AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Only until tomorrow. That’s all the time I could afford off from work.”
Aithan grimaced. “Let me know if you need money.”
“That’s sweet, but you have enough to worry about.” She patted his knee. “I’m fine.”
Two young nurses strode into the room. One smiled brightly for him. “Ready to take another walk, Mr. Mazur?”
The other frowned at us and the furniture rearrangement, but the hard look Paulina gave her made the woman find something else to worry about.
“Sure.” He slowly stood. The nurses arranged his IV on the stand so he could wheel it along and he offered me his arm. “Come with me?”
“Of course.”
Paulina pulled her phone from her purse. “I’ll call Babcia and Mama.”
“You’re definitely slower than usual,” I remarked, “but you’re standing straighter than I expected.”
He smiled and kissed my temple. “I want out of here as soon as possible. Pauli is right, I suck at sitting still.”
I nodded. “And I meant what I said. Come stay with me while you heal.” I tightened my grip on his arm, suddenly wanting him to take me up on my offer. “It’ll mean a lot less worry for me.”
He looked at me side-long, a bemused smile on his lips. “You worry about me?”
“Since you got your senses knocked out? Yes. And I know you think you’ll be a burden, but that’s not true. I’m used to feeding another person and having you around won’t interrupt my work.” I peered up at him. I really liked that Aithan was so much taller than me. It was a nice change. “Please say yes. I want you to recover at my place. Besides, I offer home-cooked meals and therapy cats.”
He chuckled and winced but managed not to trigger another coughing fit. “How can I say no to that?”
“You will?”
“You’re sure about this, Zel?”
“One hundred ten percent sure.”
We reached the end of the hall and turned to retrace our steps. “Then, yes, I’ll stay with you.”
Smiling wide enough to crack my face, I pressed my cheek to his shoulder. “Good. That’s actually a relief.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t realize you were that worried. I’m sorry.”
We passed his room and continued down to the next bisecting hallway. “Don’t apologize.” I stroked his cheek. “Aithan, you matter to me. Don’t you know that?”
He stopped and cupped my jaw, tilted my head, and searched my face. “So soon?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“I thought it was just me.” He kissed me, and I wrapped my arms around him, forgetting about the nurses walking past, the hospital’s murmuring machine noises, his IV and injuries. Until he winced.
“Sorry.” I pulled back. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He turned us back around. “No, that was my fault.”
I exhaled relief. He wouldn’t be alone in an apartment, and we mattered to each other. Was that love? Maybe not quite, but it was definitely on the spectrum.
After I left the hospital, I stopped at my local pharmacy for my thyroid medication. Halloween screamed from half the aisles — candy and fake tombstones, plastic pumpkins and creepy skulls that shrieked as I passed them. The thirty-first was just days away. How had October flown by so quickly? It seemed like only days ago that I was planning a sunny vacation and fighting with Tristan.
I’d invited Paulina to have dinner with me, but she wanted to spend all her limited time with Aithan; she had an early flight the next morning. So I picked up coconut milk and raspberries at the grocery store and headed home.
I pulled into the complex driveway and found my garage blocked by a sleek black Audi coupe. Drew got out, wearing a sexy grin. His emerald tee shirt made his green eyes gleam, and the tight fit of his jeans offered a helluva nice view; the man was packing heat and I don’t mean a gun. His smile turned feral as he swaggered over. I rolled down my window, grabbed his face, and kissed him hard.
