Page 39 of The Pretender

He shakes his head, not bothering to lift it. “Not really.”

I set the cup down and sigh. “What about a popsicle? Think you can suck on one of those?”

Slowly, that head of sandy blonde hair rises until I can see his grin. “What kind?”

I look at the ceiling, fighting my own grin. “Strawberry.”

His face scrunches.

“Fine, I have lime, your favorite.”

We’ve always fought over the lime popsicles. You can’t find many in lime flavor, but when I did, this ass would eat them all.

“I’ll take it.”

Of course he will.

I open his freezer where I stashed the popsicles and pull out a green one, unwrap it, and hand it over. He gives it a once over and then pushes it between his lips. His real girlfriend would think it was a shame that he looks so hot eating a popsicle when he’s sick as shit. His fake girlfriend would tend to agree with her.

“I brought your pillow back,” I tell him, tipping my chin to the sofa. “But it’s only a supervised visit. It goes back when I go back.”

I’m not that nice. If he doesn’t want to give me my chair, then he certainly isn’t getting his pillow.

“How generous of you,” he teases, getting up and heading to the couch. He doesn’t even bother with the blanket. He just flops down, stomach first, and tucks his pillow under his head the best he can with one hand.

I bite my cheek. “Let me help you.” I tug the blanket out from under him and lay it over his body. He makes a contented sound. “Eat the popsicle, Bash. You need some kind of fluids.”

He brings the popsicle to his mouth and sucks, all the while watching me. “Were you using your binoculars this morning?”

And he’s good now.

I fold my arms. “No. I was using my watch when you didn’t show for lunch.”

He nods and, this time, takes a small bite of the popsicle. “I haven’t had one of these in forever.” He moans.

And I know why. They remind him of me and that’s something he tries hard not to do.

“You want to watch something or get some sleep?”

I set the remote next to him and he rolls over. “Are you leaving?”

I really should. “Umm…”

“Don’t.”

It’s not a request or a demand. It’s simply a plea that guts me straight to the core. “Okay.”

I tip my chin to his room. “I’ll go straighten up while you eat and rest.” I make the sign of the cross on my chest. “I promise not to snoop, steal, or poison anything while I’m in there.”

Sebastian grins but doesn’t comment. His color is looking better and with his pillow back, he looks like a happy Bash-hole.

I walk off and proceed to straighten up his bathroom and change the sheets on his bed. Heaven only knows when the last time he changed those. When I’m finished, I turn and almost run into a hard body. “You scared me,” I say, putting my hand to my chest.

“You watch too many scary movies.”

I shake my head. “Not lately. Someone has my chair.”

He nods to the bathroom. “You can use it while you’re here. Consider it a thank you for hiring incompetent people to kill me.”

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