Page 23 of What the Doctor Ordered
“You have a slight fever,” I announced, putting everything away and washing my hands.
“Oh, do I?” Kiley asked, flipping over, but not meeting my eyes as she pulled her panties up.
I had to once again resist the urge to scold her for getting up before I gave her permission, and once again had to remind myself that I didn’t have the authority to do so.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to take the rest of your vitals now.”
Hopefully, those numbers all came back fine.
A few minutes later, I was washing my hands again with a frown. Kiley’s blood pressure was a bit high but thankfully still within the safe zone. Still, with a fever and with how pale she was, I wasn’t pleased. She needed to be taken care of.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” I asked, coming to stand in front of her so I could look her in the eye.
Her shoulders sagged and she looked up at me forlornly, as if she was finally giving in. “Not good,” she finally admitted. She dropped her head and her lower lip trembled. “I guess I’ve been a little more stressed than I thought.”
Something in my chest twisted as I looked down at her. She looked so small and vulnerable. I put an arm around her and helped her off the table, then led her out of the office.
“I know,” I said. “Don’t be hard on yourself. Sometimes, we get so busy with life that we forget to take care of ourselves but that’s going to stop now, okay? You’ve made yourself sick and you need to rest.”
Kiley let out a shuddering breath and nodded her head and I marveled at how strong she was for such a tiny thing. She worked full-time and was studying to get her doctorate. It was no wonder she was so stressed. I found that I wanted to help her.
Kiley was so exhausted that she didn’t even protest when I helped her out of her dress and into another one of my t-shirts. She was so much smaller than me, it reached her knees. About a half hour later, I had her bundled up on the couch with some hot chicken noodle soup. A random chick flick was playing on the television, and I settled down next to her before handing her a steaming mug of tea.
Kiley looked over at me and smiled. There was already some color returning to her cheeks.
“Thank you, Simon,” she murmured before settling back into the couch.
I found myself grinning back. “You’re very welcome,” I said.
As I settled onto the couch beside her, I suddenly realized with a start that I had never done this for anyone before.
And I found that I liked it quite a bit.
CHAPTER 11
Kiley
It’s been over a week since I got sick and Simon took care of me. It was difficult just getting over the cold while I had midterms to study for, but I ended up not missing any work. I passed each of my tests, not with marks as high as I would have liked but I had to be gentle with myself considering I had just been sick.
Simon assured me that he was proud of me anyway. I couldn’t figure out why that pleased me so much. I certainly didn’t need his approval. Then, why did the simple fact that he was proud of me cause butterflies to dance in my stomach?
I glanced at myself in the mirror as I finished a quick touch-up of my makeup. I shook my head hard when I realized how wide my eyes were. I looked as nervous as I felt and that just wasn’t going to do.
Tonight was a huge night. I was going to be accompanying Simon to a charity gala. It was our first event as a fake engaged couple, and I needed to make a good impression. There weregoing to be a lot of people that Simon knew at this thing, and I was going to have to talk to them.
Lily was out with some guy tonight so wasn’t able to help me pick out an outfit. Thankfully, I planned ahead and found one online. The gala was fantasy themed so I had on a flowing green gown that looked like it was designed by a fairy with a vine pattern on the bodice and a full, flowy layered skirt.
I felt like a princess, but something told me that it wasn’t going to really help me feel like I fit into Simon’s world. I reminded myself that I didn’t need to fit in. This was all just temporary. In about five months, things were going to go back to the way they were, and Simon and I would never see each other again.
I could hardly look at Simon when he came to pick me up. He was dressed in a forest green suit that matched the accents of my dress. His dress shirt had vine patterns on them. His thick dark hair was slicked back as always, leaving nothing between me and those golden hazel eyes.
“You look stunning, Kiley,” he said as he took my hand.
The simple physical contact reminded me of the way he took care of me while I was sick. No one had ever cared for me that way before and the memory of it caused prickles to rise up over my skin.
My nerves just escalated as we pulled into the long, cobblestone driveway leading up to the grand estate where the gala was taking place. Simon explained that it belonged to the CEO of one of the leading children’s hospitals. This gala was to raise money for children’s cancer research.
I jumped when Simon put his hand on my thigh, giving it a light pat. I hadn’t even realized that he had parked the car.
