“Something like that. Look, sis, you need to get out of here for a while—”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “No, I have to stay here. What if something happens?”
He settled his palms on her shoulders.
“Gabs, they’re in the hospital. They’re being checked on regularly and I promise, I’ll spend all my down time in here with them. I don’t have much on my plate today, so I’ll be able to be here for most of the day. Go with Boone and get some sleep. You’re not going to be much good to Mom and Dad if you’re in the bed next to them with exhaustion.”
She flipped her gaze from Christopher to me, and I gave her a gentle smile and nod. I’d always take care of her.
Gabs
Christopher nudged me in Boone’s direction. Boone took my hand in his and led me through the door, heading out of the hospital.
Blinking against the bright sunshine, I shielded my eyes. “Where are we going?”
“To a hotel. You’re going to take a nice, long shower or a bath, if you prefer. I’ll order up some room service and once you’re done in the bathroom, I’m going to make sure you eat a full meal, then I’m going to tuck you into bed.”
I opened my mouth to give him some smartass line about getting me into bed, but I stopped short. The thought of a hot shower and some food that didn’t come from a vending machine or hospital cafeteria actually sounded pretty damn good. I couldn’t even pretend to myself that I wasn’t tired as all get out. The few hours I’d managed to get on the couch in the corner of the room weren’t enough to keep me firing on all cylinders.
“Okay.”
He paused and glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow, making me frown.
“What? I don’t always argue.”
“I know, darlin’. It’s just if I’d known it would be this easy to get you away from the hospital for a few hours, I would have done it days ago.”
I gave him a sad smile. “I would have fought you on it a few days ago. Now, I’m just so tired I don’t have the energy to do much of anything. Speaking of which, how far away is this hotel of yours?”
My feet had been aching before we left the hospital.
“Just up the end of this block.” He pointed to the building in question. “See it? It’s not far, but if you need me to, I can carry you.”
He wriggled his eyebrows as he’d finished speaking and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I think I can make it, but thanks for the offer.”
With a nod and smirk, he guided me down the street and into the hotel. As he led me across the lobby, it became clear he’d already booked everything before he’d gotten me out of the hospital.
As we moved toward the elevator, I spoke up. “So, you were confident in me agreeing to leave with you, then?”
He shrugged. “You needed a break, time to relax and recharge your batteries. I intended to keep at you all day until you caved in and came with me, even if it was only to shut me up.”
My heart melted. He cared so much for my well-being, he had been willing to piss me off to achieve his goal of getting me to allow him to pamper me for a while. Once we were in the elevator, I tugged on his arm until he turned and looked down at me, an eyebrow raised in question. Wrapping my free hand around his neck, I pulled his face down toward me so I could press my lips to his. With a groan, he released my hand and cupping my face, deepened the kiss.
The ding of the elevator had us pulling apart but not moving. The doors began to close, and Boone swung out his arm to halt them. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he ushered me out of the elevator and down the hallway. Floating in a daze, I stayed silent as he swiped a keycard over the reader and opened the door. He dumped the keycard on the table as I closed the door. Before I could turn, he grabbed me, spun me around, and pressed me against the wall.
“I’ve missed you, darlin’. I need a little more sugar before I let you go take your shower.”
His lips were on mine again, silencing any response I might have. It seemed nuts he’d missed me when we’d seen each other every day, but it turned out, I’d been missing him too. Merely seeing each other hadn’t been the same as spending time together. I’d missed his kisses, his touch.
His love.
Did he love me? Was that what this was?
I gently pushed his chest until he broke the kiss and pulled back enough that I could look up into his gaze, searching. His baby blue eyes were still as gorgeous as they’d always been to me, and in them I could see the desire he felt for me, the lust. But what about love? Was it really there, or did I just want to see it?
“C’mon, Gabs. Let’s get you into the shower and fed before you fall over.”