Callie sat on the hospital bed in the emergency room and, for the third time, answered a new nurse’s questions. No, she wasn’t having any trouble breathing or swallowing. No, her tongue didn’t feel swollen. Yes, this had happened before. No, she didn’t have an epi-pen because she’d never gone into anaphylaxis. Yes, the antihistamines seemed to be working.
When the nurse left and pulled the curtain on the small bay closed behind her, Callie cast a tired glance at Noah. He sat in the chair next to her hospital bed, his elbows braced on the mattress, a sheepish look on his face.
“You really just needed Benadryl,” he said.
“I really did.”
He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Callie. You were coughing and I got scared—”
“You didn’t listen to me.”
He nodded, avoiding her gaze, the tips of his ears turning red.
“You need to trust that I know my own body, Noah. I don’t need another person in my life who thinks they know better than me about my health.”
He met her gaze, looking up at her through thick, dark eyelashes. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“I thought you were taking me to a pharmacy.”
He winced. “How mad are you right now?”
“I’m not mad. Was it a tad bit dramatic to take me to the ER? Sure, but I know you were trying to look out for me.” She mussed his hair, letting her hand linger on the nape of his neck for just a moment. “You’ve always looked out for me,” she said softly.
He met her gaze, his hazel eyes still so full of concern, the slight smile lines at the corners making him look older than his thirty-five years. “Always will. You’re family, Callie.”
She dropped her hand and looked away.Right. Family. Because in his mind, I’m just like his kid sister.
“What I don’t understand is why Jamie put seafood in a potato soup in the first place,” he continued. It was the thing he kept coming back to, his jaw tightening as though he were angry with Daemon’s brother for not magically knowing that Callie had a shellfish allergy, even though Noah himself hadn’t known.
“It was just a mistake, Noah,” she said for the tenth time. “At least we won’t have to deal with my mother for the rest of the night.” She dropped her head back on the pillow, hating that her mother’s criticism still stung even hours later.
“By the time we get out of here, she’ll probably be asleep,” Noah said with a grimace.
Callie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Next time, just take me to a pharmacy.”
“Next time? No, there will be nonext time. I already bought you a lifetime supply of Benadryl to keep in your purse.”
“You did not,” she laughed.
“You don’t believe me?” He grinned, that same grin he’d had since he was a gangly teenager. The one that always made her want to keep him. He grabbed her purse from the empty chair next to him and tossed it to her, arching an eyebrow at her in challenge.
She unzipped her purse—a purple dinosaur-shaped bag she’d found during a late-night online shopping spree—and burst out laughing at the insane number of travel-sized Benadryl packages shoved inside. “When did you do this?”
“When you were in the bathroom. It only took a minute to go to the gift shop.”
“You know these things expire eventually, right?”
“Tell me when they do and I’ll buy you more.”
“I am capable of buying my own antihistamines,” she said, trying to shove all the medication back into her bag.
“I know you can take care of yourself.” He took the bag from her hands and zipped it shut so easily it would have been annoying if he wasn’t being so damngood. “But I will feel better knowing you always have enough Benadryl on your person to knock out a small army.”
“Thank you.”
He squeezed her hand where it lay next to his on the bed, his thumb sweeping over the back. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
