“Hey, Mare. Got any for me?” Andrew asked teasingly.
“Always,” she said. A hug was out of the question, so Andrew settled for a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and a kiss to her cheek. “You look like hell. Bet that’s better than you’re feeling right now though, huh?”
*
“I’m okay,” she said with a small smile. If she confirmed the truth he would feel the need to hang around and help her out. While the thought behind it would have been appreciated, all she wanted to do was crawl into her own bed, pull the covers up over her head, and sleep the day away. Maybe she’d even take one or two of the pain pills they’d given her.
“Yeah, guess you are pretty tough at that.” Andrew shifted his weight, as if he wanted to leave, but wasn’t quite comfortable about it. His eyes moved to the doorway where Aidan had disappeared with Mary’s overnight bag. Several minutes passed in slightly awkward silence while Mary continued to reassure Max that she hadn’t abandoned him.
“Well...,” Andrew said finally, “unless you have something you need me to do, I’m heading back to the shop. We have some new stuff coming in this afternoon and I’m not sure I trust Becky enough to handle that on her own yet. I’ll check in on you later, okay?”
“No, I think I’ll be fine. All I’m going to do is crash. Thanks, Andrew. For everything.”
“You’re not mad, then?” he asked, his eyes flicking back toward the direction Aidan had headed.
“No,” she said on an exhale.
He smiled affectionately. “It’s nice to be able to do something for you for a change.” With another peck on her cheek and a quick scratch behind Max’s ears, Andrew gathered his keys and coat and took his leave.
Chapter Fourteen
“Okay,” Aidan said cheerfully, reappearing in the kitchen. “Enough of this. Let’s get you in bed so you can get some rest.” He turned the prescription bottle around in his hand and read the label. “These say you’re supposed to take them with food, so -”
“What are you doing?” she asked suddenly.
He blinked. “Taking care of you.”
A month ago, those words would have thrilled her. Now, she didn’t know what to make of them. He was acting as if the past few weeks hadn’t happened, but seeing him again was dredging all of the hurt and confusion back to the surface for her.
She exhaled heavily. “Aidan, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I do know that I’m just not capable of working through it right now. Maybe we can talk in a few days or something, but right now I just want to go to bed for a couple of hours, okay?”
“Yes to bed. No to the rest of it.”
“I appreciate your help, Aidan, but - ”
“Save your breath, Mary. You’re in no shape to argue with me. And I’m not leaving.”
Mary opened her mouth, then closed it again. He was right. She was too tired and too sore to argue with him. If he wanted to waste his morning while she slept, fine.
With a sigh of resignation, she went to her bedroom, Max following closely at her heels. Now that he had his mistress back, he had no intention of letting her out of his sight.
“You’re going to pull the stitches,” Aidan chastised gently when he entered the room several minutes later and saw Mary struggling to get into her pajamas. “Let me help you.”
Mary let her arms hang loosely at her side while Aidan worked the sleeves of her favorite oversized flannel nightshirt on with a minimum of movement. She watched his fingers, long and graceful, as he did up the buttons. Perhaps she should have felt some twinge of modesty, but given what he had already seen – what he had already done – it seemed rather pointless. The bandages covered everything anyway.
She didn’t bother with pajama bottoms, electing to just sit down on the bed with her top and panties. Aidan fluffed the pillows behind her, then steadied her with one arm while the other swept her legs up onto the bed in one smooth movement.
Tugging the covers up to her waist, he moved to the other side of the bed. He toed off his shoes and sat down beside her, stretching his legs out. Not to be left out, Max leaped up and circled several times before settling heavily between them. It felt good to have his warm, furry body against hers.
“Here,” Aidan said, pulling a small tray containing crackers and tiny slices of cheese from the night table onto his lap. “Eat a few of these so you can take something for the pain.”
“I’m not hungry,” she grumbled, too distracted and confused by the fact that Aidan was sitting in bed beside her as if he planned on staying awhile. Was he really serious about not leaving anytime soon?