“Hold still,” Lily said, panic still clear in her voice.
A steady stream of water ran down his cheek, soothing the pain just a bit. He held still as well as he could, letting her douse him. After a few minutes of running water down his face, it stopped.
“How is it? Is it better? I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that. Do we need to go to the hospital? Let’s go to the hospital.”
Ethan gently touched his cheek, which was incredibly tender. He could already feel a blister forming. “I don’t think I need the hospital.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay.” He reached for her and tugged her into his lap. Finding the irony that he was comforting her. “I’m okay. No harm done.”
She snort-cried. “Tell that to your cheek.”
“It’s all right.”
She leaned into him and pressed her face against his neck. He held her tightly. Despite the pain in his cheek, he wouldn’t complain about being able to hold her close. Her tears soaked his neck, but he didn’t care. Having her in his arms was all he needed.
The thought hit him hard. She was all he needed.
Damn.
He needed to give this a shot, even if it meant her leaving in the end.
