He braces himself on one elbow, his eyes connecting with mine again. “Your phone is on the bedside table.”
I blink at him. “What?”
A slow, sweet curve moves across his lips, his dimple setting into his left-cheek. “Call whoever you need to. My dimple and I comply.”
I smile a little. And not wasting any time, I scoot to the side of the mattress and grab my phone. As I unlock the display, Bronson rolls onto his back and I glance over to see his cocky, relaxed position. Lifting his hands, he cups the back of his neck. The entire length of his naked tattooed body is on display beside me, his cock a long thick ridge slung across his thigh, his ankles crossed casually.
Jesus Christ.
I try to concentrate on the phone, having saved her details even though I’ve never actually used them before.
“Hello?” I hear Mary’s hesitant voice say through the speaker.
“Mary,” I say her name with a sigh of relief. “It’s Dr Adel. Is Akila-“ I stop before I say anything that could cause alarm. I have no idea what Perry has told them, but I doubt he would draw unwanted attention, given his respectability and the web of lies around it. I clear my throat. “How is Akila today?”
“Where have you been?” she asks, hinting at unease. “Perry said you needed a break. Are you okay?”
I breathe out fast. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m just having a little time off. A bit ofmetime.”God, that sounds dumb. I would never usually say anything like that. “Has Brenda started doing full-time night shifts?”
“Yes. Akila has twenty-four-seven care at the moment, but. . .” She pauses and my heart hits the back of my throat.
“But what?” I ask, my voice a high-pitched, uneven cadence. Bronson slides in behind me, his long muscular legs frame mine, hanging down the sides of the mattress.
“Perry mentioned before he left that he plans on putting her in a home. That you two need more alone time. And that you agreed. I know how you feel about that, so. . . “
“No,” I grind out. I lean against Bronson, finding comfort that I never realised I was missing. . . this entire time. “He has changed his mind.” I think fast, think of what to do from afar. “I’m going to send a,” I internally groan at the word, “friendaround to see you with all the details. And to collect a few things and spend some time with Akila for me. Her name is Katie. When she gets there, can you let her in? She’s a registered nurse at my hospital, so she’ll be fine with Akila.”
Mary lets out a sad little scoff. “Dr Adel, I’ve been looking after Akila for two years. I am very fond of her. She is such a beautiful, fiery spirit. Perry once said you think she is still in there. But he doesn’t. Well, I do. I have wanted to tell you a few times, but you always seem. . . uninterested in talking to me. When you get home, her eyes flare with happiness. But I want you to know that it isn’t because we haven’t had a wonderful day together; it’s just because she loves you so much.”
I suck a wobbly breath in, her words filling me with so much emotion it takes me a few seconds to force the tears down. “Mary, I have never said-“
“You have never said anything,” she interrupts. “You’re right. But your body language makes it perfectly clear that you don’t want me looking after your sister.”
I deflate. “That’s not-”
“I know you want to look after her yourself,” she says persistently. “God, I think that is so wonderful. But I’ve seen this before, and if you don’t find a happy medium, you’ll resent her. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Of course, you can look after her. You can be a good sister and live your own life too.”
I shake my head and sigh. “It’s not you. . . I just. . .”
“I know,” she says with wisdom and understanding moving through her tone. “Just let me do my job. I would never letanythinghappen to her. . . I’ll let your friend in to see her, of course, Dr Adel.”
“Shoshanna,” I say, guilt lacing my voice for judging her so quickly without even giving her a chance. “Please, just call me Shoshanna.”
“Okay,” she says, and I can hear her smile. “Enjoy yourmetime. Akila will be fine. I promise.”
“Oh, Mary?” I jump in quickly before she can put the phone down. “Can you read her the magazines that come in the mail?”
She laughs softly. “I already do.”
Tears sting the back of my eyes, clinging to the corners, ready to overflow and release with them all the drowning weights of my self-inflicted responsibilities. My adamant viewpoint to be the only one capable of understanding my sister’s needs. Of caring for her. “Thank you.”
“Talk soon, Shoshanna.”
“Bye,” I say, lowering the phone from my ear. I stare straight ahead, feeling waves of guilt and stupidity hammer down on me. I never even gave her a chance. I wanted to prove to everyone that I could be her guardian. I still felt like a child when she was in that car crash. . . I never considered my attitude towards the nurses was driven by pride and stubbornness and jealousy.
Big, tattooed arms cross over my chest, pulling me backwards and locking me against the wall of his hard body. Bronson’s head rests on my shoulder, and I tilt my forehead to meet the edge of his. I sigh. “I think Akila is okay.”
“Want me to send someone to get her?”