Chapter 7
Francesca
I was in the middle of the loveliest dream.
And I knew it.
But I still wanted to stay here instead of opening my eyes.
Stefan and I were on the beach. He lay beside me, cool sunglasses on his handsome face. He slowly turned to me and smiled.
I grinned back. I wore the same white bikini I always did in these dreams. And I looked fantastic.
Stefan grabbed for me, but I was too fast for him. I jumped up and ran out to the sea. No one else was around. We had all of this to ourselves. I dipped my toe into the water, expecting it to be cold. Instead, it was warm.
Deliciously warm.
The sudden urge to—pee—came over me.
“No,” I mumbled, waking me up fully. I opened my eyes to see Stefan's bedroom. I couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of—me—being in a castle. And married to the man who owned it. No matter how temporarily.
And this bed was—oh, my gosh. The best thing ever. The sheets were divine. And the big comfy blanket on top was light and fluffy, but so warm all at the same time.
I never wanted to leave. I could live forever in this bed.
The only thing stopping me from reaching my goal was my stupid bladder.
My eyes caught sight of the IV still in my hand.
I gazed up to see an almost full bag on the pole.
The nurse must've changed it recently. Which meant I'd had at least one bag so far.
And from the time on the clock—possibly more.
I’d been asleep for hours and hours.
I grabbed some gauze from the bedside table and removed the catheter from my hand. There were some loose bandages beside the gauze. I opened one and stuck it to my hand.
Then I jumped out of bed and ran like my life depended on it to the bathroom. Once there—the relief I felt was astronomical.
The doctor was right. I had been dehydrated. But that was obviously no longer the case based on how long I sat here for.
Who knew a bladder could hold that much fluid?
After I finished, I looked at myself in the mirror. Not as zombie-scary as before. But still pretty scary. My hair was all floofy, going out in all directions. It was clean, though. Thank goodness. A braid was the only thing that would tame this craziness.
If there were hair elastics here, they’d be in one of the drawers. I searched and searched, but all I came up with was an elastic band that the pharmacy had used to hold the lubricant and vaginal cream together. Well, like my granny used to say, “Beggars can't be choosers.”
It didn't take me long to brush my hair and braid it into submission. I didn't cringe too badly when I tied the elastic around the end of my braid. Even if it damaged the ends, it didn't matter. I needed a trim anyway.
I stretched my arms up and yawned. No aches or pains.
Hmm. Not even between my legs. I should use the cream the doctor sent over.
But first—a shower to freshen up. I removed the fabulous gold nightie and hung it carefully over one of the towel racks.
Something as nice as that shouldn't be on the floor.
Stefan's shower was ridiculous. In a good way. I wondered if he'd chosen the stone tiles surrounding me. They were perfect for this house.
Or this castle.
I turned on the water and smiled, just imagining using it every day.
That didn't compute inside my brain.
I probably spent too much in there. But could you blame me? It was lovely in here.
I used Stefan's soap. His manly soap. Maybe I'd search later to see if there was anything less woodsy around.
Not that it mattered. Soap was soap. And there were worse things in life than smelling like Stefan.
After I was done rinsing, I grabbed a fluffy white towel to dry off with. Whatever kind of laundry detergent Stefan's service used was amazing. I'd never felt such soft towels in my life.
All my stained, threadbare towels at home were from the charity stores. Not great—but the price was right.
My teeth felt a little furry. So, I flossed, brushed, and used mouthwash again. Then I went in search of something to wear. I wandered into the bedroom to the closet. Gosh, I loved how it smelled like Stefan in here. I took in a deep breath and smiled.
Giselle and Eve packed a variety of clothes. What should I choose, though? It had been warm out—before I'd gotten sick. I wasn't sure about the weather today. It wasn't like I could check the weather app on my phone. Because my phone was thousands of miles away at the moment.
Oh, well. If I had to walk the mile back up here to change, that wouldn't exactly be the worst thing in the world.
