He looked cold too. I shivered myself and pulled the blanket up my chest.
I studied his sleeping face for another minute, wanting so badly to touch his hair, wrap my arms around him…. God, what was going on?
“Calvin?” I whispered.
He startled suddenly and sat straight up in the chair.
It caught me off guard. I didn’t realize he had been awake.
“A-Are you okay?” I asked.
He looked over at me and let out a breath, like he’d been holding it. “Yeah. I’m fine. Are you? Do you need me to get a nurse?”
“No.” I fiddled with the blanket. “Why are you here? It must be late.”
Calvin raised his watch, squinting and frowning before pulling his cell out and checking the time. “It’s three.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
He looked back at me. “I didn’t want you here alone.”
“You look tired,” I said in response.
He smiled, and that chiseled, handsome face seemed to light up. “A little. I’m okay, though.”
“You can lay with me,” I said, not even processing the offer.
“What?”
I refused to back out. What did I want with Neil? Nothing, maybe. He deserved to knowthat—that I was done fighting to right a capsized ship. But what did I want with Calvin? Right now, in that moment, I just wanted to hold him.
I carefully moved closer to the edge of the bed, freeing the space nearest his chair and pulling the blankets back. “Hurry up. This gown isn’t exactly keeping me warm,” I said with a quiet chuckle.
Calvin turned his head to the closed door, eyeing it a moment before standing. He dropped his coat on the chair, wordlessly climbed onto the bed, and stretched out on his side next to me.
“Come closer,” I said, moving my arm to accommodate him.
Calvin put his head on my chest and rested his hand on my neck, rubbing his thumb against my stubble. I put mine in his hair, combing my fingers through the thick, fiery redness and wishing more than ever that I could experience the color.
“I can’t stay here,” he whispered.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “Just relax.”
That made him laugh, but I didn’t know why.
“How’s your head?”
“Better than earlier.”
He hummed in response, moving his hand down to take my other. He slid his fingers through mine and squeezed lightly.
“That hand feels awfully familiar.”
He snorted. “You kept asking for Millett.”
“What did you expect?”
Calvin shrugged a shoulder. “Nothing less.”
