Page 62 of Returning to Rockport

My eyebrows furrow as I follow him into the kitchen. “Necessities?”

“Yeah. Tylenol, Gatorade, Crackers, the whole deal. I wasn’t sure what you already had so I just grabbed it all.”

Seriously, any time I feel like he can’t possibly be any cuter, he proves me wrong. Everything he’s been doing lately has made me swoon like a teenager with her first crush. Well, let’s be real for a minute – he was my first crush.

I watch him unload everything from the bag and put it all away before turning to me. The way he’s standing so close almost has me stepping back. Parker is always too afraid to get sick himself, so whenever I come down with something he tries to stay as far from me as possible. He glances me over, frowning when he sees how tired I look.

“Crap. I woke you up, didn’t I?”

“No.” I lie. He gives me a knowing look. “Okay, yes, but I’m glad you did.”

“I’m not. You need your rest.” He raises his hand and places the back of it against my forehead. “Have you had a fever?”

“I don’t think so. Just nausea.”

“So, kissing you then…”

I cringe. “Probably a bad idea.”

He presses his lips to my forehead. “Thanks for the heads up. Now, back to bed for you.”

“I wasn’t in bed. I was on the couch.”

“Okay, smart ass. Back to the couch then.”

I murmur a string of playful obscenities as I make my way into the living room. Colton stays behind to pour me a glass of Gatorade and then comes to join me. I thank him and take a sip of the drink. It’s so much better than water when you feel so drained. An involuntary moan leaves my mouth at the taste of it and I notice the way Colton squirms in the seat next to me.

“Don’t get any ideas, Casanova.”

“Ideas? What ideas?” He mocks.

“I’m sick. There is no way in hell I’m going to get you sick too. You should probably move over a seat.”

He gets up to move but only ends up closer. I glare at him even though it has no affect. “McKenna Rae, if you think something like a stomach bug is going to keep me away from you, you’re sadly mistaken.”

His arm wraps around my shoulder as he rearranges me to lay with my head in his lap. Then, he takes my blanket from earlier and drapes it over me before running his fingers through my hair. It’s everything I didn’t know I needed. The soothing feeling of his touch on my scalp almost makes me forget how gross I feel.

“What time is it? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

He grins. “Eh, my boss firmly believes in ditching all responsibilities to go take care of your sick girlfriend.”

Girlfriend. That’s a new thing he’s been saying lately and I must admit, I love the way it rolls off his tongue. The first time he did it, I choked on my drink and sputtered water everywhere. It was unexpected and caught me completely off guard. Judging by the way he smirked at my reaction, he knew exactly what he was doing and did it on purpose.

Calling Colton my boyfriend feels wrong, and not only because I’m engaged to someone else. It feels unnatural, like he’s meant to be so much more than that. The term boyfriend just isn’t enough. It lacks significance.

“If you had a boss, he would hate you.”

He laughs. “Okay, enough from you, Princess. Go back to sleep. You need your rest.”

I want to fight it, but the urge to doze off again is hard to resist with he way he’s massaging my head. The smell of his cologne relaxes me in a way nothing else does. I nuzzle my face into his shirt and let the need to sleep take over once again.

I run down the street, as fast as I can. After watching Parker’s heart shatter right in front of my eyes when I told him I no longer wanted to marry him, I need to get to Colton. I never meant for things to get so messy, or for anyone to get hurt, but when push came to shove, the choice was obvious. It’s always been obvious.

When I get to the familiar house, the door is already unlocked. I let myself in and go straight up the stairs, finding Colton laying with his hands behind his head. His abs are full on display and almost make me forget what I came here for in the first place. He narrows his eyes at me when he notices I’m standing there.

“What are you doing here?”

I pant and try to catch my breath. “I did it. I ended things with Parker.”

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