I picked a cute summery dress and slipped it on. It wasn't formal or anything. Just breezy and light. I twirled around, making the skirt swish. I giggled and did it again. After that, I found a pair of cute, short-heeled white sandals and put those on.
Then I noticed the suitcase that Giselle and Eve had packed for me. It looked like Stefan had hung up most of the clothes, but I wondered if they'd packed me any makeup? My face could definitely use some color.
Sure enough, when I opened it up, I found makeup. No hair ties, though. And no girly soap.
I took the makeup and headed back to the bathroom. Makeup always worked wonders. But this makeup was magical. Giselle and Eve bought the best of the best brands—which wasn't surprising.
I finished up and stowed everything in a drawer. Then I went in search of Stefan.
I wandered down the long staircase but didn't see any sign of him.
I turned and walked through the living room and into the kitchen. A loud whirring noise greeted me. But I couldn’t look away from the view.
Gosh.
Imagine waking up every morning and walking into—this.
The blue sky and blue water played peacefully together out there. I just—stared at the beauty of it all.
The whirring noise stopped, and I turned my head to see Stefan at the stove. He was pulling a silver immersion blender out of a large pot.
“What are you making?” I asked as I walked toward him. “It smells wonderful.” To my nose, it smelled like chicken soup.
Stefan's eyes landed on me. He looked like I'd surprised him.
“You're up,” he said and set the handheld blender on the counter beside the stove. A few steps later, he pulled me into his arms. “You look beautiful. But how do you feel?”
I hugged him back and inhaled his cedary, manly scent. “Hungry. What are you making?” I pushed back and tried to look around his shoulder—but he wouldn't let me.
Instead, he held me tighter and kissed my lips. He tasted like coffee and maybe a hint of chicken soup. But mostly coffee.
And since I missed coffee—and Stefan—I kissed him back with enthusiasm.
He smiled against my lips. “Fuck.” He kissed me again. “You can kiss.” Then a sudden look of concern crossed his face. “Where's your IV poll?” He moved back and carefully grasped my arm. “And where's the needle they put in your hand?” Stefan frowned as he glared at me.
“I took it out before I showered.” I shrugged, wiggled my fingers.
His handsome jaw tightened. “I'll call the nurse. She can come back and put another one in.”
I had to laugh at how he was so obviously reining in his anger. “I don't need it anymore. I'm fine.”
His eyes scanned my face for a moment. “You were very sick, Francesca. You should follow their orders.”
Oh.
My.
Heart.
The concern in this man's voice was breaking my heart.
“They gave me an IV to replace the fluids I lost. I'm not losing fluids anymore.
So, I'm fine,” I explained. He didn't seem easily convinced, though.
“See? Look at my fingers. They're all puffy from the extra fluids.” I held up my hand to show him my semi-swollen fingers.
“I'm full. And it'll take me a day or two until I get rid of what they gave me. My stomach is fine.”
Still—the man didn't seem to believe me. Not one bit.
Something flashed in my brain—and I knew just what to say. I rose up on my tiptoes and set my hands on his shoulders and whispered, “I'm hungry, Stefan. Feed me.”
The look in his eyes changed immediately. And I really, really, really liked that look.
He pulled me in and touched his lips to mine. “You better not be bullshitting me.” Then he kissed the supreme crap out of me. I felt his hardness against my belly, and that just made me all achy inside. In a good way.
When he finally let me go, I asked, “Can I help with something?” I peered back at the big, steamy pot on the stove.
“Yes.” Stefan let me go and walked to the freezer. He opened the door and pulled something out before turning around and heading back to me. “Take this,” he jerked his head toward the wall of windows, “out there. And relax.”
I shook my head and sighed. “That's all I've been doing for days. I'm perfectly able to help with whatever you need.”
He lowered his gaze at me. “What I need, Francesca, is for you to listen to me. Do you think you can manage that for five minutes?”
Yikes.
I snatched the ice pop out of his hand. “I don't know,” I answered in my best sassy voice as I walked away from him and toward the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen.
But not before I heard Stefan grumble behind me. “I don't know either.”
I was glad he couldn't see the huge grin on my face.