respect them.
That didn’t, of course, prevent him from calling in a favor to one of the many construction crews he knew around town. It wouldn’t cost them much to hang up the plywood, secure her place from looters. She needed the help even if she was stubbornly refusing it. He wasn’t going to let her spite herself out of pride. The fact that she’d made it clear to him that he wasn’t someone she cared about stung, but he still wasn’t going to let her twist in the wind. Wasn’t going to abandon her when she needed help. That wasn’t the kind of man he was.
“Hello? Gael?” Ava said, waving her hands in front of him. He blinked fast, rousing himself from those frustrating thoughts.
“Sorry.”
“Thinking about her, aren’t you?”
Gael shrugged. “That obvious?”
“I can read you like a book.” Ava grinned. “Hey, on the bright side, Mags gives you something else to think about besides my dumb old tumor.” Ava laughed a little. She always joked around when she was nervous about something. It was her way of hiding her fear, Gael knew.
“True. Who wants to think about that old thing anyway?”
Ava grinned.
A soft knock game at the hospital room door, and Gael turned, expecting to see the hospital staff ready to wheel Ava to the operating floor. Instead, he saw Mags standing there, blue hair hidden under a knit cap, gray wool scarf wrapped around her neck.
“Mags!” Ava beamed. She threw her arms wide, and Mags came over and gave her a hug. “We were just talking about you.”
“No, we weren’t,” Gael said, giving his sister a look that he hoped would convince her not to cause trouble.
Mags produced a small notebook from behind her back. “Just a few tattoo sketches,” Mags said. “Not for now, of course.” She glanced uneasily at Gael. “But something you can think about as you heal.”
“This is so cool!” Ava flipped through Mags’s art book, the colored drawings leaping off the page. Gael might not approve of a tattoo just yet, but he sure did like the look of joy on his sister’s face. Attitude was so important going into surgery. All the doctors had told him that. And giving her something to look forward to on the other end of it was just smart.
Gael met Mags’s gaze and tried to communicate his gratitude, but one look at her big, light brown eyes, framed by those thick dark lashes, and his breath caught, just for a second.
Two hospital orderlies came to the door then. “Ava? It’s time,” one said, coming into the room.
“This is it,” Gael said and gave Ava a big hug. It was difficult with the IV in her arm and her heart monitor, but he managed. “You’re going to do great.”
She handed him Mags’s tattoo book. “I’ll see you on the other side,” she said and lay back down as the orderlies wheeled her out and away. Gael turned to Mags then, giving her his full attention.
“I’m surprised you came.” Gael couldn’t help but feel a sprig of hope bloom in his chest. Had she come for him? Or did she just feel sorry for Ava?
“I wanted to...” Mags swallowed. Talking about her feelings was really like pulling teeth. She bit her full lip, hesitating. “Thank you for sending those guys. They boarded up my shop, and it helped. A lot.”
“Good.” Gael wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She was the one who’d told him he was just one more notch in her bedpost.
“I... I’m sorry,” Mags blurted before Gael could say another word. “I really messed up. I...was such an ass.”
Gael laughed a little. “You kind of were.”
“Hey! I’m trying to apologize here.” Mags moved closer to Gael so they were both standing in the middle of Ava’s empty room. Gael was close enough now to smell Mags’s signature scent. Roses. The flower as delicate as her lips. Which he wanted to taste right now.
“I’m listening.” If she asked him to spank her, he just might. She kind of deserved it.
Mags took a deep breath. Gael noticed her hands were shaking. His own heart ticked up a notch.
“I lied to you. You’re not just another guy.” Mags swallowed, hard. “I don’t know why I lied. I was scared. I gave up so much to you... I lost control...with the role play.”
“No, you didn’t.” He shook his head slowly. “You gave me control. You never lost it. It was always your choice to make. I never ordered you to