Page 21 of Imogen

“How about a water and another bowl of food?”

I lean back, grinning. “Sounds good.”

“Do you want it heating up?”

“If she left a saucepan clean, you can do. It tastes better heated up on the stove than it does in the microwave. But I’m good with it being warm.”

“Gotcha. It won’t take me long so don’t try getting up to put the game in.”

“Are you sure this was a spur of the moment visit?” Because I swear she’s been speaking to Mum.

“Your mum brought some food around to Mum and Dad’s. When Dad told her he was planning to come up and visit, she gave him a list of things to look out for. I don’t think he was going to keep the beer from you, but Mum gave him a look that said, don’t you dare buy him any whilst he’s getting better.”

I chuckle, which pulls at the flesh around my stitches. I wince, placing my hand over my side where the bandage lies under my T-shirt.

Imogen’s face falls, her cheeks paling. “Would you like any medication?” she whispers, pain in her tone.

I should have taken them by now but they send me sleepy. So I lie, not wanting her to leave. “No. I’m not due any yet.”

“Alright, I won’t be long,” she offers, picking up my tray.

I watch her arse swing side to side as she makes her way into my kitchen.

There was a time when I wouldn’t let myself look at her. It was before her eighteenth birthday. Although legal, it still felt wrong to want her. I always liked her, but not in a way that deserved a prison sentence. She had always been my boss’s kid daughter and I never looked at her in that way.

Then she turned seventeen and she captivated me. I found ways to be around her, talk to her, and touch her. It was small things, and by the time I realised why I liked being around, her dad had noticed. He warned me she liked me and to not feed her crush. I could tell he was concerned about it, which he confirmed when he told me she was too young for me. She needed someone her own age, so he made me promise to stay away. So I did. I respected Evan and Imogen too much to argue about it. And whilst she acted on her feelings, I didn’t. Because I knew Evan was right. She was far too young to know what she wanted back then, and I didn’t want to be a man who took advantage.

A part of me always wondered if Evan knew I liked her too by that point, and it was me as a person who he didn’t want for her.

I owed him too much to betray him.

Yet there are times when it’s been hard not to break my promise.

CHAPTER FIVE

Imogen

Hunched forward on the sofa with my ankles crossed and knees down, I squint at the screen. My glasses are in the car downstairs, but I can’t pull myself away from the game. I thought it would be awkward between us but it’s not. This is the most time we’ve spent together in years, and it feels good to laugh with him again. I never thought we would get back here.

A man with a melting face comes at my character on the screen, and I scream at Ben, “To your left. To your left.”

He turns his character, who is wearing all leather, and swings the axe to get the dead guy coming at me with teeth and claws.

I glance to the side, ready to high-five him, and catch him grimacing once again. “Alright, enough,” I order, ending the game.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asks.

“That’s the tenth time I’ve seen you wince. You’re clearly in pain and you look tired.”

“I’m fine,” he promises, brushing his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. I gulp at the move, wondering if his hair feels as soft as it looks. “We can clear the other building.”

“The only thing I’m cleaning is our bowls. You are taking your meds. Just tell me where they are.”

He sighs, relaxing back on the sofa. “They’re in the kitchen cupboard, next to the fridge-freezer.”

I place the controller on the seat between us and get to my feet. I make my way into the kitchen, heading straight for the nearest cupboard to the fridge. Seeing only mugs, I move on to the next one, on the other side, hitting the jackpot. There are a few with new dates on so I grab the boxes before moving to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.

I head back inside the living room, placing them down next to him. “I didn’t know which ones you would want.”

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