“Your boyfriend is fine, albeit a little under the weather himself. He even offered to draw up the contracts for us so I could become a partner in the bar. Sutton told him she would stay with you while you were sick, and Charlie would check in on you from time to time. Of course, I had to beat them both back with a stick to take care of you. They told him you would call when you were feeling better.”?
I noticed my phone on the nightstand. I had one solo text message from Kasey telling me she felt better but was heading out of town.?
“Who’s watching the bar?” I croaked out.
“Doyle’s down there now. Last I checked, he was acting out his Tom Cruise inCocktailfantasies and flinging around vodka like a baton twirler. I don’t think he’s broken too many bottles.”?
I moaned again and flipped on my side, moving my body away from Lee. How had Dane gone twenty-four hours without checking on me??
“Think you can eat yet? Sutton has some soup in the crockpot and…”
I fell back into a deep, dreary slumber as Lee yapped about lemon drop soup and my fever.?
Chapter fifteen
MAGNOLIA
On the third morning, I woke up perkier than I had before, my body resisting any more sleep. I didn’t quite feel strong, but I felt enough like myself to sit up on my elbows.?
I was glad to be awake and free from the dreams that had whisked me back into the past. Dreams, or memories, of me and Lee in this room together. The first time, the millionth time, the last time…
Lee was snoring at the foot of my bed, sleeping upright with his back against the wall. Pickle was curled in a ball on his lap, twitching with a case of her own happy dreams. They probably involved Lee, too.
I couldn't look away from his face. Even asleep, he had that same familiar look, the one that hadn't changed since he was eighteen, save for a few more lines etched in from time and life. His chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, and a warmth started to spread in my chest as I watched him, a familiar pull in my stomach.
No. I shook my head, trying to shake off the feeling. This was not happening—not in my bed, not like this.
I snapped myself back to reality and kicked his leg, my foot connecting harder than I’d planned. His eyes flew open, a confused grunt escaping him as he jerked awake. “Lee, there’s another bedroom and a whole couch. Get out of my room.”
Pickle flew off his lap with her fur standing up straight on her back, and she pounced around my bedroom floor in her sideways fighting stance.?
“Hush now, Pickle,” Lee said, stretching his arms out in front of him. She happily obeyed by plopping down and throwing a straight leg into the air, licking her rear end.?
Lee turned his attention to me. “If I slept in the other room, I would have missed an awfully nice fever dream of yours, which, if I understood the dialogue correctly, you and I were getting along quite well again.”?
I let out a yelp and buried my head into my pillow.?
“I can’t believe you still talk in your sleep. It’s so charming.”?
After a while, I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen. Sunlight streamed through the open windows, mingling with the faint smell of paint and bleach hanging in the air. Lee was perched at the kitchen table, cradling a cup of coffee. Next to him, a steaming mug of tea waited patiently. I shot him a glance, my curiosity piqued.
“Did you paint? What happened here?” I asked, taking in the transformation. My once-beige walls were now gleaming white, and the musty cigar-smoke smell had vanished. It looked and smelled amazing.
“Was I in a coma? How long was I out?” My head spun from dehydration, the lingering paint fumes, and sheer bewilderment. I slid into the seat next to Lee, making sure to keep my distance.
“Three days, on and off. I had some free time, so I touched some things up and wiped some things down.” He was seriously undermining his hard work. The more I looked around, the more I noticed things he had patched up and deep-cleaned.
“You didn’t have to do any of this,” I mumbled quietly, staring down into my mug.?
He scooted his chair closer to mine and put his hands on either side of my face so fast my head started spinning. “You’re right. I didn’t. But I wanted to, so I did.”?
Our faces were practically touching, but I kept my eyes on my lap.?
“I’m dating your brother, Lee. We can’t be playing house like this,” I finally said, the sound coming out muffled since he was still squishing my cheeks.?
He let out a long sigh and sat back in his chair with a soft smile. “If all you can offer me is your friendship, then I will gladly take it. But that doesn’t mean I won’t spend the rest of my days trying to make you happy, even if you think you don’t deserve it.”
Lee busied himself wiping down all the surfaces with Lysol and collecting a mountain of used tissues before standing in the doorway of the kitchen,leaning against the doorframe and giving me a look that was full of tenderness and quiet longing.
