“Mr. Greyson, I think we need to talk about your behavior,” I whispered. The pain meds were making me feel sleepy.
“Later,” was all he said before he left me feeling overwhelmingly confused and wonderful. I had missed his kisses like Charlie missed his squeaker toy.
“That’s so cute that you call him Mr. Greyson,” Janelle said.
Yes, it’s adorable, I thought.
And with that thought, the doctor began manipulating my shoulder back into its socket. All I had to say was, pain relievers were a gift from God, as were doctors. As soon as my shoulder was in its rightful place, I felt instantaneous relief. It still felt sore, but the throbbing pain was gone.
I thanked Dr. Ellis, and he gave me a list of instructions to follow, along with the best news of the day: I could go home that evening. Hallelujah. I had no desire to stay overnight, but there was a caveat. Someone needed to stay with me and monitor me, just in case. That was going to be tricky with my sister and Holly both being out of town. I wondered if Delfia would want to. We weren’t friends outside of the office, but there was no reason we couldn’t be.
It was just about this time that Janelle let Ian back in and, unfortunately, he caught the gist of the conversation. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep a careful eye on my wife tonight.”
I wanted to challenge him right then and there, but if I had, I would have looked like a liar. And okay I was a liar. I was letting these people think I was married to my ex-boyfriend who was currently my boss.
As soon as the nurse and doctor left us alone, I turned to Mr. Greyson or whoever he was. “You can’t monitor me over night.”
“Why not?” He was surprised that I would disagree.
“Mr. Greyson, you’re my—”
He sat on the edge of my bed and placed his finger to my mouth “Please call me Ian.”
“Even at the office?”
He thought it over for a moment. As he mulled, I wondered why this was such a hard concession for him. What had happened to make him this cautious? I mean, he had always been cautious, but I had a feeling there was more to the story.
He ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “Even at the office,” he conceded.
I smiled at his concession, but he still wasn’t staying with me. “Okay then,Ian, I don’t think it’s appropriate if my boss spends the night with me.”
“Fine, I’ll quit right now.”
“Who says I would let you stay even if you weren’t my boss?”
He pressed his lips together. “You know, it wouldn’t be the first time we spent the night under the same roof.”
I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. He spoke the truth. We had spent five days together at his parents’ place. I had slept in his old room, and he slept on the pull-out couch that had a sprung spring. Those were some of the best days of my life.
I bit my lip.
“I’ll stay on your couch or even the floor,” he said it like that settled the matter.
I shook my head. Well, as much as I could. My head was still pounding. “What’s going on with you?”
He brushed my hair back. “Seeing you hurt and unable to move today reminded me how short life is, and I’ve already wasted so much time.”
I was about to ask for clarification on that statement. But his phone rang. It was his insurance company, and he was arranging a rental car with them. I had forgotten we were both without transportation.
He shoved his phone back in his pocket. “I need to go, but I’ll be back to take you home.”
It was then that I remembered my keys were at the office. “Could you stop by the office and get my keys and laptop?” I wasn’t too worried about my car. Our office was in a good part of town, so it could wait until tomorrow.
“Of course. I need to take care of something there anyway.”
“And . . . can you ask Delfia if she can stay with me tonight?”
“Sure.” He grinned. Why did I think he wouldn’t be asking her?
