Page 60 of One More Shot
‘You weren’t exaggerating about the wholedeaththing,’ I say as she steps aside for me to enter the house.
Still looks gorgeous, though.
‘Ha, ha,’ she manages to croak out, her voice as rough as sandpaper. ‘What’re you doing here?’
I lift the plastic bag in my hands. ‘I’m here to take care of you.’
‘Wh—’ Eliott breaks out into a brutal coughing fit before she can voice her question, and I take the opportunity to shove her into the living room and onto the couch. She protests weakly but otherwise seems content with letting me get her settled onto the sofa.
‘You just rest here,’ I tell her as I pluck the blanket off her shoulders and drape it over her once she’s settled on the sofa. ‘Give me twenty minutes in the kitchen.’
Her eyes narrow a fraction. ‘To dowhat?’
‘I told you,’ I say with a grin, already backing out of the kitchen. ‘I’m taking care of you tonight.’
She sinks into the cushions and blinks up at me with weary eyes. ‘You don’t have to do this, Dane. I can take care of myself. It’s just a—’ Her shoulders heave as she explodes into another coughing fit. ‘It’s just a cold. It’s not a big deal.’
I don’t know what it says about her that I can tell she truly means it. She genuinely thinks that it’s not worth my time to be here, taking care of her. And I don’t know what it says about me that I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she never feels like that ever again.
‘You’re not well,’ I say firmly, placing the back of my palm against her forehead. She’s burning up. ‘Let me take care of you.’
‘But—’
‘Iwantto take care of you,’ I say, choosing a different tack. I think this one works because her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks darken just enough for me to notice.
She gives me a small nod. ‘All right.’ She swallows. ‘You can take care of me.’
‘Good.’ I flash her a grin and then make my way to her kitchen. ‘I’ve got two things for you,’ I call as I tug a thermos out of the bag and then start rifling around her cupboards until I find what I’m looking for.
Eliott looks at me with poorly concealed suspicion when I return to the living room. ‘What’s in there?’
I hand her the thermos and she gives it a tentative sniff.Recognition starts to dawn in her eyes, but she’s not quite there yet.
‘Whatisthis?’
‘I’m not entirely sure,’ I tell her earnestly. ‘Gloria told me to make it for you. Said it helps with colds.’
Eliott pulls a face, her cute nose wrinkling as the penny finally drops. ‘Oh God, I know what this is. It’s her remedy. She swears by it. When I was growing up, if I so much as sneezed in her presence she’d make me drink a shot of it.’
‘Does it work?’
Eliott groans as she slumps further into the sofa. ‘Yes? No? Maybe? I don’t know. It’s disgusting, but tell her it doesn’t work and she’ll just say “you’re not dead, are you?” like there’s some correlation and—’ She stops herself abruptly mid-sentence and looks at me, her eyes shining. ‘You got this from Nan?’
I nod as I pull the lid off the thermos and start pouring the brown liquid into the two shot glasses I grabbed from the cupboard. ‘I called her. You don’t mind, do you?’
‘No— I—Why?’
I let a mischievous grin take over my face. ‘That’s part two. First…’ I nod to the shot glasses on the coffee table and she immediately shakes her head.
‘No. Absolutely not,’ she says, trying to inject some sternness into her voice. She’s so bunged up, she ends up sounding more like a toddler than anything else. I ignore her and slide a shot of Gloria’s remedy to her.
‘Drink up.’
Her eyes slide to the remaining glass and she looks at me expectantly. It’s weird. She doesn’t have to say a word, but I know exactly what she’s asking. I hand her a glass and then lift my own. We loop our arms around each other and catch each other’s eye. Hers are tired and low, but there’s a spark there when she meets mine.
I don’t think I could ever get bored of looking into her eyes.
The corners of her lips lilt into a soft grin and she nods. ‘Ready?’
