Page 33 of The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match
The movement caught her attention, and she smiled. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Better. How long have you been sitting there?”
“On and off the last two days.”
His mouth dropped open. “Two days?”
She set her phone on the arm of the chair, stood, and sat next to him. “You were asleep for most of it. Apparently, you weren’t feeling good for a few days and didn’t bother telling anyone.”
He yawned and rubbed a hand over his hair. “I don’t get sick a lot. It usually takes me by surprise.”
“That’s what I’ve been told. I didn’t realize I was in the company of the poster child for perfect school attendance.” She chuckled.
“Trust me; I wish I wasn’t. You know how many times my siblings got sick? I’d have much rather stayed home, able to watch what I wanted and getting popsicles.”
Her eyes roamed over his face. “Well, I’m just glad you’re feeling better. When you passed out, it was a little scary.”
“The last thing I remember was stepping into the barn. From there, things get hazy.” He covered his mouth as he yawned again. “You’d think with two days of sleeping that I’d be a little more awake than I am.”
Winnie shrugged. “You needed the rest, and you still do. Are you hungry? I made some chicken noodle soup if you are.”
His stomach grumbled. “That sounds pretty good.” He moved to push the covers off and stand.
Staying him, she shook her head. “Nope. I’ll get it and bring it to you.”
“I can walk just fine.” Besides, he needed to use the restroom, and she certainly couldn’t do that for him.
“That’s not the point. The doctor said you needed to take it easy, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do. It’s a bowl of soup. I can manage it.” She stood. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
A minute. That’s all he’d need. “All right.”
As soon as she left, he quickly tossed the covers off and ran to the restroom. Run was subjective. He mostly shuffled, and that was taxing. By the time she returned, he was back in bed. “That smells really good.”
“It’s had a couple of days for the flavors to marry. I always like it better when it’s had time to sit.” She set the bowl next to him on the nightstand. “I’d give it a second. It’s pretty hot.”
Taking her seat again in the recliner, she hung her feet over the arm. “I have to say this is a really comfortable chair.”
“I love the thing. It’s well-used.” He laughed. “When it’s just me here, I don’t see the point in messing up the rest of the house. It’s easier for me to just stick to my corner and keep it clean.”
Just as he moved to sit up a little more, a coughing spell hit. By the time it was over, he was holding his chest and wondering if it had knocked his lungs loose. “That has to stop.”
“Bronchitis with a helping of the flu. That and fatigue, or that was the doctor’s thought.” She looked at her phone, and her eyebrows furrowed.
He didn’t want to pry, but she’d stayed with him this whole time. The least he could do was be a good listener for whatever was wrong. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, my friend who took the money called me yesterday evening, apologizing, even saying she’d return the money she hasn’t spent. She’s been texting me, asking if I’ll ever be able to trust her again. I’ve typed out six different responses and erased each one because I don’t know that I can.”
Bear tested his soup while he thought of an answer. “I don’t know if you can either. It took me way longer than it should to recover from Angela.”
Winnie looked at him. “With good reason. She was horrible to you.”
“More than you know, but at the root of it, I was responsible for letting it happen.”
“Bear, no—”
“We eloped to Las Vegas and got married.” He’d spoken it quickly so it would actually come out. Anytime he paused, the courage would be gone, and this was a piece of himself he didn’t mind Winnie having.
With a gasp, Winnie’s mouth dropped open. “Wow.”
