Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
After I was discharged, they made me sit in a wheelchair while Grant pulled the car around out front to pick me up. He got out and helped me into the car, even though I told him I was fine. I got the feeling nothing I could say was going to convince him to stop mollycoddling me.
Well, there was one thing that would probably make him run far the hell away.
We drove to my apartment, and I took a shower and went to lie down. Grant drew the blinds and turned off all the lights so it was practically pitch dark in my bedroom. He stripped down to his underwear and wrapped himself around my body, spooning me from behind.
The room was so quiet, and I thought the intimate moment might be the perfect time to tell him, but I truly was exhausted. It was a conversation I knew I’d need energy for. So I pushed it off, yet again, vowing to tell him when I woke up later.
While I was lost in thought, apparently Grant was, too. He kissed my shoulder and whispered, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to you. I realized last night, I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”
For some reason, that made me so sad. My eyes welled with tears, and they started to spill over. But I couldn’t explain anything to him while I was crying, so I cried in silence, and let him think I’d fallen asleep.
Chapter 33
* * *
Grant
I was in the kitchen cooking when she woke up.
Ireland had fallen asleep with wet hair, and it had dried with the side she’d slept on pressed flat to her face and the other side all curly and wild. It was a mess, yet to me she’d never looked more beautiful. I was so relieved she was okay.
I turned down the flame on the stove and wiped my hands on a dishtowel. “That was a good nap.”
She walked over and peeked at what was cooking on the stove. “What are you making? It smells so good.”
I lifted the lid off a pan. “Chicken piccata.”
“It looks delicious, too. I didn’t even realize I had the ingredients to make that.”
I chuckled. “You didn’t. I snuck out while you were snoring and picked up chicken, olive oil, and some spices. The only spices I could find in your cabinets were cinnamon and red pepper.”
“Yeah. Mia was the cook of the house. They were all hers. She wanted to leave them here, but I snuck them into a box when she wasn’t paying attention. Figured they’d go to waste here.”
I pulled her into my arms and brought her against my chest. “How do you feel?”
“I’m still tired. But better. How long was I asleep?”
I looked at my watch. “About six hours. It’s almost four thirty.”
“Oh. Wow.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. Actually, I am.”
I smiled. “Good. I’ll finish up, and we can eat an early dinner.”
Ireland went to wash up and came back out looking around the room. “Did you see my phone? I think it broke during the accident. I tried to fiddle with it in the emergency room and it wouldn’t turn on, but I’m hoping maybe it will come back to life when I charge it.”
I pointed with a fork to a bag on the counter. “I slipped it out of your bag while you were sleeping and picked you up a new one. It’s in the box up there. They said they loaded everything from your old one, but you might want to check that because the sales clerk at Best Buy looked about fifteen, and the whole data transfer only took about five minutes.”
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
Ireland was quiet throughout dinner. She still seemed off to me, but I’d never been in a serious accident before and figured it was probably normal to be shaken up a bit. After we ate, she called Mia to tell her what happened, and I could hear her freaking out through the phone.
Later, Ireland was still quiet.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” I asked.
She looked away and nodded. “Want to watch a movie?”
I smirked. “Disney? Sure.”
Ireland forced a smile. “Not tonight.” She sat down on the couch and started to scroll through Netflix, then Hulu, and finally HBO on Demand. Sighing, she extended the remote to me. “You pick something.”
Second to porn, I preferred action movies. But I didn’t think car chases and shit blowing up was the best thing to put on right now. “Do you like Will Smith?”
“Yeah.”
“When in doubt, Will Smith.” I pointed the remote to the TV and went back to Netflix. After a search by actor name, I said, “Pick one.”
She shrugged. “Any is fine.”
I didn’t want to keep on bugging her, but she really seemed off—almost depressed. The Pursuit of Happyness was the first movie on the list, so I picked that, even though I’d already watched it. I lifted Ireland’s feet onto my lap and guided her to lie back so I could give her a foot rub.