Page 11 of Lonely Heart

I cocked a brow, the move making me wince with pain. “Save room? For what?”

Marco’s smile turned into a full-blown grin as he reached inside the food bag. He lifted out a container and declared, “Dessert. I got you some cheesecake, because I know it’s your favorite.”

My lips parted in shock. I hadn’t hidden the fact I loved cheesecake, but that Marco had remembered and thought enough to get me some warmed my heart. “Boy, you sure do know how to turn a girl’s day around, don’t you?”

He laughed. “I wish it was that easy.”

I couldn’t begin to understand why he thought it wasn’t, and I was too much of a chicken to ask. “Did you get yourself a dessert?”

Marco set the cheesecake down and pulled out one more container. “A brownie. And I don’t mind sharing this with you, either, but you’ll have to make me one promise.”

“What’s that?”

He sent a knowing look my way. “Don’t tell Jules I dared to buy a dessert from someone other than her.”

I burst into a fit of laughter, the sheepish, guilty look on Marco’s face an indication he was terrified of what my sister’s reaction would be.

My only sister, and the youngest of the Westwood siblings, Jules, had always loved baking. She’d graduated from high school the same year I finished college, and she immediately enrolled into an accelerated pastry program. Now, she had her own bakery that Cooper, Marco, and a few of the other guys who worked on their team had built for her on the Westwood’s campus.

Cookies, cakes, breads, and brownies were just a few of her talents, and if she had learned that Marco and I ate a dessert that she could have made for us, she probably would have given us a hard time.

Despite the horror of what I’d gone through not even two full hours ago, I was now laughing. It was all thanks to Marco. He’d taken my mind off what had happened, doing it while making me feel comfortable, safe, and most of all, not alone.

“Your secret is safe with me,” I promised, figuring it was the least I could do for him.

Marco and I spent the next little while eating dinner. Before I dove into the dessert, I got up and switched my clothes over to the dryer.

And once we finished our delicious dessert—though we both agreed it was still not nearly as good as Jules would have made—Marco said, “Okay. Time for your ice and some television. What do you think?”

“That sounds good.”

He grabbed the ice pack, activated it, and held it out to me. I took it from him and peeled the blankets back to crawl beneath them. And when I held the ice pack up to my breasts, my nipples reacting to the cold almost instantly, Marco was enough of a gentleman to not stare. “Got anything special you’d like to watch?”

I shook my head. “You choose?”

Marco moved to the chair a few feet away from the bed and sat down, his attention focused on the television. As he flipped through the channels to find something to put on, I stared at him, wondering what was happening inside his head.

He must have found something interesting, because he looked over and asked, “What about this?”

I didn’t look away to see what show he’d put on. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean? You told me you wanted me to choose.”

“Yes, but why are you sitting over there?”

He hesitated, his throat bobbing as he took a deep swallow. “I thought you’d want me to stay in the room with you tonight. If you want me to go out and stay on the couch, I can do that.”

“I thought you would stay in the bed with me.”

His expression was filled with a touch of disbelief and a lot of reluctance. “If that’s what you want, I’m happy to do that. I just didn’t want to do anything to traumatize you further.”

“We’re watching television, Marco. I know you’d never hurt me, and if I’m honest, I’d feel better having you close by.”

Marco leaned forward, his arms resting on his thighs, as his eyes roamed over my face. I didn’t know how much time hadpassed, but it felt like an eternity before he stood and came over to sit beside me in the bed.

I smiled appreciatively at him.

He returned that smile.

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