Page 31 of All Her Broken Pieces

She arches an eyebrow. “Eyes up here, big boy.”

“S-sorry,” I stutter. “Do you need anything, or are you headed for bed?”

“I forgot to take my pills with dinner, and getting changed for bed was more difficult than I thought it would be.” I can tell she’s trying to hide it, but I can see the pain she can’t mask in her face and notice how she’s pressing her hand against the right side of her abdomen.

“I could’ve helped you.” She rolls her eyes at me. “I would’ve been a gentleman. You’re recovering from surgery. I wouldn’t start something I couldn’t finish.” I give her a genuine smile. Nothing too flirty, but fuck if my cock doesn’t twitch in my pants at the thought of finishing her off.

“Right, well, I did it all by myself. I might need to take something for the pain now, but I’ll be fine. In fact, you probably don’t need to spend the night. Thank you for your help, but I’ve got it from here.”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re holding your side and wincing. Let me check your incisions to see if you did anything.”

“I know you think it’s fun to play nurse, but you aren’t actually a nurse. I can follow up with the doctor in the morning if there are any issues.”

I cross to her in three steps and drop to my knees, lifting up her shirt. “Wh-what are you doing?” she asks, her breath picking up.

“I’m looking to see if you popped a stitch, or if there’s any redness or swelling on your incision sites.” I gently peel back the tape holding her dressings in place and examine each of the small incisions on her abdomen. Goosebumps prickle her flesh everywhere my fingers graze. Once I’m satisfied that she hasn’t done any damage, I drop her shirt and stand. “Everything looks okay. I can tuck you in, but I’m staying here. I’ll crash on the couch.”

“I don’t need your help. You can head out. Thanks for everything.”

“I’m not leaving, sweetheart. I don’t scare that easily. Like I said, I’ve taken care of my sisters and Nonna, and believe it or not, a few of them put up a bigger fight than you,” I double down. She’s running away from me. Emotionally, at least. I wonder if it was the poop comment or the taking care of her. Or both.

“Fuck, you’re infuriating,” she yells.

“Can you stop being?—”

“What? Stop being what? A bitch?” she spits out.

“I’d never call you that,” I say, taking a step closer, hoping she sees the sincerity in my eyes.

“Then what were you going to say?”

“Difficult. Can you stop being so difficult and let me help you?” Her brows knit as her blue eyes stay locked on mine. “I told you, you don’t have to do this alone. Let me help.”

She heaves out a huge sigh and turns, heading back down the hallway. I grab her two pain pills and get her a glass of water, adding the ice cubes she used at dinner. When I reach the doorway to her bedroom, I pause briefly, taking in the sight of her. “You forgot these,” I start, stretching out my hand to her. She takes the medication and glass from my hands. I watch her throat bob as she takes a large pull of the cool liquid. Fuck me.

“Thanks.” Her mouth opens and closes as she looks at the glass of water. She looks like she wants to say something but can’t form the words.

“Is it okay? Did I not use the right ice? It’s what you asked for earlier.”

“It’s fine. It’s just… I like the big ice at bed. I normally use one of my insulated tumblers and put more ice than water in it. That way, it stays cold and there’s still ice in it in the morning.”

“That’s kind of brilliant, actually. So, when you said you didn’t know what kind of ice you liked, you lied. You just didn’t want to weird me out with your ice fetish, huh?”

“It’s not afetish. Different types of ice have different purposes. And I like different types of ice depending on the situation. It’s not a big deal. I just didn’t want to be a pain.”

“I want to know everything about you, sweetheart,” I say, tipping her chin up so she’s looking at me. “You’re not a pain. Why do you think I brought so many ice trays? I wanted to give you options.”

Her gaze drops as her lashes flutter. “I appreciate everything you did for me today. You’re a good person. A good friend.”

“Well, fuck, if that’s not what every guy wants to hear from a beautiful woman,” I tease. “I’ll try to be your friend if that’s what you want.” I lean down and press a kiss to the top of her head. “Can I snag a pillow and blanket for the couch before I go?”

“Yeah, they’re in the closet, next to the en suite.”

After I grab what I need from her closet, I head to the living room. I use the half bathroom to do my bedtime routine. Right as I finish brushing my teeth, I hear Bridget curse from her bedroom.

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