"Not more than usual. I will see you when you get here. Bye."
He hung up from them, feeling a whole lot better.
*****
He approached the bedroom warily. It had been two hours since they returned home. During that time, he had gotten some work done and left her to her own devices. His parents had stopped by as promised with a big, covered dish of lentil soup with warming instructions. His mother had been especially disappointed that she did not see Leanne.
The housekeeper had left for the day, and a light snow was falling, giving everything a distinctly dreamy look. She had showered and was wearing leggings and an oversized sweater. Her hair was brushed and styled into one thick braid on her left shoulder. Her face was scrubbed clean.
She was sitting up against the mound of pillows, her knees drawn up to her chin and painting her nails.
"Hi."
She had sensed his presence the moment he came in but chose to ignore him. She was still mad, not as much as she was before, but the mad was still there.
"Hi."
"My parents stopped by and brought lentil soup."
She could smell it from a mile away.
"Oh?"
"I told them you were resting." He came further and wished she would lift her head.
"Okay."
Walking the few steps to the bedside table, he put the tray down and sat on the edge of the bed.
"How much longer are you going to punish me?"
Swirling the last of the cranberry crush color on her toe, she capped the bottle. Using the book cover, she fanned it vigorously to hurry up the drying process before turning to look at him. Her treacherous heart did the familiar slow dive.
He had changed out of the sweater he had worn for the doctor's visit and was wearing a white t-shirt that clung to his wide chest and shoulders. His thick dark hair was tousled as if he had spent time dragging his fingers through the strands.
"I haven't decided yet. Your arrogance is pissing me off."
But he had seen the softening of her expression and decided to test it.
"Sorry?" His unrepentant grin had her narrowing her eyes.
"You think this is a joke?"
"Absolutely not." He responded with sham gravity. Before she realized what he was doing, he was scooping her and plopping her on his lap.
"You moron!" She cried. "I just polished my nails."
"I'll do them over for you. How hard can it be?"
She yanked at a lock of hair hard enough to have him yelping.
"Okay, now that's war." Tumbling her back on the bed, he rolled until he was covering her body with his.
"You're going to pay dearly."
"Make me."
Smiling at the challenge, he crushed her mouth with his. Minutes later after they were both pleasantly exhausted, he pleasured himself by continuing to explore her body with his hands and mouth.
