Page 37 of Cruel Embers
“I don’t have champagne glasses,” I say as he reaches in and grabs the two wine glasses nearest to him.
“Are you doing the honours, or am I?” he asks, tilting his chin to the bottle of champagne.
Grabbing the neck of the bottle, I start undoing the gold foil, a hiss escaping me as I manage to slice my thumb.
“Shit.” I place the bottle down and stick my thumb in my mouth, a warm salty metallic taste coating my tongue.
Nathan steps into my space, his eyebrows drawn down, as he reaches for my wrist and pulls my hand to him to have a look. It’s the equivalent of a paper cut, but the slice is thicker and hurts worse. Then I see the blood and instantly feel wheezy. Shit.
Nathan catches my shoulders, bending his knees and catching my eyes.
“You okay?”
I let out a deep breath. “Yeah, just a bit squeamish,” I admit.
Carefully, he guides me onto a chair and kneels in front of me.
“Do you have any plasters?” he asks.
I nod and tilt my head to the cupboard under the sink. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Wow, way to look like an idiot!
“Char was very adamant about us having one in the kitchen and bathroom,” I say, opening my eyes to find him bending down to retrieve the first-aid kit and then quickly look away when he comes back towards me.
I hold out my hand for it, but he shakes me off, unzipping it and looking inside for the plasters.
“This one should do,” he says, holding it near my thumb and then dropping it on the counter. “We just need to clean it.” He reaches for my elbow and guides me to the sink.
I say nothing as he turns the tap on and directs my thumb under the running water. Then he tears off a couple of sheets of my pretty Kitchen Roll. I almost tell him off because it’s actually for show, but I stop when he starts patting it dry. He walks me back to the chair and ushers me to sit again. Kneeling, he reaches for the plaster and removes the backing before holding it over my cut and securing it.
And then he does something that completely renders me speechless. He brings the pad of my plastered thumb to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss over it.
ChapterNineteen
NATHAN
I can’t believe how quickly this backfired. Cutting herself while opening the bottle of champagne, and then I made a fool of myself by kissing her thumb.
“Sorry,” I say, letting go of her hand and standing,
She tilts her head to look at me. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because you got hurt.” I nod my chin towards her hand.
Violet rolls her eyes. “I’m fine, Nathan. Are you going to open that bottle of bubbly or am I going to go for round two?” she asks, resting her hands on her hips and showing me her sassy side.
Shaking my head, I reach for the bottle. “Bossy much,” I say, making quick work of untwisting the wire and popping the cork. I pour us a generous amount each. She takes her glass and holds it out to mine.
“Cheers,” we both say in unison before taking a sip.
Vi smacks her lips together appreciatively.
“So yummy, thank you.”
I nod, angling my glass to hers again and tapping it. “You’re worth it.”
Her cheeks flush, and I don’t know if it’s from the bubbly or my words, but it’s the truth, so I’m not taking them back.
“Do you have any change?”
