Recklessly Royal(68)
“Come in.” Her voice was steady and it made my heart sing to know she had recovered so much in the few days that she had been home.
“How are you feeling?” I walked in and sat down on the edge of her bed.
“I’m fine! Fine. Too bad these women won’t let me out of bed.” She sighed dramatically and I laughed.
“Oh hush. Stop giving them such a hard time!” I smiled at the two nurses in apology. “She’s usually much better behaved.”
“She’s fine, Your Highness.” The older nurse smiled. “And she’s not getting past me. I know it still hurts her to walk around more than a trip to the bathroom.”
“Call me Catherine, please.”
“Ha! See, I can’t even use the bathroom on my own.”
“Rotten.” I poked her leg. “You don’t want to fall and hurt yourself any more.”
“This is just payback for when you had your tonsils removed.” Selene smiled. “Do you remember that?”
“I demanded ice cream for every meal for a month.” I laughed.
“Exactly. You went on an eating strike and would cry when I tried to give you soup.” She shook her head. “So, if I’m not an easy patient, it’s because I learned from you.”
“Ouch, that hurts, Selene.” I laughed before turning to look at the nurses. “Would you mind giving us a few minutes? I promise to not let her do jumping jacks.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They left and pulled the door shut behind them.
“You look lovely.” Selene smiled.
“Thank you.” I preened.
“I don’t think I’ve seen that dress before.”
“You told me I should stop being so careful, so I figured I’d show a little boob tonight.” I winked at her.
“Is it for anyone in particular?” She narrowed her eyes.
“David is coming as my date tonight.”
“Ah, I see.” She cocked her head to the side. “And how much of your boobs has he seen already?”
“Selene!” I stared at her, shocked, while she cackled.
“Don’t play coy. You’ve practically been whistling while walking around the house. Something has happened.”
“I’m not sure I like this side of you. It’s so . . . so . . . weird!” I laughed.
“Get used to it. I don’t think it’s going away when I get off this medicine. Especially if you cut back on my hours.” She mock-glared at me. “Which we still need to talk about.”
“How is Tabitha doing? She seems to have everything in hand. Even with all of the extra media attention lately.” I fiddled with one of my earrings that felt loose.
“She’s doing an adequate job.”
“Wow. Don’t lavish so much praise on one person, Selene. It’ll go to her head.” I frowned.
“She is very worried about your media presence, which could be because of all the attention you’re receiving with Alex being out of town, but I think she should be paying more attention to the events that are behind the scenes. She hasn’t rescheduled your investment meetings yet, and since I’m not even allowed to think about working, no one will give me a phone so I can do it myself.”
“To be fair, I asked for a couple of days off.”
“You needed some time?” Selene looked at me with worried eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I was just tired. I didn’t sleep much while you were in the hospital.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t you dare apologize for being sick!” I poked her leg again. “That couldn’t be helped and I’m just grateful that you’re doing so well now.”
“I do hate that I caused you to worry so much.” She smiled sadly. “But I do appreciate the fact that you took such good care of me.”
“Just returning the favor.” I felt tears well up behind my eyes. “You’ve always been there for me.”
“I will be for as long as I can.” She reached out to me and I grabbed her hand. “I heard that you told the surgeons that I was your family.”
“You are my family.” I squeezed her fingers gently, still worried I might hurt her. “And there is nothing more important than family.”
“I want you to know that you’re my family as well.” She smiled. “And I couldn’t have asked for a better one.”
I couldn’t find words to respond, just held on to her hand and fought the tears that wanted to fall.
“Don’t you dare cry!” Selene let go of my hand and pointed at me. “You’ll mess up your makeup, and you look so lovely and polished.”