Page 10 of Lonely Heart

Instead, he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

“How about some ice?”

“Ice?”

He lifted an ice pack out of the first-aid kit and held it between us. “For the bruising. It might help.”

I couldn’t say it would make things better, but Marco was so concerned. I figured it wouldn’t hurt, and if it gave him some peace of mind, there was no harm in it. “Okay. Yeah, maybe that would help.”

Just as he was about to activate the ice pack, a knock came at the door. My body tensed, my eyes going wide. Marco noticedmy reaction, placed his hand on my forearm, and offered a reassuring squeeze. “That’s just the food I ordered. You’re okay.”

“Right. Right, I forgot you ordered dinner.”

He stood from the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

After I gave him a nod, Marco took off out of the bedroom and out to the door. I stayed where I was, feeling uneasy about being alone and anxiously waiting for him to return.

I was surprised by just how unsettled I felt knowing that the door was open, and Marco didn’t feel even the least bit concerned about it. Fortunately, he returned quickly, and when he held up the bag of food, the tension eased in my body. “Where would you like to eat? The bed, the table, or the couch?”

“I’m not sure I’ll have the strength to get myself off the couch if we eat there. Do you mind eating in the bed?”

He smiled and crossed the room. “Not at all. Whatever you want is fine by me.”

I scooted back on the king-sized bed, and Marco kicked off his shoes before sitting down on the opposite side. Then he pulled out the food.

“I got a couple of burgers, a chicken sandwich, some fries, onion rings, Caesar salads, and some drinks. You can have whatever you want.”

“Oh, wow. I don’t know what I want. Would you be upset if I cut one of the burgers and a chicken sandwich in half and had half of each?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ivy, eat whatever you want. And if you want to have some fries and some onion rings, that’s fine, too,” he insisted.

I smiled at him, beyond grateful to have someone like him in my life. “Thanks. And I’ll pay you back for this, but I need to sort all of that out with my bank tomorrow, since my purse got stolen.”

Marco’s eyes narrowed on me, a clear indication he wasn’t happy about something.

When he didn’t share what had caused the change in him, I asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Don’t insult me, Ivy.”

“I didn’t realize I had. What do you mean?”

“I don’t need you to pay me back for this,” he said, his tone bordering on irritated. “I told you I was going to take care of you tonight. I think I can swing a meal for the both of us.”

I shrank back, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate anything like that. I just… I don’t want you to have to put out the money for me to eat just because I was so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid. You were attacked. And I think it’s okay for someone to look after you, given what you’ve been through tonight. I’m happy to be that person for you.”

Having stuck my foot in my mouth enough for the evening, I decided not to say anything else. Instead, I reached for the food and accepted it as the nice gesture from Marco that he wanted it to be.

After we both had gotten in a few bites of our meals, I looked up at Marco and said, “This is nice. Thank you for this.”

He smiled at me. “You’re welcome. Make sure you save some room, though.”

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