He really shouldn’t make promises like that. She wasn’t his responsibility.
But God, she wanted to be.
She wanted to always feel his arms around her, to know that at any time she could search him out, and he’d hug her tight like this and make her feel better.
Even though the circumstances were shit, and she wished none of this had ever happened, she couldn’t ever regret meeting Cash.
But this wasn’t her life and she knew she had to go back to reality eventually. Just in this moment, though, perhaps she could have something of her own to remember.
She could pretend that she had something that other people took for granted. A person of their own, who cared about them, wanted them.
Maybe even desired them.
She’d always known she couldn’t have normal. That was out of her reach.
Not that Cash was exactly normal. He was so far out of her league that it wasn’t even funny. They weren’t even in the same stratosphere.
But he didn’t seem to mind touching her, hugging her.
He didn’t seem to think that she was dumb and defective.
“You’re shaking. Are you cold?” he asked.
Was she cold? She didn’t really know anymore. It was like her brain and her body were detached from one another. She wasn’t even sure what she was feeling.
Maybe she was ill. Was she dying? Was her mother right? Was her life destined to end in doom and gloom? Her mother had died on her own . . . the doctors said it was a heart attack because she hadn’t taken care of herself. Even though her mother had never seemed to truly love and care about her, Addie had always felt bad that she’d died alone.
“I’m going to pick you up. If you don’t want that, tap me on the stomach twice,” he warned her.
Huh? What was he talking about? Pick her up? Why?
Before her brain could figure it all out, she was in his arms. She should object, only she couldn’t find any desire to.
Cash carried her over to the bed and sat her down on the end before pulling the covers back.
Then he picked her up again and placed her in the bed, tucking the covers around her.
“Do you want me to plug the heating pad in?” he asked. “What about some painkillers? Drink of water?”
She shook her head, completely overwhelmed again by all the questions. She didn’t know what she wanted or needed.
Well, it wasn’t quite true. What she really wanted was his arms back around her.
To her surprise, he sat on the bed facing her and brushed her hair back off her face.
“What am I going to do with you, Stowaway?”
It was a good question, since she didn’t really know herself. She stared up into his gorgeous face. It seemed like a cruel twist of fate that the one person who had ever made her feel safe from his touch should be this man.
A man who didn’t even live in the same city with her.
A man who thought that she wasn’t quite right.
She had to keep reminding herself of that. He was just taking care of her because he felt sorry for her.
He was a good guy who was giving up his free time to watch over her and her sisters. If she was a better person, she would probably tell him that he shouldn’t be doing this, that he should just go home and live his life.
But just the idea of doing that made her feel sick.
