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“Deal.”
Chapter 21
Austin
Kit wasn’t in bed when he woke the next morning, but he figured it was for the best. The way she’d watched him last night, like she was waiting for him to collapse or have another breakdown, had worn at him, and he wasn’t sure he could take a whole day of those pitying glances.
He made it to the bathroom and managed to change into a pair of loose-fitting sweats, but he was sweating bullets by the time he thumped his way to the kitchen.
Stopping in the doorway, he stared at the pile of papers neatly stacked beside the laptop Kit was studying like it held the meaning of life.
“Why aren’t you at work?”
He felt a little guilty when she jumped and slapped a hand over her heart. “You scared me! How the hell do you move so quietly on those things?”
“Why aren’t you at work?” he repeated, guilt giving away to annoyance at having to repeat himself.
“I’m working remote.” She offered up a bright smile, but it didn’t hide the sly triumph in her eyes. “Donna rescheduled my in-person meetings to virtual.”
“I don’t need you hanging around, playing nurse all day. You have work to do.”
“Work I can easily do from right here. And I don't plan on playing nurse, especially since I don't think I’d be very good at it. I can't even watch Grey’s Anatomy without feeling sick. Besides, your real nurse should be here around noon.”
“What nurse? Coffee,” he snapped, cutting off her explanation. “I need coffee, and then we can talk.”
“Sit and I’ll make you some. You want something to eat? There’s not much in the fridge but we have leftovers from last night.”
He opened his mouth to tell her to stop, but their conversation from last night kept playing over in his mind. If the situation were reversed, there was no way he’d let her do everything on her own. He’d want to take care of her. So, as much as it grated, he plopped down in the seat she’d pulled out for him. “Just coffee for now, kitten.”
The dent to his ego was worth watching her eyes light up. “Yes, sir,” she replied without an ounce of sarcasm or sass, which was probably a good thing for her ass at the moment.
Being on crutches wasn’t going to keep him from teaching his girl a lesson if she needed it.
To her credit, she didn’t pester him with questions while he sipped his coffee. Once she’d placed both their cups on the table, she went back to whatever it was she’d been working on before he’d come in and snapped at her.
Reaching across the table, he laid his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “Sorry I’m being an ass right now.”
Understanding laced with humor filled those dark eyes he adored. “It’s okay. I’d probably be pretty cranky in your shoes.”
“Mmhmm. How much is this apology going to cost me?”
“Not much, in the grand scheme of things. You’re past flowers, but not quite up to blue box territory.”
Laughing, he shook his head and lifted his mug to his lips. “God, I love you.”
“What?” Kit’s voice was barely a squeak and she was looking at him like he’d just admitted to killing puppies in his spare time.
The enormity of what he’d said slammed into him, and if he hadn’t been on crutches, he was pretty sure he would have run from the room and locked himself in the den. But she was a hell of a lot faster than he was at the moment, so there was nothing to do but face it.
Cocking his head to the side, he forced smiled. “Did I stutter, kitten?”
“No. I… did you mean it? What you just said?”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean, kitten.” He hadn’t meant to say it, not just then, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t the truth.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” Unease bubbled in his stomach. “All you have to say is just ‘okay’?”
