Chapter 27
“ I ’ve filled the bedside drawer with all the things I thought you might need,” Spencer said. He opened the drawer and started pulling things out. “Eye mask and ear plugs. Rock snores.”
“He does?” she asked.
“Uh-huh and he gets really grouchy when you try to roll him over so don’t do it. Last time I ended up with a black eye.”
“Didn’t he also punch you for trying to feed him with a choo-choo train?” she asked.
“I’m abused, Princess. I really am,” he said dramatically.
She giggled. Then she quickly stopped herself. What was she doing?
She shouldn’t be laughing at anything he said.
“You’re withdrawing again,” Spencer said sadly.
After she’d woken from a nap, Spencer had brought her in some biscuits and a cup of tea.
Nectar of the gods.
Honestly, there was nothing better than a chocolate biscuit and a cup of tea.
“I didn’t realize I did that so much. ”
“Mostly you did it around your mum. When she’d walk into a room, you’d kind of switch off. You’d retreat into yourself. Go blank.”
“Oh.” She guessed she thought of it as going numb so that nothing could hurt her.
“You didn’t use to do it around us once you got to know us better. All I want is to see that pretty smile and hear you laugh.”
“I found a bell that should work,” Slade said, walking into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Spencer said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I was shutting Spencer out,” she said.
Slade nodded understandingly. “Like you used to do around your mum?”
“Can’t believe I’m so easy to read. Did my mum ever notice me doing it?” she asked.
Both men went stone-faced.
Well. She guessed that answered that.
Her mum had barely noticed anything about her.
Rather than think about her non-existent relationship with her mother, she pointed at the bell in Slade’s hand. “What’s that?”
“A bell for you to ring,” Spencer said brightly.
Hmm.
“You say that like it’s an explanation but I still don’t understand,” she said.
“If you need something, ring the bell and one of us will come,” Slade told her.
They weren’t serious, right?
“Guys, you don’t need to wait on me hand and foot. That’s not . . . I don’t need that.”
All she needed was a place to stay and their protection.
That was it.
Slade gave her a firm look. “You are going to need help and unless you want Spencer in here twenty-four-seven?—”
“Which is what I voted for,” Spencer interjected.
“This is the compromise we came up with,” Slade told her .
“I don’t need that much help. In fact, I don’t think I need any help at all.”
She was here to rest and recover. Nothing more. Besides, they had their own lives to live.
Slade placed a finger under her chin, studying her. “You’re still very pale. And shaky. And in pain. Don’t deny it, we’ve all noticed.”
Awesome.
Great to know that she looked so good.
“We’re in charge of your health and safety now,” Slade told her.
She narrowed her gaze at him. She didn’t agree to that.
“Slade, go easy,” Spencer warned.
Slade shot the other man a look, then turned to her. “Spencer doesn’t want me to scare you away. But you always liked rules. You liked to know where you stood.”
That was true. Having boundaries and rules made her feel more secure. Maybe because her mum had never cared what she was up to.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “Tell me.”
“Use this bell if you need something,” Slade told her. “If you’re hungry, in pain, bored, if you need to pee.”
She raised her hand like a dork. Slade nodded at her to speak.
“Um, I think we should talk about that last one. I don’t need help peeing.”
“Debatable,” Slade said. “But you are still shaky on your feet. So one of us will help you to the bathroom. The other rules are simple ones. Respect. Communication. Honesty. Between all of us.”
“And if I break the rules?” What would they do? What could they do?
“That is something we need to discuss. But there will be consequences.” Slade ran his thumb over her lip. By the time she realized she should pull away, his hand was gone and he was headed out of the room. “Behave yourself, Boo.”
That man.
Sometimes she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to punch him or kiss him .
Either way, she was in trouble.
“Lunch time,” Spencer sang as he stepped into her room.
How was he always so cheerful?
She’d been here a week now. Two weeks had passed since Billy beat her up. Indie had spent a lot of that time sleeping and resting.
But now she was bored. Spencer seemed hell bent on keeping her in bed and making her healthy.
She stared down at the kale salad in dismay. It wasn’t that she didn’t like salad. But she preferred it dripping in mayonnaise and preferably with some fried chicken or something on the side.
