Page 88 of Mended Hearts

By the time I came back, Leighton had gone horizontal, cheeks slightly pinker than before. I knelt beside her and brushed the damp curls off her forehead, smiling as her lashes fluttered open.

“I’m sorry you’re sick, beautiful.”

“I’ll get out of your hair,” she said, “as soon as I can stand.”

“Don’t you dare.” I stroked through her tangled bun, watching her melt a little. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She cracked one eye open to glare at me.

“I mean... if you have to be sick, I’m glad you’re here so I can take care of you.” Not helping, based on how her one eye narrowed. I grabbed a pink washcloth from Mattie’s vanity and dampened it with cold water.

“You have a weird definition of ‘nanny,’” she murmured.

Smirking, I pressed the cloth gently to her forehead. “You stopped being the nanny the moment I parked out front.”

“Mmm.” Her eyes drifted shut again. “Missed the memo. You have two sick kids. You don’t need to worry about me too.”

“Just let me take care of you, baby.”

“I should hate that you just called me that,” she mumbled, but tilted her face up anyway, letting me tend to her like it was instinct.

“But...”

“It sounds good whenyousay it.” Her lips curved, eyes fluttering open and shut like she couldn’t decide whether to fight or surrender.

Well, fuck if that didn’t make me preen.

“Hmmm. That’s good,” I murmured, brushing a knuckle along her jaw. “Take it easy, baby. I’ve got you.”

Leighton

I wokeup on a plush bed the following morning, soaking up the drool-worthy scent ofhimon the sheets. When I peeled my eyes open, I blinked into the cozy warmth of his bedroom. A vague memory of me cradled to his chest as he carried me to bed had me blushing. Nope. Not gonna think about that too hard. I’d probably leave it out of my daily phone call with Mom. No need to plant that idea in her head. Not yet, anyways.

Mouth full of cotton, I reached for the water on the bedside table, grateful to wash away the lingering acid as I steadied myself. Mercifully, my guts gave no hint of ejecting, so I did my business and washed up before tiptoeing through the doorway.

Laughter had me padding downstairs before creeping into the kitchen, where I found Ollie and the kids all huddled around the breakfast table, munching on sourdough toast and sipping ginger ale. Everyone had returned to their healthy complexions and—oh my god—that man’s smile was like a shot to the chest.

Ollie’s sparkling eyes landed on me, and his grin sloped up to the right. “Morning, Trouble.”

The image of him in my bed, inked skin kissed by the sun, flashed through my mind, and my ribs constricted.

One night.It wasn’t supposed to change anything. But as my hand settled on my palpitating heart and he slid out of the booth and closed the distance between us, I realized just how delusional I’d been, thinking I could taste this man and walk away.

Just sex. Lord, I was gonna have to eat so much crow when Alice found out.

The weight of that thought hit me before my focus scraped over the two kids lifting their heads to grin up at me.

Being with Ollie was an all-or-nothing scenario. And as he approached, looking at me like I gave the sun a reason to shine, I realized maybe that was exactly what I needed. His warm palms grazed over my cheeks, like he really wanted to cradle my face, but opted to brush my hair behind my ears instead.

“Morning, Ollie,” I said, beaming up at him as my face heated.

“Feeling better?”

“Much,” I assured him with a nod.

“Good. I don’t like seeing you like that.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

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