Page 32 of The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match
“I really didn’t mind helping with the chores.” Winnie stood and walked to the soup she was cooking. Hunter and Josiah had taken over the horses for her until Bear felt better.
This family continued to amaze Winnie. When they saw a need, they didn’t ask if they should step in, they just did it. It didn’t matter what it was, they did it without complaining. She loved it. In a way, she was envious of Bear growing up with that sort of support system. Not that her parents hadn’t supported her, but most people would have at least grumbled a little. That didn’t happen with the Wests and Fredericks.
Talking in the hall drew the attention of everyone. Caroline and King entered the room with the doctor, an elderly man, in tow. King held up his hands. “Before anyone lobs questions, Bear’s okay.” He waved to the doctor. “Take it away, doc.”
“He’s got the flu and bronchitis. The next few days, he’ll need plenty of rest and fluids, and I recommend a humidifier for warm air to help. He’s running a pretty high temperature. That’ll need to be monitored closely. I believe fatigue is what caused him to pass out.” He smiled. “I’m told he’s stubborn, so I suspect he’s felt bad for a couple of days, and instead of resting, he downplayed his condition.”
While Bear’s family talked to the doctor, Winnie sneaked past them to check on Bear. As she reached his room, she paused at the door, noting he’d been changed into a t-shirt and hopefully pajama bottoms. She couldn’t be certain because he was covered to the chest.
His room was spacious and very much him: warm colors, a few paintings, and a large king-sized poster bed. A recliner sat in the corner with a television mounted on the wall across from it. It was his little sanctum.
As she took a breath, his scent filled her nose. Spicy aftershave and nothing else but man. With the way she was feeling, she might have to steal one of his shirts so she could sleep with it after she returned home.
As her gaze fell on him again, she noticed a rag crumpled on the bed next to his shoulder. Crossing the room, she picked it up and dunked it in the bowl of icy water sitting on his nightstand. After wringing it out, she laid it across his forehead and then sat on the edge of the bed next to him.
His eyes cracked open a fraction. “I think I left you high and dry with the horses.”
Leaning across him, she braced her hand on the bed and laid her other hand against the side of his face. “You can make it up to me later.” That was the best response for a man like him. Telling him it was okay or she didn’t mind wouldn’t appease him. He kept his promises and took care of people. “I wish I’d known you weren’t feeling good.”
He opened his mouth to speak and then covered it to cough. It sounded worse now than it did before. By the time he was done, he was winded. “That hurt.” Shifting in the bed, he said, “You should probably keep your distance from me, so I don’t get you sick.”
“I’ll take my chances.” She smiled. “Besides, we were probably exposed to the same things. If I was going to get sick, I probably would be by now.” She leaned over him again. “You know, we share a common thought.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re a solid catch, Bear West. There isn’t a woman breathing that’s good enough for you. I’ve never met a man as wonderful as you.”
He waved her off as his eyes slid shut. “I’m not sure about that.”
Brushing the back of her hand along his cheek, she nodded. “I am.”
“Okay, I’ve got a humidifier,” Caroline announced as she walked in. “There you are, Winnie.”
“Hi.” She straightened. “If it’s okay with you, could I stay with him? I could use that recliner sitting in the corner.”
“I think he’d like that,” his mom said, setting the humidifier on the dresser facing his bed. Turning, she walked to Winnie. “He cares a great deal for you. I see it in his eyes when he’s looking at you.”
Winnie believed that to be true, but it was the kind of affection friends shared. “He’s a good man. I feel wretched for not realizing he didn’t feel good.”
Caroline put her hand on Winnie’s shoulder. “Sweetheart, you were worried about your dad, and you’ve got a lot on your plate. He understands that.”
Her words didn’t assuage her guilt even a little. Now that she was looking back over the last few days, he’d kept himself out of her way, deliberately allowing her the freedom to take care of things that didn’t seem nearly as important now. “When I asked him about his cough, he just made excuses for it. I should have noticed, though. He would have.”
There was no doubt in her mind that he would have. If she’d so much as sniffled too much, he would have been right there, asking if she was okay, if there was anything she needed. Not her. She’d been so caught up in her half-hearted dream that he’d fallen by the wayside.
“I’ll go get some blankets and send the boys to move the chair closer. That way you can sit with him.” Caroline patted her shoulder and then walked to the door. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”
Winnie nodded. “Okay,” she replied, leaning over Bear again and pressing her lips to his hot forehead. “You’re causing me grief in all the right ways, Bear West.”
A soft snore answered her.
She touched her cheek to his and closed her eyes. Her once penlight-focused dream had been ripped in two. The fiery desire to make her dad proud currently stood at direct odds with a new dream. The one where she spent her years with a man she knew was irreplaceable.
She was no longer just in trouble. She was swimming in it with no sign of escape.
Chapter 23
Bear rolled onto his side and caught sight of the time on the alarm clock. Then his gaze fell on Winnie, sitting in his recliner, staring at something on her phone. What was she doing in his room at six in the morning? Bracing his elbow on the bed, he sat up a little.
