Page 47 of The Secret

“Thank you. I didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s my job, don’t worry. I’ll be there soon.”

I hung up and looked at Payton. “I’m sorry, I have to go. Bell isn’t very well and Murray’s panicking.”

A flicker of anxiety started up in my belly. It was weird, I’d never heard him panic before, and his vulnerability made it feel like my heart was working harder to pump the freshly oxygenated blood through my veins.

“Okay, I’ll see you later then. But this means I’m going shopping for both of us, so you will be wearing what I pick out for you.”

“Okay, fine. See you Wednesday.” I pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek. “Love you. Send me pics of what you buy.”

“No, it’s going to be a surprise, guaranteed to get you some action.” She let go of me. “Go. Let me know if Muscles has the hots for you.”

“I can tell you right now, he doesn’t.” I waved dismissively as I rushed off. “Bye, Pay.”

I walked in the apartment forty minutes later, quietly praying I wouldn’t be greeted in the same manner I had been earlier. Definitely hoping I wouldn’t be.

Definitely.

I found them in the den, the sight just as good.

Murray had fallen asleep on the giant couch. Bell was also asleep and looking so tiny on his massive chest. The thick, black rimmed glasses he wore sometimes were hanging loose in his hand, hovering above a pile of newspapers, while the big television screen on the wall had been muted on what looked like a game of England playing rugby.

I stood there watching his chest rise and fall, lifting Bell’s with it. I’d never seen him like this before, never had the chance to properly study him, properly absorb his features without being noticed.

If it was possible, he was even more beautiful asleep.

He looked so peaceful, his chiseled face softened but no less impressive. His brow was smooth and relaxed as he breathed in and out, his cherub lips parted slightly, his long lashes resting on the tops of his high cheek bones. His stubble was thicker than usual today, and my fingers itched, as desperately as they had this morning, to stroke along the solid line of his strong jaw.

Instead, I reached out and felt Bell’s forehead, holding my fingers against her too-warm skin, leaving them sleeping as I went in search of her medical box. I’d made a couple when I’d arrived, keeping them in the rooms she used the most, and filled all of them with the essentials - digital thermometer, baby Tylenol, gauze, band aids, teething gel, aspirator, scissors… anything that could possibly be needed.

She stirred as I took her temperature, the beeping of the thermometer also waking up Murray. Ninety-nine point four. She had a fever.

“Hey, sorry. She stopped crying and I fell asleep with her. She just wanted to be held.” He peered up at me, his eyes intensely green, and I’d never noticed before that the ring around his iris was more navy than black, just like Bell’s.

I stood back, needing the space. “That’s okay. She’s warm though. We can give her some Tylenol and see how that goes.”

He sat up straighter as Bell started fussing. “Have you got it here?”

“Yes.” I unscrewed the bottle and suctioned out the correct dosage with a pipette. Murray tipped her back so I could administer it to go straight down her throat instead of dribbling out. “See if this helps. I can take her from you if you’d like?”

His hand cupped Bell’s back, rubbing it gently, soothing her as she grumbled. “No, that’s okay, thank you though. I got her, but stay and we can watch a movie or something. She might go back to sleep.”

I hesitated as butterflies started fluttering in my chest, coughing them away. “Okay, let me go sort her bed and get her some water. What can I get you?”

“Just water would be good, thanks,” he smiled at me.

I switched on the humidifier in Bell’s room for when she went to bed, adding some drops of Vicks Baby to help her breathe, then dropped my bag on my bed and headed back downstairs. Bell had fallen asleep again, and Murray was watching the rugby.

I placed a bottle of water for Bell, along with a glass for Murray, on the side table, and sat down at the far end of the couch, which was practically the other side of the room, but I didn’t trust myself to get any nearer to him.

A massive cheer went up from the crowd, even though the volume was on low. “I’ve never understood this game.”

“Rugby?”

“Yep. It’s so confusing. And violent.”

He laughed softly, Bell never stirring from the movement in his chest. “Come on, you never dated a jock in college? I find that hard to believe. I could easily picture you watching the games wearing team colors, his numbers drawn on both your cheeks.” He tapped his finger against his chin as I started laughing. “Although come to think about it, fifty percent of your attention would have been in the latest Shakespeare you were reading. Yeah, that’s definitely how you were in college.”

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