Page 45 of As Long As You'll Have Me
“Uhh, I guess?—”
He doesn’t wait for me to fully answer before picking me up off the floor. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck as he carries me from the bathroom back to my bed. When we reach it, he lowers me down carefully and pulls the blankets back so I can settle in.
“There you go,” he soothes, pulling the blanket higher up and tucking me in. “Can I get you anything? Water? Anything to eat?”
“Can you hand me my laptop please? I have to do something for work real quick. It’s on the kitchen counter in my bag,” I ask, pointing a feeble finger towards the door. I can feel the fever sucking all my energy dry and even the smallest gestures feel like massive feats of athleticism.
“You can’t seriously want to work right now? Hanna, you’re sick. You need to rest, not work.”
“I have to email my patients and tell them I’m not coming in. The drawbacks of working for yourself is you have to do it all on your own, even when you feel like death has rolled over you,” I explain, looking at him with as much strength as I can muster. His lips press into a line and he seems to consider my words.
“Okay, fine, but after that,no more work. Got it?” He raises a brow at me to show me he means business.
“Whatever you say, fireman,” I tease with a half-smile.
Before leaving my side, he brushes a piece of sweaty hair off my face and studies me for a beat. Then, he quickly walks out of my room before coming back with my laptop.
“Can I do this for you? The last thing I need is for you to say it’s ‘one quick thing’ and then suddenly you’reworking all day.” He hands me the laptop but doesn’t let it go when I reach for it.
“No, you can’t do this for me. Client patient privilege prevents that. I promise, though, it’s only a few quick emails and then I’m done.” Reaching up with my other hand, I offer him my pinky. He smiles at the gesture and locks his pinky with mine.
“I’m sitting right here while you send them and once you’re done, I’m confiscating that thing for the rest of the day.”
I nod in agreement and quickly shoot off a few emails. Thankfully, I prepared for any illness I might experience when I first started my practice so it doesn’t take more than a few clicks to send prewritten emails out to my patients letting them know we’ll have to reschedule. When I’m done, I happily hand my computer over.
“All done.”
“Good, now rest. If you need anything, I’ll be out here. Water, snacks, help to the bathroom,anything,you just let me know. Got it?”
I stare at him for a beat and can’t help but take in more of his features. Ones I’ve seen before but never trulyseen. Like how his hair curls in different directions and is a deep brown with hints of red in it. How he has a scar above his eye that’s faded but still noticeable if you look close enough. And how his chin dimples when he smirks at you and every time he does, I want to press my finger into it.
“I got it,” I finally answer.
When he offers me his pinky, I can’t help but laugh and take it in mine. Standing from the edge of the bed, he starts to head for the living room but stops when I call out to him.
“Hey, Miles?”
“Yeah, doc?” he asks over his shoulder.
“Thanks for coming over. It means a lot to me that you did.”
He smirks, showing off that dimple again. “I always show up for the people who matter to me.”
Then he closes the door softly behind him and it isn’t long before sleep takes me once again.
19
MILES
This isn’t how I planned to spend my day off from the firehouse, but honestly I’d rather be here than sitting alone at my place. Carter told me he was busy so hanging out with him isn’t an option and Coop is on duty like he normally is. I shouldn’t have been as panicked as I was when I made it to her office and discovered the lobby door was locked. It’s not like she’s my girlfriend or anything. I mean, shit, the last time I brought up being anything more she completely shut me down.
‘There aren’t any feelings there,’ she said sitting across from me in her office. Then why did she get so fussy last week in the kitchen. And call me crazy but I don’t think you blush so much around someone youdon’thave feelings for. I could respect her desire to keep things professional but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to step in and offer my help when she clearly needs it. And the way I found her passed out on her bathroom floor told me she absolutely needs it today.
I crack the door to her bedroom open a few minutes after leaving her in bed to check and make sure she’s okay.Not surprisingly at all, she’s asleep. Eyes soft with a hand draped over herself, blonde hair neatly tucked away. Closing the door as softly as I can, I pull out my phone and make a phone call.
“Hello?”
“Willow, hey.”
