You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 587

Patricia came to an abrupt stop.

Mr. Padilla looked at her, confused. "What's wrong?"

She glanced at her empty hands, suddenly self-conscious. "We left in such a rush, I didn’t bring anything. Isn’t it rude to show up empty-handed?"

This was their first visit—and they were here to see someone who was sick. Who visits without at least a small gift? No one, especially not on a day like this.

Oliver might not care about these things, but there would be other people around. She didn’t want to give anyone a reason to talk behind her back.

He squeezed her hand, gently tugging her aside. Without a word, he pulled out his phone and called Colton’s dad. "Can you unlock the car for me?"

There was no hesitation on the other end, just a quick click as the car doors unlocked.

A couple minutes later, Oliver led Patricia back, and suddenly a whole crew of people materialized behind them, their arms full of bags and boxes. When he saw just how much they’d managed to carry, Oliver couldn’t help but laugh.

Upstairs, almost the entire Padilla family had gathered in the hospital room—everyone who wasn’t caught up at work or out running errands.

As Oliver pushed open the door, still holding Patricia’s hand, Sara was the first to spot them. Her eyes widened in surprise.

She slipped through the group and grabbed Patricia’s arm. "Aunt Patricia, are you feeling better? Do you still have a fever?"

Patricia met Sara’s bright, curious gaze and nodded a little shyly. "I’m much better now, thanks."

Everyone in the Padilla family was dying to know more about Patricia. Oliver had spent years avoiding relationships entirely, and suddenly he’d shown up with a wife—of course they were curious about the woman who’d finally caught him.

Plus, Oliver had kept his private life locked down tight. That just made everyone even more interested.

Some of them had even guessed there was something "off" about his secret.

But as soon as Patricia walked in, the whole room went quiet. She was gorgeous—like, truly stunning.

Sara elbowed her mom. "Mom, are you just going to stare, or are you going to say something?"

So Oliver turned to Selara. "We’ll head home, then. If anything comes up, please call me."

Jaxon stood up from the couch as they were leaving. "I’ll walk you out."

He walked with them to the parking lot.

Oliver opened the car door so Patricia could get in.

Just as he turned to leave, Jaxon called out, his voice teasing, "You know you just cleared out my whole trunk, right?"

Oliver just shrugged. "Borrowed it. I’ll restock it later."

"Double," Jaxon shot back, then added, "I told you to bring her home ages ago, but you kept dragging it out. Now you show up at a time like this, and no one had a gift or a card ready. You’re lucky your wife is so easygoing."

"I already called Mom and Dad. Go home, will you?" Oliver replied, waving him off.