Page 10 of Love Me, Daddy
All in all, Loren was very appealing.
Nathan must have made some noise because the next thing he knew, he was pinned by the bright blue gaze of the owner of his appreciation.
“Hey. I was going to come and check on you again once I’d made some food. How are you doing?” Loren beamed directly at Nathan, making his knees weak.
“I’m good.” All of what Loren said finally registered. “Um…check on me again?”
Loren nodded and turned back to the stove, removing the bacon from the pan and placing it on a plate. “Yeah, I’ve been checking on you every two hours all night. Do you know you sleep like the dead!” He laughed, lifting a plate and passing it over to Nathan. “Brunch is served.”
Nathan’s gaze widened as he scanned the room for a clock, seeing it was eleven in the morning. “Woah. I haven’t slept that long in a long time.”
“Well, your head injury coupled with a warm bed and painkillers helped.” He reached the plate out to Nathan, indicating for him to sit at the breakfast bar. “Here. Eat up.”
Nathan sat, floored by the amount of food he had in front of him. “I don’t…”
Loren glanced at him when he didn’t continue. “Don’t what?”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to eat all this.”
Loren smiled. “Eat what you can. But you need to keep your energy up.” Loren brought over his plate, which had half the amount of food on it.
Half-wondering why he needed high energy levels, Nathan ate the pancakes, bacon, beans and toast. He had not eaten food like that in a long time. The thought reminded him of Robbie and Daisy. They were probably really worried about him. He hoped Daisy wasn’t too sick. He felt bad for not taking any medication back to them, but he knew it couldn’t be helped.
“What’s wrong?” Loren reached across the space and rested his hand over the top of Nathan’s.
Nathan glanced at him and back to the plate. “My friends are likely to be worried about me.” He remembered something Loren had said earlier in their conversation and frowned over at Loren. “Why did you check on me every two hours last night?”
Loren’s eyebrows rose. “You have a head injury; I needed to be sure you were still breathing whilst in my care.”
Mouth falling open, Nathan apologised, “I’m sorry. I never thought about you having to do that. You must be knackered.” He put his cutlery down and stood. “I’ll get out of your way, and you can get some more rest.”
“Sit.”
He was sat back in his seat before he’d consciously registered the order. He bit his lip as he stared at Loren.
“Now, firstly, you don’t need to be sorry. I was happy to do it. It was more for my peace of mind than anything else. I’m sorry if you feel I intruded on your space, but I had to be sure you were okay.”
“No—”
“I should have told you I would be doing it. Although I don’t think it mattered because you were delirious every time I woke you.” Loren smirked. “It was cute.”
“I don’t remember waking up at all.”
“You were well gone. An alarm right by your ear wouldn’t have woken you.” Loren snickered.
Nathan flushed. “Sorry. I was comfortable.”
Loren’s smile softened. “I’m glad.” He picked up his fork and prepared to eat again. “Secondly, you don’t need to get out of my way. You are welcome to stay for as long as you need to.”
Leaving Nathan with those words, Loren shovelled some food into his mouth, gaze fixed on his plate, leaving Nathan stunned.
“Wha–?” Nathan inhaled, gaze roaming the space in front of him. He couldn’t understand why this stranger offered him the room to stay in. He would have loved to accept it, but Nathan hated being a burden. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”
Loren nodded slowly but didn’t reply, just carried on eating.
Nathan wasn’t sure what to say, so he picked up his cutlery and finished off his food. And he was immensely glad he had when Loren gifted him with a grin which lit up the house.
“I’ve washed and dried your clothes. I thought it would be better to get the dirt off the knees of your jeans rather than let it dry on.” Loren picked up the plates and moved back to the kitchen area, placing them in the sink. “Can I have another check of your head?”
