“Oh my gosh, I feel like a new person.”
A new tired person, that was. With the stronger medication, the pain had finally dulled, but in its place came pure exhaustion.
She leaned her head back on the couch, and her eyes threatened to close. It had been nearly impossible to keep them open since Flynn had placed her there. But she forced herself to remain awake by sheer will, knowing she’d sleep better with some food in her stomach.
“Good.” Flynn was in the kitchen preparing dinner. He was like an angel disguised as a man. “You shouldn’t be in pain.”
There was still that same edge to his voice.
She bit her lip as she watched him move around the kitchen. No one had ever stood up for her like he had in the hospital. Even in the middle of the drug case in Michigan, her parents and Greg had said they believed her. But her lawyer was the only one who’d actually fought for her.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder why Flynn had to. How had Victoria known about what happened in Michigan?
“What are you thinking about?”
Flynn’s words cut into her thoughts. “I’m wondering how you’re making dinner when I have no ingredients.”
He gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her, which was fair. She’d never been good at hiding the truth. But she also didn’t lie. She honestly didn’t have much in the house.
“You had some pumpkin and leek, so I’ve made a pumpkin soup.”
Ah, that’s what smelled so amazing. She’d always loved a good pumpkin soup. “So you’re cute, kind, and you can cook. That’s like the full package.”
He chuckled, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. Her heart gave a little thud against her ribs. “I don’t know about the whole package. I can be pretty damn grumpy sometimes. I’ve even been called an asshole on the odd occasion.” Carina laughed. “But in terms of cooking, I got better when Dad passed away. Mom needed a lot of support, so I took some leave. I cooked for her a lot.”
The smile slipped from her lips. “Your mom told me it was cancer.”
He nodded. “We caught it too late. By the time he was diagnosed, we only had him for a few more weeks.”
Carina pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m so sorry. What a horrible time.”
Flynn’s brows tugged together. “Sometimes I wonder…”
But he didn’t finish the thought. “What?”
“Mom used to say she wished she could forget. That losing him was the worst thing to ever happen to her.”
Carina’s heart broke. “You wonder if her Alzheimer’s is the universe’s way of helping her forget sometimes?”
He poured the soup into bowls. “It’s twisted, isn’t it? That this disease, which robs her of so much, also wipes that time away. She’s given these days where she doesn’t know what it’s like to lose her husband and her sister.”
“It’s not twisted at all,” she said quietly. “Losing your dad must have been hard for you, too.”
“It was the worst period of my life. My dad was, and still is, the best man I will ever meet. If I can be half the man he was, I’ll be a lucky guy.”
Flynn brought two bowls to the coffee table, then leaned over her, helping her rise to a sitting position. Now that the pain wasn’t so all-consuming, she was able to appreciate the effect his touch had on her. The way her skin tingled from his hands. The way her stomach clenched at his closeness.
She expected him to move away once she was sitting. Instead, he paused, and their gazes clashed. Her heart gave another thud but this time for a completely different reason. For a second, she wondered if the man was going to kiss her. Her gaze lowered to his lips.
But then he slowly moved away, and it took everything in her not to show her disappointment. She shouldn’t be disappointed. He wasn’t going to kiss her when she’d just been in the hospital. He was here to take care of her.
Still, frustration snaked up her chest.
He reached for the bowls and handed her one before sitting beside her.
When she took her first sip, her eyes drifted closed in bliss. “Flynn! This is so good.” Certainly better than anything she could have whipped up.
He lifted a shoulder. “I’ve made it a lot.” He paused. “Mom told me you made her dinner today.”
She didn’t miss the disapproval in his voice. Her gaze lowered as she stirred the soup. “I didn’t know when you’d be back, and I wanted to make sure she was taken care of.”
He shook his head. “You just got out of the hospital. You should have been resting. You could have asked the guys at Blue Halo to check on her.”
“I wanted to be there to make sure she wasn’t having a bad day.”
There was a small crease between his brows. “Thank you for looking after her.”
“It’s my job.”
His expression softened. He glanced around the room before looking back to her. “I was thinking…maybe I should stay tonight.”
Her brain misfired.
“On the couch,” he quickly added.
Nope. That was not disappointment rising in her chest again. “Don’t feel like you have to. I mean, I should be okay.”
“You need someone with you, Carina. Not only because of your knee but because you had a concussion. Let me be that person.”
He was right. She didn’t need to be a nurse to know that. “Okay. Thank you.”
Flynn was just rinsing the last dish when he heard the light footsteps from the bedroom. He cursed under his breath when he turned and saw Carina, walking slowly, her face pained.
He moved across the room to her side. “What the hell are you doing?”
When she attempted to push at his hands, he grabbed her arms, keeping her still.
“Carina.” There was definitely warning in his voice, but hell, the woman seemed to need it.
