Page 50 of Cut up
He shrugs. “A little better. I’m glad you told me to stay home. I don’t think I could’ve made it through work like this. Thank you… for looking after me.” He looks shy, like he’s not used to being taken care of.
“I know you’d do the same for me,” I say, smiling.
We spend the rest of the day in Lucas’s bed watching TV. He drifts inand out of sleep, and I don’t mind. Tyler comes home at one point, so I pop out to sayhi, then return to Lucas’s room.
We eat dinner in bed too. His fever’s gone now, though the coughing and sneezing hasn’t.
He keeps insisting he doesn’t want me to get sick, but I’m honestly enjoying myself. Even without much conversation, it’s nice just being with him.
After another episode, I yawn.
“I might head to bed.”
“You can sleep here, if you like?”
I want to. I really,reallywant to. But I shouldn’t. I’ve spent the whole day here, I even napped on him. That’s enough temptation for one day.
“Thanks, but I should probably head to my bed.” I laugh softly. “Been in here all day.”
He nods, eyes dipping. “Yeah. That’s fine. Thank you for today. You seriously made being sick bearable.”
“It was my pleasure, Lucas.” I lean over and kiss his cheek. I’m so tempted to kiss his lips. But I don’t. I pull away, climb out of bed, and start to head to my room.
Gizmo stays cuddled up to him, staring at me like she’s judging me.
Bitch, where are you going? Let’s just sleep here.
But I need space. If I stay, I won’t be able to stop myself. These feelings are already too much. One part of me says everything about him is right. But another part? It whispers that the timing is wrong. Talk about right person, wrong time. But maybe, eventually? The timing could be right?
Gizmo hops out of bed, meows softly, and follows me. I give Lucas one last quick smile before leaving the room.
“Night Angel.”
I make my way to my room, the butterflies going crazy in mystomach, because Lucas called meAngel,again. Every time he says it, it lights something up inside me. I have to stop myself from turning around and going back to him.
I don’t though. I keep going. I make it to my room and get myself ready for bed, my thoughts still drifting to Lucas.
28
Angel
I ended up taking the whole weekend off, partly because I really needed it, and also because Camille kept demanding I shouldn’t go to work.
The moment I met her I knew she was an angel and this weekend—her looking after me—only proved that fact. She’smyAngel.
Even if she isn’t really mine.
I drag myself out of bed. My cold is still lingering, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was. I have to get back to work today. We’ve got a handover for a house this week, and I need to be there to finalise everything. I also have to make time to look over applicants for the new roles I’ve advertised.
Tyler and I get to the job site just as the sun is starting to rise. Thehouse is a modern Queenslander-style home, and it still has that new house smell—the one I never get tired of, even after all these builds. I stand in the kitchen with the trades and run through the final checklist for the week.
Honestly, everything looks amazing. I feel proud of what we’ve done here. The owners are going to love it.
Around midday, I stop in at Gloria’s Cafe to grab a coffee and something to eat. The bell chimes as I walk in, the smell of roasted coffee beans wrapping around me. There’s a waitress behind the counter I haven’t seen before. She flashes a bright smile when I approach, and she keeps throwing flirty looks my way as she makes my order.
Normally, I’d flirt back. She’s cute, and it’s the kind of hookup I wouldn’t usually think twice about. But something holds me back.
I know what it is.
