“Would you like me to go grab some groceries?”
I bugged my eyes.“God, no.I don’t want you to do that.In fact, you don’t have to stay.You got me home, and that was the big thing.I should be fine from here on out.”
“What the heck, Spencer.You think I’m just going to drop you off like I’m an Uber driver?”He scowled.“You just got out of the hospital.You were hit by a car.I’m here to take care of you.”
“You don’t have to take care of me.”My cheeks warmed.“I’m sore and I need rest, but I’ll be healed in no time.”
He narrowed his eyes.“Do you want me to leave?”
“It’s not that.”I held his gaze.“I just don’t want to impose.We don’t really know each other that well.It was already a lot to ask for you to pick me up from the hospital.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
I sighed, wincing when my ribs twinged.“I should have just taken an Uber.I don’t know why I called you and bothered you.”
“I didn’t mind doing it.”He moved toward me.“Are you in pain?”
“It’s not that bad,” I lied.“I’ll take a pain pill after you leave.”
He laughed and sat beside me on the couch.“Are you trying to get rid of me?”His expression was gentle, and he took my hand.“Where are your pain pills?”
I patted my hoodie pocket and pulled out a vial of pain meds.
He took it from me and got up to go into the kitchen.Then he returned with a glass of water and one pill.“Take this.I’m going to help you into the bedroom.Then you’re going to take a nap, and I’m going to go grab some groceries.”
“Declan, you worked all day.I don’t want you to go grocery shopping for me.”I met his gaze.“I’m sorry I imposed on you like this.It must have been the pain pills.I don’t know what I was thinking.God, you must have been mortified when I texted you.You don’t owe me this.We spent one night together.Why did I think this was a good idea?”
He leaned toward me.“Stop it.If you apologize one more time, I’m going to smother you with a pillow and put you out of your misery.I want to be here.You think I’d have agreed to this if I didn’t want to?I’m the Chief of Police, Spencer.I think I know how to get out of something I don’t want to do.”
I smiled ruefully, because that was probably true.Declan was no pushover.
He nodded toward the pill in my hand.“Take your medication.Come on, let’s get you to bed.”
I obeyed him, swallowing the pill and washing it down with the water.It was kind of a relief that he was ignoring my meltdown and taking charge.The drugs were making me weak and jittery, and I really did need sleep.
I let him help me up, and we hobbled into the small bedroom.My bedroom was barely big enough for the queen bed I’d insisted on buying.But it mostly worked, even if I had to shimmy sideways to get to the closet.
The walls were a warm yellow that caught the morning light, and I’d hung three small seascapes from a local artist who sold her work at the Saturday farmer’s market.The only nightstand that would fit beside the bed was one made out of an old wooden lobster trap.It was the perfect height for the bed, and the open front made a handy shelf for my phone and charger.
There was a small bathroom off my bedroom, and as Declan helped me sit on the bed, I looked longingly at the shower through the open door.The hospital had wiped me down and given me a cursory sponge bath.But my skin still felt grimy and slightly sticky from the antiseptic.I didn’t want to get in the clean sheets feeling this way, but I wasn’t sure I had the strength or coordination to shower either.
Declan followed my glance.“Do you want to shower?Are you allowed?”
“The doctor said I could shower, but that I’d have to be careful because I might get dizzy.”
He nodded.“You’ll probably sleep better if you’re clean.Warm water might also help you relax.”He met my gaze.“Okay, we’ll take a shower.”
I lifted my brows.“What?”
He smiled.“We can shower together.Don’t worry.I won’t try any funny business.”
“Declan, you don’t have to shower with me.I’m not a kid.”
“No, you’re a guy with a cracked rib and a head injury.You think I’m going to risk you passing out in the shower and making things worse?”He was looking at me like I was nuts.“That’s not happening.Besides, I need a shower anyway after working all day.”
“This just keeps getting worse,” I muttered.“First I make you drive me home from the hospital, now you’re having to bathe me?This is humiliating.”
He looked almost annoyed.“Why?Why is it so hard for you to accept my help?”
