Page 207 of Santa Daddies
He tightened his hands into fists. That was the worst thing about this injury. Not the loss of his career. Not the huge change in the way he lived his life.
Not even the constant pain.
It was his fucking independence. His ability to take care of someone else. Instead, he had to rely on other people to look after him.
And for a man like Anson who lived to take care of others, that was a fucking bitter pill to swallow.
Suddenly, the girl appeared with a bucket and mop. She started mopping before getting onto her hands and knees to run a cloth over the wet areas.
He gritted his teeth against telling her to get up off the damn floor.
Not his girl.
Not his problem.
He was aware of her shooting him short looks and finally, he sighed, unable to take it any longer.
“Ask me.”
“Sorry? I mean, uh, pardon?”
“You want to ask me something. What is it?”
“What’s your name?” she blurted out.
This was the tricky part. Give her his whole name? It was clear she didn’t recognize him. But he looked far different than he used to. He’d grown a beard. There was now some gray in his hair. And wrinkles around his eyes.
Apparently having your leg partially crushed and being in near-constant pain for eight months would do that to a man.
However, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t recognize his name.
“Anson,” he finally said.
“Oh, nice to meet you, Anson. I’m Alice.”
Alice. It was a pretty name. He let himself study her as she went back to cleaning. A bit too pale and her cheeks were sunken as though she hadn’t eaten properly in a while. Her clothes hung off her frame. He wondered if she liked wearing them oversized or if she’d lost weight recently.
There was a constant worried air to her that he didn’t really like. As though she expected to be attacked at any moment.
Christ.
He should probably be a bit nicer to her. It wasn’t exactly her fault that she was gatecrashing his peace and solitude.
“And thanks for letting me stay the night. I promise that you won’t even notice I’m here.”
That was something that he highly doubted.
Alice was aware that he was staring at her and it made her even more nervous.
Thankfully, she managed to pick up the bucket and carry it back to the laundry without spilling anything.
She took care of the dirty water and cloth, putting it in the washer she found.
Then she took a deep, fortifying breath.
You have this, Alice. All you need is another list.
1. Make the bed.
