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It wasn’t easy, getting Austin out of my vehicle—which was too small for his body—through the lobby, up the elevator, through his penthouse suite, and into his bed. Even with two oversize men who looked like they were personal bodyguards for a living, rolling him into his apartment in a wheelchair. Big Balls had made sure that I had help once I arrived. I had a plan set. Get him into his apartment, into bed, and then leave. I’d done more than my share of good deeds for the year.
I debated on helping him get undressed, but he was dead weight. I’d never be able to do it by myself, and I wasn’t about to call those guys back here to help.
I sat at the edge of the bed and waited a while for him to stir. He was so quiet. At one point, I pressed a light hand on his chest to see if he was breathing. He was, and I was relieved because I didn’t want to be accused of murdering him in his apartment when the staff in the lobby knew we were alone up here.
I got him a glass of water, placed it on a coaster, and put it next to him on his side table.
Okay, I should leave.
I would just write him a note.
But as I watched him sleep soundly, that felt wrong in a way. When he woke up, who knew if he’d still be out of it? Plus, he needed to eat dinner.
So, I waited. I made a few calls to family friends who hadn’t heard the news about Brandy and Alec. I even watched a little television.
After an hour or so, I walked around his apartment. I’d been to his house in Barrington multiple times. It was so different from here, full of life and energy and lived in, compared to this modern, stiff, but well-decorated bachelor pad.
I wrapped my arms around myself, having enough of the dreariness. I wondered what it would be like to live in the quiet. I’d never known such a life. All I’d known with my siblings was fighting, chaos, craziness, and laughter until my belly ached. No wonder Austin preferred living in Barrington. Here, it felt … lonely.
After one too many minutes of listening to the heater run, I decided to keep moving. I turned on all the lights in the apartment. Now, I could see every corner of dust. I scoured the cabinets for paper towels, so I could dust and clean up a little bit.
Then, the real work began. If we were going to be here for four weeks, what he needed was food and all the toiletries men used—shampoo, conditioner, and soap. So, after I dusted and cleaned and lit some candles to make sure this place smelled of life, I walked to the local grocery store, which was simply downstairs, inside of Austin’s fancy building.
The high-rise had restaurants, a grocery store, and a liquor store. I debated on just ordering in but nixed that. I’d cook instead. I wasn’t good at just sitting down. I figured I’d make him a stir-fry tonight.
Hours later—after I cleaned, stocked his fridge, cooked, canceled a few more wedding arrangements, and made a few work calls—I sat down on the couch in his room. The television volume was low, but I had the captions on, watching an episode ofFriends. I was laughing at something Ross had said when my head jerked to the right.
Austin stirred and groaned a little. I wondered if he was in pain.
Immediately, I was up on my feet, grabbing the painkillers on the side of his bed, the glass of water in hand.
He opened one eye and then the other, still groggy. “Sydney?” His voice was heavy with sleep and anesthesia.
“Hey. You’re probably in a lot of pain. Dr. Klein gave me this to give to you as soon as you woke up. An antibiotic to prevent infection and another pill for pain.”
He pushed himself to a sitting position and grimaced.
“Take it easy. You don’t want to hurt yourself or strain something. Plus, you have to heal properly, remember?” I placed the pills back on his side table. Maybe he needed to eat something first. I should read the directions on the bottles.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, confused.
Oh, right.He’d been so loopy at the hospital that we hadn’t discussed me being his nurse.
“I picked you up and brought you here. Obviously, you don’t remember that part.” I wrung my hands together. “And I’ve decided to take you up on your offer.”
“What offer?” His voice was hoarse, sexy even, and I was solely focused on his lips and the bedhead he was rocking.
“Sydney … what offer?” he repeated.
My eyes widened, and I bit my cheek to bring me out of my Austin daze.
Crap, did he not remember?
“Um, the whole strings-attached deal you offered me right before I stormed out of your hospital room. Remember, theif you’ll be my nurse, you can do the PR for my new companything?”
He closed his eyes, his chin dipping to his chest. “Yeah, I remember.”
All my muscles tightened. There was so much riding on this.Had he changed his mind?
