Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Her stomach was in that weird state of being both hungry and nauseous. And she wasn’t sure which side it was going to land on.
“Where’d you get the bacon and eggs?” He must have brought them with him.
“They were in your fridge.”
She stilled, frowning. “They were? And the electrolyte drinks?”
“Yep. There are several left in there. In pretty much every flavor. Could you not decide which one you wanted?”
Shoot. That wasn’t it. Because she knew she hadn’t bought them. Which likely meant that her Hero had been here.
Had he been here last night? Had he helped her?
She rubbed her head, wishing she could remember.
It was like she had a magical fairy god-daddy, bringing her whatever she needed.
“Everything all right?” Brody asked.
“Hmm? Ah, yeah. Sure.” It was too difficult to explain that her Hero kept breaking into her house to leave her gifts.
Autumn was certain that no one else would understand why she wasn’t freaked out by it.
She poured herself some coffee, before sitting at the island while Brody laid out the food.
She picked up a fork and took a tentative bite. “You know what I need?”
“What?”
“Cherry pie. I’m sure that this calls for cherry pie.”
“Stomach a bit tender?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s not feeling the best.” She rubbed it gingerly. “Neither is my head.”
“I’ll get you some painkiller.”
He disappeared and came back with her liquid painkiller, pouring some onto a spoon for her to take. She grimaced as she swallowed it. “I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, sweetie. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, I don’t think so.” She set her fork down, taking a few sips of coffee.
“Take a few more bites,” he encouraged. “I don’t think coffee on an empty stomach will help much.”
“Coffee always helps. I should get that on a T-shirt.” But she took another bite.
“You look like you’ve lost weight.” He stared at her worriedly. “And like you haven’t been sleeping.”
“So, what you’re saying is I look like shit.”
His face dropped.
“Sorry. That was meant to be a joke. Obviously, I need more practice.”
She took another sip of coffee. Drat. She was out.
She stood, but Brody took her cup from her. “Sit, please.”
He got to his feet and returned with a glass of water.
She stared at the glass in her hand. “This isn’t coffee.”
“Your headache will get worse if you don’t rehydrate. I can put it in your sippy cup if you want. Please? For me?”
She wasn’t sure which one of them went redder at the mention of the sippy cup.
“Okay. I can’t resist your puppy dog eyes.”
“If you’re not going to eat any more, why don’t you go curl up under a blanket and get a movie ready? I’ve missed most of the Christmas movies.”
“You didn’t watch them without me?” she whispered.
“No, sweetie, the only person I want to watch Christmas movies with is you. Go on. Choose something mushy.”
When he came into the living room, he was carrying a plate of cookies and a sippy cup filled with water. She had a drawer filled with Little items, like sippy cups, special dishes, and a baby bottle. He’d come across it once when he was staying here, and she was grateful that he’d never once made her feel odd for liking these things.
“Did you find something to watch?” he asked.
“Uh-huh.”
He sat under the blanket, glancing over at the bare space where her tree was meant to be.
“Oh, Tutu, I forgot about the tree.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t need one.”
He gave her a devastated look. “But you were so looking forward to it and I ruined that for you.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. You don’t owe me anything, Brody.”
Shock filled her at the anger that filled his face. “I do owe you something. I owe you an apology, an explanation. I owe you kindness, honesty, and communication. Because I’m yours and you’re mine. Right?”
“Right,” she replied with a smile.
“You’re the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. These past few days, not being with you has been a nightmare. I’ve barely been able to eat or sleep.”
“I was right here.”
“I know.” He swallowed heavily. “I learned something I had to wrap my head around. I’ll tell you about it eventually. But I . . . I never should have stayed away from you. You are perfect. And I don’t want to hear any differently.”
Her eyebrows rose and he bit his lip. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so bossy.”
Brody being bossy was really sweet.
“I like your bossy side,” she said.
“Really?” he asked shyly.
“Uh-huh. I like all your sides.” She threw herself at him, pushing him over so he landed on the floor with a groan.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I just meant to hug you. Not push you over.” As she tried to get off him, her knee landed against his balls. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, cupping himself.