Page 72 of Kiss Kiss Bang
“No, that she wakes up in the middle of the night.”
“All the time. Couple times a week. Normally it’s because she’s scared, not because she feels sick. Why?”
“I can’t imagine how you do this alone. When do you sleep?”
“When I can. You get used to it.”
He was wide awake, his heart in his throat. How did you get used to it? How could she sleep with her daughter sick? “I’m going to sleep on the couch just in case she wakes up. I don’t want her to catch us in bed together.”
“You sure?” Olivia’s eyes were practically closing on themselves.
“Positive.” He kissed her lips and led her back to bed, then went to the living room, turned on his laptop and went to work. He spent the rest of the night looking up Connor Mathers, in between checking in on Sophie every few minutes.
It was early in the morning and he was pouring himself a mug of coffee. Olivia was showering, as far as he could tell from the sound of running water. Sophie padded to the kitchen, a ragged purple blanket in her hand, her hair tousled, still partly asleep. “Good morning, freckles, how do you feel?”
She didn’t answer. She just kept walking and crashed into him and wrapped her arms around his leg, something he’d seen her do every morning to Olivia. God, the way his heart hammered in his chest when she was around. It was an overwhelming surge of protectiveness and affection he’d never felt before. He lifted her up and she put her head on his shoulder.
Pulling a chair out, he sat down and just let her rest against him while he drank his coffee. She didn’t feel warm but she did keep sniffling. He wanted to wrap her up in a bubble of safety and make sure nothing got in—not bad guys, not germs.
Walking into the kitchen with her hair wet, in shorts and a T-shirt, Olivia kissed the top of his head then Sophie’s before walking to the coffee. “She tackle-hugged you, huh? She does that. Wakes up, still sleepy, and wants to be held.”
Huh, was that what it was?
“I can get her,” she said, sitting down and extending her arms.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Okay,” she said, sipping her coffee. “What’s the plan today?”
“I have to go to the office for a little bit. I left some searches running and I want to check in on the results.”
“No problem. I have a ton of work to do anyway.”
He’d seen her working endlessly, answering questions online, working on emails, spreadsheets with budgets laid out on his kitchen table, Skype sessions with Mark . . .
The press were being relentless about interviewing her, but she refused. Mark had suggested she make a statement to appease them, but even that she refused. She didn’t want to be on television while Mathers was on the loose. She was keeping a low profile, using the fact that she’d been attacked and was recovering as an excuse.
She was trailing in the polls, but not by much, she’d told him yesterday.
He kissed the top of Sophie’s head and passed the sleepy girl to her mother. “I’m going to get going. Ben is doing rounds and I’m just a few minutes away if you need me.”
“Don’t worry about us, we’re fine.”
Since meeting these two, worry was all he could do.
But it was worth it, because they were worth it. They were worth everything.
