Page 76 of Until I Find You

Her amber eyes widen. “Okay.”

Kirk returns with the first aid kit and places it on the offending butcher block. “You want me to take care of it? I’m a pro by this point.”

“I’ve got it.” Not too forcefully. An easeful confidence I don’t think I had until I met Camilla.

“Suit yourself,” he says, opening the box for me. “Should be everything you need right here.”

I grab the tweezers, unwrap them from their hygienic packaging, and return to Camilla. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she says, tilting her head away and closing her eyes.

I pull her finger up close to my face so I can get a good look at the wound and with the tweezers, snag the little bit of splinter poking through the surface. I pull, but only get half of it.

I curse to myself, the other bit still dug below the surface.

“Is it done?” Camilla asks.

“Not quite. I’m going to have to work the next bit out.”

She peeks one eye open, peering at the splinter.

“Hydrogen peroxide will draw it out,” Kirk says from over my shoulder.

I resist glaring at him. “Thanks.”

I retrieve the hydrogen peroxide and return to Camilla. “It’s going to burn for a second.”

“I know,” she squeaks.

Her fear twists in my stomach.

I want to be able to care for her the best way I know how, the way I can when we’re alone.

With Kirk right there, though, I can’t give her what she needs. What I need.

“Kirk, would you mind getting a crew to deal with the butcher block today? I’ll pay, I just don’t want this hurting anyone else.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Kirk strides out of the backroom with his phone in hand.

I’m more than positive he’ll get it done with the carrot dangled in front of his face.

Camilla frowns. “Why did you do that?”

I shake my head, smiling.

She can be so oblivious sometimes.

I kiss her softly on the lips. “So I could do that.”

“Oh…well…”

I return to her finger and the hydrogen peroxide. “You ready?”

“Yeah, just do it.”

I pour just a tad on, enough to make the wound fizzle with foam.

Camilla winces, her whole face contorting.

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