I looked down at her.
“No skull-crushing in the hospital,” she said. “I’m pretty sure they frown on that here.”
“They have cameras. Too obvious.”
“See? Growth. You’re considering legal repercussion first.”
A rough breath left me, almost a laugh, and the relief that crossed her face told me exactly why she kept doing it. She needed me here. Not the version of me that wanted blood. Not the version of me standing in the hallway with Daniel,calculating every place Luke might hide. She needed the man who knew how to sit beside her bed and let her be Bliss even when everything hurt.
So I sat, cautious and careful.
The mattress dipped beneath my weight, and she shifted her hand across the blanket until her fingers found mine. Her grip was weaker than usual because of her scraped-up knuckles, but the second our hands locked together, something in my chest loosened for the first time since I’d walked in here.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi, Pip.”
Her eyes shone immediately, and she looked away like the ceiling had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in Sutton County. “Don’t do the voice.”
“What voice?”
“The one where you sound like you’re about to say something devastating and make me emotionally responsible for surviving it.”
My thumb brushed over her knuckles. “You’re beautiful.”
She blinked back at me, unimpressed despite the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “That is a very bold compliment from a man with great eyesight.”
“I’m honest.”
“You’re concussed by feelings.”
“Probably.”
“My face looks like it got jumped by a folding chair.”
“The chair won, Pip.”
She stared at me for half a second, then a laugh slipped out of her before she could stop it. Pain flashed across her face instantly, and she sucked in a careful breath, pressing her free hand to her ribs.
My body went rigid. “Don’t laugh.”
“You can’t say funny things and then police my ribs. That’s entrapment.”
“I’ll be less funny.”
“That feels unlikely. You’re funniest when you’re trying not to be.”
I leaned closer, keeping my hand gentle around hers even though everything in me wanted to gather her up and hold her so tightly nothing in the world could reach her again. “Then stop being obsessed with me.”
Her swollen mouth parted slightly. “Wow.”
“What?”
“I am literally in a hospital bed.”
“And still staring.”
“I’m injured, not blind.”
