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Damn, he didn’t mean to blurt that out. Now she was staring deep into his eyes as if searching for the truth. He hooked his hand around his nape and gave it a nervous rub. “I thought the balloons would cheer you up. And improve the look of your boring beige apartment.”
She let out a groan. “You just had to get that dig in.”
“Yes, I did.” He took her by the arm again. “Do you want me to make a bed on the sofa for you? Or do you want to head to your room?”
“I’ll take the sofa. Thanks.” She bit off the last word with a begrudging look.
As they moved toward the sofa, she said, “I don’t like accepting help.”
“Get used to it. Because I’m not leaving until you’re fully recovered.”
“Lucky me.”
A grin tugged the corner of his lips. If she knew how much he loved her stubborn streak, she would submit faster to him babying her. Too bad he didn’t intend to mention it.
She batted some balloons out of her way in order to reach the sofa and lowered herself gingerly to the seat. The minute she was off her feet, he hurried for the extra pillow and blanket he’d found stowed on the top shelf of her linen closet.
When he brought them back to her, her eyes registered surprise. “You seem to know your way around my stuff.”
He fluffed the pillow and tucked it against the arm, then with a flick, unfurled the soft, lightweight blanket.
She sniffed. “Why do I smell dryer sheets?”
“Oh. Because I washed the pillow cover and blanket when I did your laundry.”
“You—” Her eyeballs popped. “Why did you do that?”
“So you wouldn’t have to.” He draped the blanket over her and stood back to eye his handiwork.
“AJ, I don’t need all this.”
He ignored her. “How about some tea? I bought some of that loose tea from your favorite shop.”
Now her jaw dropped. “You went all the way tothatshop?”
“The little market run by the family from Delhi.”
“But…it’s so far to drive just for some tea. When did you even make the trip? I didn’t think you ever left the hospital in two days!”
“You did sleep, Indika. Plus, I have my—”
“Ways,” she interrupted, shaking her head. “Tea sounds great.”
He threw her a smile but tried not to let her see the victory he felt that it only took two minutes of arguing for her to agree. On his way to the kitchen, he had to knock several balloons out of his path. A few had floated into the kitchen and he shooed them out the door.
Fixing tea wasn’t exactly something he was practiced at, but he’d seen Indika make it before. He was a quick study too—he only needed to see something once to remember the steps.
Since he’d acquainted himself with her apartment during those long, miserable hours when he couldn’t sleep, he located the electric kettle and the tiny strainer used for the leaves.
After he plugged in the kettle, he pulled out a tray of cheese cubes and her favorite black olives, filling the partitions. He caught the notes of her voice and tilted his head toward the living room. She was speaking on the phone with somebody.
Irritation rolled through him. Not home from the hospital five minutes and she was probably already calling the office.
But what if she was speaking to that guy she had lunch with? Mr. Yacht Club?
Hedidn’t show up at the hospital or even send her flowers. Either they weren’t that friendly…or the guy didn’t know she’d been stabbed.
Once the tea was ready, Apollo carried the steaming mug and tray of snacks into the living room. Balloons parted to reveal Indika was on her feet.