And she liked her kale fried. And used as decoration on a juicy steak.
“How about a burger?” she said.
“You don’t like the salad?” His face dropped.
Oh God.
When had she become so ungrateful?
“No, no, of course I do,” she said as he laid the tray over her legs.
He shot her a look. “Don’t lie to me.”
Oops.
“Who said I was lying?”
“Me. And I don’t like it. Don’t ever lie to me.”
Urgh. He was infuriating.
“I wasn’t lying. I’m just a bit tired of so much . . . healthy food. I’d kill for some pizza.”
“I guess I could make you a pizza,” he said. “That will make lunch late, though. And you get nauseous when you don’t eat regularly.”
Shoot. He was right. She did. But she hadn’t realized he’d figured that out.
Spencer was so . . . attentive.
It was dangerous to her peace of mind .
“You don’t have to make me one. We’ll just order one,” she told him.
His eyes widened in horror. “Order one? Order one?”
“Um, yeah. You know you can order it online and they deliver it right to you. Is that a problem?”
“Yes, that’s a problem. I won’t know what went into the pizza.
It won’t be organic. And how do we know that whoever prepares it has good hygiene?
That they don’t have a cold or something.
They could sneeze on it and then you could get ill.
And then there’s the salt and fat . . . no, no, no.
If you want pizza, I will make you pizza.
” He reached for the tray, but she grabbed hold.
“You got me burrito bowls.”
“Yes, but I know the owner of the place. He’s very clean and uses good ingredients. Now, give me the tray.”
“Actually, I feel like salad now.”
Spencer eyed her. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re lying to me. When I just warned you against doing that.”
Wow.
He was so hot when he was stern.
Well, he was hot all the time. But the sternness was so unexpected. And sexy.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.
“Like what?” Shit. Did he know that she wanted him?
“Like I’m a piece of greasy pizza that you want to devour,” he said huskily.
“I guess I’m just hungry.”
Liar.
“You barely eat enough to keep a fly alive.”
“Ew. You know what flies eat, right?” She glanced down at the food and knew she wasn’t going to eat the kale salad.
Hastily, she set it aside, her stomach rolling over despite the anti-nausea medication she was still taking.
“Bollocks. Sorry, Princess.” Spencer quickly whisked the tray away. Then he pulled open the bedside drawer and drew out a ginger lollipop.
He’d filled the drawer with all sorts of things. Ginger candy and lollipops. As well as healthy crackers and pregnancy supplements.
She sucked on the lollipop as he searched through the drawer. “You took your supplements today, didn’t you?”
“You stood over me and watched me take them,” she told him dryly as he drew out his phone to check.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I downloaded this pregnancy app yesterday. It’s to help pregnant women remember to take their vitamins and record how much water they drink, and what they eat and how they feel. Still feeling nauseous? Any aches and pains? Tired? How are things in the bathroom department?”
“The . . . the what?” she asked, gaping at him.
“You going regularly?” he asked. “Or a bit constipated?”
“How did I think that the UTI conversation was going to be the worst one we’d ever have?” she muttered. “I am not talking to you about my . . . about my bathroom stuff.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because it’s none of your business.”
“I’m taking care of you. Everything about you is my business.”
“Spencer, you must have something better to do than look after me, right?” she asked, leaning back against her pillows.
He blinked at her. “There is nothing more important than taking care of you. I need to make sure you’re healthy and happy. That’s my number one job. You and the baby.”
Indie just stared up at him. “I don’t . . . I don’t know what to say.” Part of her really didn’t think she deserved that level of devotion. Why would he go to such lengths? When did he have time to do anything else? Like go to work?
“You don’t have to say anything. Well, other than to tell me when you last pooped.”
“I’m not telling you that.”
Spencer sighed, but she could see amusement dancing in his eyes. “Come on now, work with me, Princess. I can’t fill in the app properly unless I know when you last pooped.”
“Spencer Hensley, you are never going to know when I poop. And that is that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, but all he did was grin.
“We’ll see.”
She grinned too as he rushed out of the room with the tray.
Idiot.
But he was her idiot.
No. Nope. Not hers.
She couldn’t let them into her heart again.