Page 54 of Not A Chance

“Hopefully, they will help bring your fever down. When was the last time you ate anything?” She just shrugged a reply.

“Do you think you can eat some soup?” I indicated the still-steaming bowl of canned soup that I’d heated up in her microwave.

She sat up slowly, putting her back against her headboard. “Maybe,” Indie rasped. Jesus. Her voice sounded rough. I winced in sympathy.

“Okay. That’s good, baby.” Not waiting for her to reach for it herself, I took the bowl from her nightstand and grabbed the spoonwith my other hand.

I sat down on the edge of the bed close enough to her that I could feel the heat of her thigh against my side.

“You are not going to feed me.” Indie mustered what must have been her fiercest expression at the moment. I had to stop myself from chuckling because fearsome she was not. The red skin around her nose lessened the effect. It complemented her adorable scowl.

It made something inside me settle, knowing I could be here for Indie. I hoped I could give her the same feeling of comfort that my mom always gave me when I was sick.

I needed to grab her some better-quality tissues. There was nothing fun about blowing your nose with sandpaper when you felt like crap.

Everyone knew you had to get the lotion tissues when you got really sick. Those were the best. A pang of sadness hit me, remembering the way my mom would come home with her arms full of the best tissue boxes every time one of my siblings or I got sick.

She’d tuck me up on the couch, surrounded by blankets, and let me choose whatever I wanted to watch on TV for the whole day. Mom did the same thing for my siblings. It was the best medicine. Had I felt that cared for since we lost Mom?

Pushing the feeling of longing aside, I focused back on Indie, who needed me now.

“I could.” I smiled, pleased at least that she had the energy to tell me off, even just a little bit. “It would be very romantic. Like a low-key picnic. Our first date.”

“We are not going to have our first date with me looking like an ad asking for donations for your local hospital,” Indie choked out.

I lifted a spoonful of soup out of the bowl, moving it slowly toward her.

“Theo.” A warning.

“Okay, baby. You win. I won’t feed you. And don’t worry, I’ll think of something much better for our first date.” I winked at her.

“I didn’t say we were going on a date, Theo.” Indie took the soup bowl I placed in her hands, thankfully lifting the spoon and taking a sip.

I didn’t reply right away, instead waiting for her to take a few more mouthfuls. Even if it didn’t taste the best, she was eating at least.

“I distinctly heard you say we were going on a first date. I’ll make you a deal. You finish that soup and try some of the gourmet toast I made. Those char marks are a sign of a culinary delicacy, by the way, and not your temperamental toaster. And I’ll let you choose what we do.” I grinned at her.

“You are impossible.” Her voice sounded a little less strained, the soup working its magic already.

“Baby, I didn’t get to where I am by sitting around and going with the flow. When I want something, I make it happen.” I hoped she read my every intention in the direct stare I gave her.

“I’m not your ‘baby,’” Indie muttered as she continued to eat.

“Our night together suggests otherwise. But let’s not debate it now. Wouldn’t want you to lose your voice, eh?”

I couldn’t stop the chuckle when she stuck out her tongue at me. But she didn’t stop eating until the bowl was empty. I managed to get her to take two bites of toast before her fever must have spiked again, making her drowsiness return.

I tucked her comforter back around her and made my way around to the other side of the bed. Easing myself onto the other side of the mattress, I sat against the headboard and pulled out my phone.

While she napped, I entered the list of the grocery items I was going to get delivered this afternoon so I had better options to take care of her with.

Once that was done, I fired off a quick email to team services requesting delivery of three Tempests hoodies.

This time with the right number on them. That way, even when I wasn’t here to keep her warm in my arms, she’d be reminded how much I wanted her to be mine.

Hockey players’ schedules weren’t for the faint of heart. Somehow, Theo had skirted catching the awful virus that kept me in bed for three days. I’d only just started feeling like myself again, knowing that I had to clarify where things stood between us, when the team set off for another set of away games.

That left us in a weird kind of limbo. I wasn’t a fan of leaving things unsaid.

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