She looked up, and his breath caught in his throat because her mouth was too damn close to his, just like it had been on the couch.
“I was just going to the bathroom.”
Her breath brushed against his face. His body tensed, every part of him wanting to lean in and kiss her.
Get yourself together, Flynn.
It took too much strength to tug his gaze away from hers. Then he lifted her, and her hand went to his chest.
“Next time, call me,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Sorry. I didn’t feel the pain, so I thought I’d be okay.”
“Yeah, well, your knee’s still three times the size it should be.”
She frowned, glancing down at her knee as they stepped into the bathroom. Christ, even that little frown was cute. He lowered her to the floor slowly.
“I’m feeling pretty wrecked. I might brush my teeth and go to bed after this.” She paused, fiddling with a small thread on her pants like she was nervous. “I, um, have a confession.”
His limbs tingled. The way she said it made him think this little confession would do nothing for the fire racing through his veins.
“That shirt you gave me the other week, when I fell off the boxes? I’ve, um…been wearing it to bed.”
Uh, fuck. The image of her in his shirt, and only his shirt…it had something primal rising up in his chest.
Christ, he was in trouble.
“I don’t mind.” No, he fucking loved it. Too much.
She gave a small nod. “Could you, uh, grab it for me? It’s under my pillow. I’ll get changed in here.”
She wet her lips, and he had to clench his fist to stop from grabbing her again. He quickly turned, moved out of the room before he did something stupid, and reached beneath her pillow.
When he handed her the shirt, he was careful not to let their fingers touch. Not when he felt so damn weak. “You gonna be okay in here?”
She gave a small chuckle. “Yes. I’ll manage.”
Good. Because helping her change…yeah, he wouldn’t survive that.
He fled the room quickly, pulling the door closed. He thought once he was out, he’d be able to breathe more easily. Apparently, it didn’t work like that. All he could think about was her getting naked behind that door. Of his shirt touching her bare skin…
Fuck. What was it about this woman that had every part of him wanting her? Craving her? Feeling like she belonged with him?
He waited in the bedroom, not wanting her to walk out by herself. The second the door opened, a storm burst in his chest. A storm of heat and fire and need.
Mine. That was all he could think when he saw the woman. Her hair was down and tousled, her face cleanly washed, and he could just see the hard peaks of her nipples pressing against his shirt.
Sucking in a breath, he gritted his teeth as he lifted her and walked her over to the bed, her body too damn soft against his. The second she was on the mattress, it took everything in him to step back.
“Flynn?”
God. Now he had to look at the woman again without touching her.
His gaze trickled back to her. She was under the sheets, but that didn’t stop the torment he felt.
She frowned, tilting her head. “You look angry.”
“Because all I can think about is pressing you into this mattress with my body.”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected his honesty. He hadn’t either. But fuck the lies and the cordial pleasantries. He felt too damn much for that.
Her mouth opened and closed a few times. “I want you too,” she whispered. “Maybe…” She wet her lips.
“What is it, honey?”
“Maybe you could not sleep on the couch.”
He stepped back toward her, his hand curving around her cheek. “You sure?”
She leaned into his touch. “Yeah. I mean, it’s just sleep, right?”
Nope. With her, it was never just anything. “I’ll go turn everything off and be back.”
When his hand dropped, she snuggled into a pillow and shut her eyes. She was tired—so damn tired that he wondered how much sleep she’d gotten last night. Probably very little, if any.
For a moment, he watched her. Then he moved around the house, checking the doors and windows and turning everything off.
When he climbed into bed, he debated for a minute whether to touch her. He was a weak man, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and carefully tugged her back into his front.
Fucking heaven.
“Thank you for today,” she said softly. “I should have made more of an effort to speak up, see another doctor, but I was so tired. So tired of fighting for myself.”
What had she been fighting so long that was exhausting her? He tugged her a bit closer. “What happened in Michigan?”
“Nothing good. I started dating a doctor at the hospital. His name was Greg, and all the women loved him because he was charming. Charismatic. Cute.”
His chest splintered at the very thought of her dating another man. But he was careful not to tense his muscles. He didn’t need her knowing how much her words affected him.
“The change in my female coworkers was instant. Especially because one of them, Shelley, had been going out for coffee with him occasionally. She’d thought he was going to start dating her.” She sighed. “They were just…mean. Bitter. I don’t know which of them made the accusation. That information was never released by the hospital board. Probably Shelley.”
He stroked his thumb across her belly through the shirt. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. I’m just glad it’s over.”
It didn’t take long for her breaths to even out. He continued to hold her, wondering if there would come a time he’d ever want to let go. He hated that she’d been through such a horrible ordeal in Michigan. What he didn’t hate, though, was that it had led her here. Because the woman did something to him. Something no woman had ever done before.
And even though it felt good, it was also scary as all hell.
