Page 16 of Blitzing Emily

“I heard that speech a while ago. I’m not going anywhere, sugar.”

AFEW HOURSlater, Brandon shook Emily’s shoulder and spoke into her ear. “Wake up.” He sat down next to her on the bed.

“Absolutely not.” She sounded outraged. She tried to pull the blankets over her head again, but he was too fast for her.

“Let’s get you some medication. Sit up.”

He gave her a dose, and set the glass and bottle of pain reliever on the nightstand. He tugged the blankets up around her shoulders and fluffed the pillows around her head. “Now you can sleep.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me a story?” He heard the slight note of sarcasm in her tone, but he found himself chuckling again.

“Maybe I should.” He took one of her hands in both of his. “Once upon a time, there was a diva who knew nothing about football.”

“That’s not true. I know what a runback is.”

“Yes, you do.” His voice was quiet in the dimness of her room. “You’re practically an expert. Back to the story.” He thought for a moment. “The diva had a bad experience with a huge bunch of Mylar balloons, and she needed the handsome prince’s help.”

Emily let out a snort. He ignored it.

“Of course, the handsome prince was exhausted after a brutal workout with his teammates, but a few balloons didn’t scare him. Oh, no. He managed to save the diva from herself, even though she fought him all the way. She argued, and was generally disagreeable about the whole thing. He, of course, overlooked this.”

“I was not.”

“You just proved my point.”

“That’s not true.”

“Shh. You’ll make your headache worse,” he soothed.

“Like I can sleep now,” Emily muttered darkly.

“Of course you can. Close your eyes.”

She was falling asleep, but she had a few more things to say to him.

“You should go home and get some sleep. I’ll be fine. Thank you again.”

“Don’t you worry about me. You get better,” he said.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said.

“You, too, sugar.”

He walked to the other side of her room, settled into the chair, and threw the pink cashmere blanket from the foot of her bed over himself. She snuggled further into her blankets. Tomorrow morning, he’d be gone.

EMILY AWOKE WITHa gasp. She wasn’t alone.

It took a few seconds, but her eyes adjusted enough to the pearly light of dawn peeking through the blinds to spot Brandon, asleep in her bedroom chair. The cashmere blanket he’d thrown over himself didn’t come close to covering him. He’d curled himself into the chair, resting his head at a weird angle against the upholstery. His neck would be sore when he woke up. His feet hung over the edge of the ottoman. He didn’t look especially comfortable. She’d spent the night in her warm, soft, cozy bed, and he’d slept sitting up. For her.

To say it was a surprise that he was still there was an understatement. Even more, she was touched. Anyone else on the planet would have decided she was going to live and gone home to a much more comfortable bed, but he’d stayed.

She couldn’t figure it out. He didn’t know her. He owed her nothing. Actually, she owedhim. He shifted a little in his sleep and pulled the blanket higher around himself. He was probably cold. She could at least do something about that.

She shoved herself out of bed, pulling the blankets off as she went. She extracted a sand-colored woven-cotton blanket from the pile. It was still warm from her body heat. She tiptoed across the room.

She draped the blanket over him as carefully as she could. He stirred a little, but he didn’t open his eyes. She watched him sleep for a few moments. Maybe she should wake him up and tell him to go back to sleep in the bed for a while.

Maybe she needed to go downstairs, make some coffee, and get a grip on herself.

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