Page 63 of Little Sunshine

He looked genuinely confused. “Why would I? You’re here to rest. And since you barely cracked a lid when I gave you meds during the night, you clearly need it.”

That surprised me—and not just because he had actually gone through the hassle.

As a kid, Veronica—or my nan, for that matter—had never come to tuck me in. No story times, snuggles, or whispered conversations like they showed on TV. They’d certainly never woken up to give me medicine or check on me when I was sick.

Maternal instincts were a lacking hereditary trait.

What wasn’t lacking, however, was the amount of creepy friends Veronica would entertain. A strong sense of self-preservation had long ago made me a light sleeper. My subconscious knew that if someone was in my room, they did not belong there. Yet I’d slept through that.

“Don’t worry, sunshine.” He softly jabbed his fist into his own chin. “You only tried to punch me twice.”

There it is.

Since Ash had dragged his ass out of bed to help with my pain management, I was glad a couple of weak punches were all I’d thrown.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said before clarifying. “The punches and sleeping so late. Sorry about both, and I can just set an alarm so you don’t?—”

“Hush, little girl.” Ash stepped closer, and I should’ve stepped back.

I should’ve yelled at him for telling me what to do.

Despite the apology that’d just left my mouth, I should’ve punched him for the stupid nickname.

I stayed frozen. Blank.

His voice was low. Soft yet somehow equally rough. “You apologize too much.”

“Sorry,” I said before I could catch myself.

I expected… something. Him to laugh or make fun of me or tell me I was annoying.

Instead, he moved away so suddenly, it took my brain a moment to catch up. “You need to get back in bed.”

“I actually feel better now that I’m up and stretching.”

Ash looked at me for a long moment, like he was weighing whether he believed me. He must’ve reached the conclusion that I wasn’t lying—for once—because he opened the front door and stepped aside. “Make sure you take it easy and rest, but I want you to make yourself comfortable. Explore. Nowhere is off-limits.”

“Including your bedroom that I’m staying in?”

He looked over his shoulder to shoot me a dimpled, unapologetic grin. “Including that.”

For a brief—and wildly irrational—moment, I wanted to push it. To ask if leaving was off-limits.

I wasn’t even sure why.

I knew I could. Like Ash had pointed out, I wasn’t a prisoner. Not by his design, at least. I was stuck because I had nowhere safe to go since my apartment was temporarily off-limits.

My lack of friends and family and options was depressing.

“Was the room okay? Did you think of anything you need?” he asked.

Yeah. A life.

“A hairbrush?” I asked instead since finger-combing my hair was tedious.

His brows lowered. “There should be one in there.” Like he could read my thoughts, he added, “It’s brand new.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

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