Inside, Hunter insisted I sit down while he unpacked the contents of the bags he’d brought. “Chicken soup from that restaurant you liked downtown, where we met for lunch a few weeks ago.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
“You made Izzy eat when she said the same thing.”
I pouted because he was right.
He continued to unpack. “Dayquil for keeping the fever down. I remember you tossing out the box the last time Izzy took it. Ginger ale, because the only time this crap tastes good is when you’re sick and drinking it with toast. Speaking of which…” He unpacked a loaf of bread from the first bag and moved on to the second one. Butter, Gatorade, Theraflu, vitamin C, tissues, and four DVD jewel cases. The last thing he unpacked was a box of some sort of jewelry crafting.
He held it up. “In case you get bored.”
“What is that?”
He shrugged. “Some craft kit they had at the drug store. Figured in case you need something that can keep you busy without getting up.”
God, this man could hurt my heart and heal it at the same time. I remembered he’d said his mother did craft projects when she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t get out of bed. He really was a sweet, protective, and thoughtful guy. And therein lay the problem. It would be a hell of a lot easier to say goodbye to someone who ran for the hills when I was sick—someone who only stuck around for the good. But Hunter was just naturally a for better or for worse type of man, which made it that much more difficult to see him as sex only.
I offered him a sad smile, hoping he’d chalk it up to my not feeling well. “Thank you for all of this. You didn’t have to.”
His eyes roamed my face. “You’re always taking care of someone else. I’m glad I’m here to take care of you.”
The thought was sweet, but all I could think was, I’m glad I didn’t get sick in four days.
***
The non-drowsy Dayquil made me sleepy. Or maybe it was the action adventure with Bruce Willis and buildings blowing up that had lulled me to sleep. But because I’d slept on and off all day, I was confused when I woke up on the couch. My feet were still propped up on Hunter’s lap like they had been when I dozed off, only he wasn’t watching television anymore. My eyes fluttered open to him watching me sleep again.
“What time is it?”
“Must be about ten, I guess. Izzy called to check in. I saw her name pop up on your phone, so I answered it before it woke you. She wanted to come home to take care of you.”
“Oh. That’s sweet. She’s really coming around lately.”
Hunter nodded. “Told her I had it covered, but I’d make sure you checked in.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’ll text her.”
He nodded. “You hungry?”
“If I say no are you going to force me to eat something anyway?”
His lip twitched. “Probably.”
He reached over and felt my head. “Still cool. But it’s been four hours since you took the Dayquil. Want a Nyquil dose this time to keep the fever down and help you sleep?”
“God, all I’ve done is sleep.”
Hunter walked to the kitchen, grabbed some medicine, and poured me a tall glass of ginger ale. I managed to accomplish sitting up while he did that.
He sat down on the edge of the coffee table across from me and made sure I took my pills, then took the glass from my hands to set it down.
“You’re pretty good at this nurse stuff, you know.”
“I prefer playing doctor to nurse, but I’m flexible.”
“At least I’m a better patient than Izzy. I’m not calling your name every five minutes to come get my dirty tissues and tell you something hurts.”
“No. I think sleeping through the entire thing seems to be more your style.”
“Well, now that I’ve slept the entire day, I’ll probably be up half the night.” I nodded to the jewelry craft kit he’d brought. “So expect some crappy bracelets when you wake up. Mine won’t be as nice as the one you wear.”
He looked down at his wrist. “I was ten or eleven when my mom got sick. She had muscular problems that affected her legs, so she was bedridden a lot. My aunt used to bring those kits over all the time. Kept her busy.” He twisted the bracelet on his wrist. “Macramé and leather were her favorites. I used to have a lot of them, but over the years they broke or I lost them. This is the only one I have left. I’ll wear your crappy one when this one finally goes.”
Wow. It was a losing battle to not fall a little harder every day. “You know, Hunter, underneath the jackass suit you wear, you’re a really great guy.”