Page 57 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
“I’ll have a piece. That sounds great, actually.” Feeling very caught in the middle, she smiled. “Thanks, Andrew.”
Cayden disappeared into the kitchen, muttering something about water. Lillian sat in her reading chair opposite Andrew and was immediately swarmed by the two cats. “Hey, babies!” she sang, scratching both their heads at the same time. Their simultaneous purring was the loudest she had ever heard it. “Think they missed me?” she asked.
“Looks like it.” She looked over to see Andrew’s gaze locked on her and the cats. Cayden’s words in the car floated back into her head and she suddenly felt self-conscious.
“Are you hungry?” Her appetite had faded a little at the thought of Andrew having feelings for her, but she faked a smile and got up. “Let’s go eat. Cayden’s lonely.”
“He seems like the type who’s okay on his own.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned around. “No,” she stated. “He’s much better with me.”
Andrew didn’t say anything. The pleasant look on his face suddenly irritated her, but she knew better than to say anything right now. I’ll have to corner him later and tell him to quit being an asshole. Mentally she slapped herself. Not corner him, Lillian. He’ll never talk that way. Don’t be an asshole yourself.
“Need help?” she asked the second she walked into the kitchen. Cayden had gotten the bottle of gin down from the cabinet and poured himself a good dose in a glass.
He shook his head and got out three plates. “Cheese for you, my lady?”
“Yes, dear.”
Andrew walked over and took a plate. “I’ll fix my own, thanks.”
“Certainly,” Cayden replied and carried his and Lillian’s plates to the table. “Enjoy. You have five hours until the fun begins.”
“Fun?” asked Andrew.
“Colonoscopy prep.” Lillian gave him a thumbs-down.
Andrew almost dropped his piece of pizza. “You have surgery tomorrow?”
“It’s not surgery, Andrew. It’s a colonoscopy. And it doesn’t hurt. It takes about fifteen minutes.”
“Do they put you to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s taking you?”
Cayden raised his hand. “Over here.”
“Can I help somehow?”
“You can calm down, for starters.” Cayden’s gin looked so good in that glass with an ice cube. She realized she was staring at it lustfully and tore her eyes away.
“It’s just scary to see you like this, Lillian.” Andrew sat down.
“Like what?”
“She looks fine to me,” Cayden grumbled.
“Yes, Cayden. Thank you. I’m fine, Andrew. I’ve been through all this before. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for me.”
“If I had known it was this bad—”
“Are you not listening to me?” Lillian’s voice was louder than she expected. “You’re wasting your energy worrying. I’m in good hands with Cayden. I want to have a good visit with you, Andrew, and that won’t happen if you keep worrying and asking the same questions over and over again.”
The silence in the kitchen thickened like mud for what seemed like hours. “I should listen to you,” Andrew finally said.
“Yes, you should.” She didn’t feel bad for saying it. “Let’s get some music going and have a good evening.”
