Page 81 of When Love Is Unexpected

"Hold on," I say, standing up. "I think we have some ice packs in the fridge."

I pull two ice packs from the refrigerator and wrap them in a towel.

"Here, put this over your eyes."

I watch her slip under the covers and then place the ice packs over her eyes.

"Keep them there for ten to fifteen minutes."

"Okay, Dr. Jameson," she says, smiling.

"That actually has a good ring to it," I say. "Maybe I missed my calling."

"Leave the doctoring to me, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am," I say, walking to the closet to pull out my bedding for the night.

I keep my eyes on her and watch her drift off to sleep, the ice packs still covering her eyes. I get up and gently lift them off her face. The swelling has gone down, and her breathing is deep and steady, signaling that she is fast asleep.

I sit on the couch and open my laptop to answer a couple of emails from work. Then I see another message from Patricia in my inbox.

Dear Sam, I'm thinking of you. Love, Patricia.

She sent it at eleven twenty-nine, four minutes ago. That means she was lying in bed writing me an email. I power off the laptop and get up to turn off the lamp on the nightstand.

I glance at Laila. She looks like an angel. Her skin is pale and smooth. Her long dark eyelashes dust her cheeks. The freckles on her face seem darker, maybe because she'd been crying. I made this woman cry. I never want to do that again. I gently pull the top of the blanket up to cover her arms. There's that birthmark on her shoulder begging me for a kiss.

I lean down and gently kiss it. When I glance at Laila, her eyes are fixed on me. They are clear and as green as an emerald ocean.

"You missed," she says sleepily. "Try again."

All reason, all willpower, and all promise of never again are completely forgotten as my lips descend on hers with all the love, passion, and desire I've been holding inside for two long years.

Chapter 19

Laila

When his lips meet mine, I put my arms around his neck as he pulls me into a sitting position. At first, it seems like he's pouring all the day's frustration into this one hard kiss, but after a few seconds, it transforms into a long, sweet, tender kiss, like the slow and steady rhythm of a love song. His hand is on my neck, gently caressing all my hurt and doubts into oblivion.

When the kiss ends, he rests his forehead on mine.

"Good night, Laila," he says in a husky voice. "I'm going to go sleep in the house."

I nod and give him a knowing smile, "Good night."

***

When I wake up in the morning, I go for a short run on the beach. The weather is breezy and cool, and the beach is empty except for a few people out for a walk. I use the time it takes to walk back to the house to call Katherine.

I let her know the lunch meeting with Eric appears to have worked because he called and apologized.

"Good," she says. "It sounds like the guys put the fear of God in him."

"Especially Aaron," I say.

"Yeah, I heard," she says, laughing.

"Does Adam still have the shirt I gave him?" I ask. "The one that says World's Best Brother on it?"

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