as memories flood my mind back to when I first met her at the hospital after Amaya and I were in our car accident.

Roughly a year and a half ago

My whole body throbs as I struggle to lift my heavy eyelids. Groaning, I slowly move my hand to my face, feeling something uncomfortable over my mouth pressing into my chin.

A small slender hand gently catches my hand. “Oh, oh my! You are awake. Mr. Windsor I need you to stay calm. You almost caused your lung to collapse again when you woke up earlier and started to panic. You and your sister are both lucky to be alive. You were in a horrible car accident.”

My eyes fly open and I find one of the most beautiful creatures staring at me with bright blue eyes. “Beautiful angel.” I murmur, feeling her lower my hand back to my side.

A soft laugh emits from her lips as I feel a light touch to the top of my head. “Relax and rest; you need to save your strength to heal up.”

The next time I wake up, that irritating feeling over my mouth is gone and I instinctively jerk up into a sitting position. A soft hand grabs my shoulder as pain shoots through me, causing me to gasp before I feel myself being pushed back to the bed.

My eyes dart over to where the owner of the hand stands.

“Hi there, I am Amanda Carter, a nurse in training. If you give me a few moments, I will have the doctor come in and speak with you. Your sister should be back soon. They are taking X-rays to make sure everything is healing properly.” She smiles softly before writing a few things down in her chart.

I don’t see her again for a few days until one morning when I am woken up.

“Mr. Windsor?” Her voice is soft as she moves over to my side. “We need to put in a new IV for you. Somehow while you were sleeping, you pulled yours out last night.”

Groaning groggily, I nod my head. “Fine, but stop calling me Mr. Windsor. It is Andrew, and I want to go back to sleep.”

She laughs, smiling at me. “If that is what you would prefer, Andrew. Your breakfast should be here in a few minutes. You really should try to eat something so you can keep your strength up. It will help you heal faster if you do.” She pulls a stool over and sits down, taking my hand in hers as she starts to disinfect a spot on the back of my hand.

Sighing, I close my eyes, running my fingers through my messy hair before looking back over at her as a hiss escapes my lips. “Fuck, that hurt! You have to be the worst demon vampire imaginable?”

Amanda shakes her head laughing while she tapes down the hose of the IV in my hand. “Sorry about that. Hands always hurt the worst, from what I am told, you big baby.”

My gaze locks on her face, seeing how her lips curl up into a slight smile. “So you admit to being the worst vampire?” A similar smile forms on my face as I chuckle at her.

“I suppose I do, as long as you admit to being a big baby.” Amanda’s eyes twinkle as she fills a couple tubes of blood before flushing the end of my IV.

“I will only if that means you will be hand-feeding me my breakfast.” I smirk at her, noticing a light hint of blush cross her cheeks.

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m pretty sure that would be frowned upon, as you have two working hands.” Amanda grins at me, shaking her head.

“Hey Andrew? Earth to Andrew.” Arthur pulls my attention back to the present as he waves a hand in front of my face.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought. What’s up?” I grin sheepishly, looking at the group.

“Yeah, I would say you definitely were lost in thought, man. We have been trying to talk to you for a few minutes now.” Seth laughs, shaking his head, glancing past me as he raises a curious eyebrow.

My eyes follow Seth’s gaze and I quickly turn back towards them when I realize my sister is talking to Amanda and looking at me curiously.

Arthur laughs, shaking his head. “We were wondering about your graduation and how you have been doing with the academy.”

“It has been going well. Graduation is coming up in a few weeks. It looks like I should be in the top five of my class. I think the actual date is the second week in June.” I shrug, looking at them.

Stretching I yawn, shaking my head before I head over to the stereo and turn it off.

“Andrew?” A soft voice speaks from behind me, causing me to freeze instantly.

Spinning around, I find Amanda standing behind me with her beautiful blue eyes watching me. My gaze sweeps over her as I part my lips to speak, but no words come out. My mind drifts to all the times I returned to the hospital after being released, hoping to see her again.

“I am sorry I never mentioned being Emily’s friend. I don’t know how I didn’t realize you were her brother before now. Anyways, I am glad to see you are doing better now. I guess we will see each other around.” Amanda gives me a weak smile before turning around and leaving.

I stand staring after her, watching her disappear, still at a loss for words.

This is probably the third time I have come back to the hospital trying to see her.

A small smile forms on my lips as I hear her voice from the hall as she laughs softly before a soft knock sounds on the door to my small room.

My eyes lock on the door as it opens and I watch her slender frame step through the doorway.

Amanda raises an eyebrow as her eyes scan over the paper in her hands before she looks up and her eyes land on me. “You are here for a pulled muscle? Really, Andrew? They are saying this is your third visit in a few weeks.”

I cannot help but grin weakly at her as I shrug. “What can I say? Apparently I overdid it while on vacation.”

Amanda shakes her head, laughing softly, before she moves over beside me. “You know, if you keep coming here like you are, it may be beneficial for you to get a primary care physician to save you some money.”

“No, I don’t think so, but maybe a number from a beautiful nurse will suffice.” I smirk at her, watching her cheeks flush.

“Really? Are you suggesting that I might not be the worst demon vampire you’ve encountered?” Her laughter dances in my ears as she presses her fingers against my lower back, examining my injury.

Honestly, I really do believe that I may have pulled a muscle during my fitness training while preparing for the detective academy I applied to.

“I plead the fifth, ma’am—” I begin, but I stop speaking as I hear the door open and see a doctor enter.

“I think he may have a lower lumbosacral strain.” Amanda says to the doctor when she steps back before giving me one last smile as she steps out of the room, leaving me with the doctor.

An hour or so later I collect my paperwork and prescription for muscle relaxers before heading towards the exit. My eyes land on Amanda near the exit talking to the lady behind the intake desk, holding her coat.

Her eyes flick to me as she says her goodbyes to the lady and makes her way towards me as I stop just outside the exit.

“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I might think you have another reason for coming here, like you’ve been doing.” Amanda smiles, her eyes locking onto mine.

I cannot help the smirk that forms on my face at her words. “Really? And what do you think that reason could be?”

Amanda grins as we stroll side by side toward the parking lot. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve been trying to catch someone up here.”

Shrugging, I chuckle softly, coming to a stop by my vehicle. “Maybe I just like the amazing bedside manner of the nurses up here?”

“Uh-huh, sure. That is exactly what it is.” Amanda chuckles, shaking her head. “Try to take better care of yourself, Officer Windsor. I am sure your insurance carrier would appreciate it. By the way, I typically work from seven in the morning to seven at night on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You know, just in case I am right.” She winks at me before walking off towards the employee parking lot.

I lean against my door, watching her walk away grinning like a fool before climbing into the driver’s seat to head home.

Groaning, I drag a hand through my hair as I drop into a nearby chair. She is one of my sister’s best friends, and I promised her I would never date one of her friends. Even now, though, over a year later, I still can’t help being attracted to her. Sighing, I lean back in the chair, staring up at the sky, watching the twinkling stars above me. Maybe my issue is that I have been single since Amaya and I moved back here? That has to be it. She happened to be the first woman here who caught my eye—like, really caught my eye.