His full lips quirked into a tender smile. “I’m awake,” he agreed, his deep voice more intoxicating than I remembered.
“How do you feel? I should get the nurse,” I blathered.
“Wait.” His gentle command had my heart pounding in answer as he
moved his hand to my cheek. “Let me just look at you,” he murmured, his thumb stroking my skin. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he breathed reverently. “But you didn’t have to get dressed up for me.” He smiled, his gaze sliding over my formfitting dress.
I looked down, having forgotten I was still wearing my bridesmaid dress. “Emmie and Gunner got married last night. I came straight here after and must have fallen asleep.”
His expression warmed as we regarded each other.
“Well, look who decided to join us,” Betty chirped as she entered the room, breaking our spell. “Glad to see it. Maybe now this one can sleep in a proper bed for once.” She cocked her head in my direction.
I pulled back from Ruston, my cheeks flaming as I stood up, moving toward the window as she began to check him over.
“How long am I gonna have to stay here?” he asked her gruffly.
She chuckled as she took his vitals. “Awake five minutes and already trying to break out of here. One step at a time,” she chided.
My heart clenched at how eager he was to leave, to get back to the life he lived in a completely different state.
“The doctor will be in soon,” she shared. “And I’ll be back around shortly.”
I continued to stare out the window as she departed. Now that he was awake and alert, I wasn’t sure what to do, what to say.
“Come here, Grace.” His quiet demand had goose bumps breaking out all over my skin.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “I should probably go, let you get some rest.”
He beckoned me with his finger pointed toward the chair I’d abandoned. “All I’ve done is fucking rest. What you should do is come sit next to me.”
After a moment, I did as he asked, crossing the room and reclaiming my chair next to his bedside. “Your sister and everyone had to leave yesterday,” I explained. “There was some business they had to deal with. She felt badly about it, but she’ll be back soon. You should call her,” I added.
“I will. Not now,” he replied, his head against the pillow as his eyes remained on me. “Right now, I want to talk to you.” He held his hand out, palm up, and I slid my hand in his, relishing the warm strength that emanated from him. “Did you read to me, or did I dream that?” he asked, his thumb stroking the top of my hand.
“I read to you.” I nodded, feeling suddenly shy. “Silly stuff mostly. It just got so quiet sometimes, and I worried that….” I trailed off, unsure I should share the real reason I’d read to him.
He squeezed my hand, urging me to continue. “Worried about what?”
“I worried maybe you weren’t having good dreams,” I admitted, looking down at our entwined hands, marveling at how natural it felt to have my hand encompassed by his. “So, somewhere in your subconscious are a lot of beauty insider tips and tricks,” I quipped, trying without success to lighten the sudden weight in the air between us.
But he wasn’t having that.
“Look at me, Grace.” His gravelly demand had my gaze snapping to his. “You wanted to protect me.” It wasn’t a question, as he pinned me with a look of such intensity, I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. “You slept in that fucking chair.”
After a moment I bit my lip and nodded.
He made a low noise of approval as his thumb stroked over the top of my hand, the light touch more arousing than any experience I’d had to date. “Don’t have words for what that means to me. But I’ll tell you this: every time I opened my eyes, I saw a redheaded angel by my bedside, and when I slipped back under, I slept just fine.”
While he’d been out of it, I’d convinced myself our connection couldn’t have been that intense. That my memory must have inflated it beyond what was possible. After all, we’d shared a few brief conversations.
But sitting here staring at him, the intensity between us was just as potent, maybe more so than I’d dreamed. My pulse raced, my cheeks hot as I fought the urge to snuggle into him, to assure myself he was here and whole.
“I’m glad,” I managed, overcome with the power of my feelings for a man I barely knew. A man who was sure to pick up and leave any day, taking my heart with him.
“Tell me about the wedding,” he asked. “You in that dress, no doubt you were the most gorgeous woman there,” he added appreciatively.
“It was perfect.” I sighed, choosing to ignore his comment. “Emmie was the most beautiful bride. She let me do her hair and makeup, which was basically like a gift to me,” I continued.
