Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls #3) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,104
have kept her at his place.
Oh my God. You know how pathetic you sound right now, right? She doesn’t want you to stay. Go home before you make an even bigger fool of yourself.
“See you around,” he said. He sounded sulky and like the world’s biggest fucking baby and he winced inwardly before pushing past Addison.
“Preacher, wait!” Addison’s soft hand grabbed his arm. “I don’t want you to leave.”
He turned to face her, wondering if the relief he was feeling was plastered all over his face. “No?”
“No,” she said. “I thought – I mean, when you said it was time for me to go home, I thought that you didn’t want to be around me anymore. Which, I totally understand because if I were you, I wouldn’t want to get sick with this cold either, and with my period, I can’t really, um, do anything for you.”
“I brought you home because I figured you would want your own bed, and your own stuff, and, maybe some food that wasn’t takeout. You know, like vegetables and fruit.”
She started to giggle which almost immediately turned into a coughing fit, but to his relief, it wasn’t that deep booming rasp of a cough even from two days ago.
He rubbed her back until she stopped coughing and then said, “Get into bed. I’ll make you tea for your throat.”
“Thank you.” She disappeared into the bedroom and he made her some tea before taking off his boots and joining her. She was sitting up in the bed already knitting and she took the cup of tea from him with a small smile.
“Thank you. It smells good.”
He sat on the bed beside her, propping a pillow behind his back before opening his bag. He pushed past the extra pair of underwear and his antiperspirant he’d shoved into the bag and grabbed his tablet and stylus.
What? No toothbrush?
He didn’t need a toothbrush. The first time he’d stayed overnight, Addison gave him a new toothbrush she had in the medicine cabinet. It was still sitting in the holder next to hers in the bathroom.
Just moving right in, aren’t you? Making yourself completely at home. You gonna ask her to clear a space in her closet for your fucking clothes?
He turned on his tablet. The sound of Addison’s knitting needles clicking, the warmth of her small body next to his in the bed, hell, even the occasional sniff she made, were stupidly comforting.
“What are you working on?” Addison said.
He showed her his sketch. It was a bear’s skull surrounded by colourful flowers. A flush of pride went through him when Addison said, “Wow. That’s amazing. You’re such an incredible artist. You and Harper would have a lot to chat about when it comes to art.”
“Thanks,” he said.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the clicking of Addison’s knitting needles. He made a few adjustments to his sketch before googling some images of flowers. As he studied them, he rested one hand on Addison’s thigh. Her apartment was a bit on the warm side even with the air conditioning, and she had changed from her yoga pants into cotton shorts before climbing into bed. He couldn’t resist touching the smooth softness of her skin.
When his phone dinged, he dug it out of his pocket and checked his messages before texting back. Addison didn’t ask, but he said, “It’s Gideon.”
“Is he asking you about the barbeque at Kira’s tonight? Grace texted earlier to see if I was feeling better and if I needed a ride.”
“You probably shouldn’t go,” he said. “You’re still sick.”
He supposed she was probably well enough to go for a little while, but he selfishly wanted to keep her to himself for a while longer. If they went to the barbeque, he wouldn’t be able to touch her whenever he wanted.
“I know. I told her I was skipping out on this one.” Addison gave him a quick sideways glance. “What time are you headed over there?”
“I’m not,” he said. “I told Gideon I couldn’t make it.”
“You shouldn’t miss out on the barbeque because of me,” she said. “I’m better now and -”
“You shouldn’t be alone,” he said. “You still have coughing fits that almost make you pass out.”
“Does that mean you’re spending the night?” she said with another sideways glance.
“Probably a good idea,” he said. “Just to be on the safe side. If you’re good with it?”
“Yes,” she said. “I, um, I’d prefer that. You know, just to be on the safe side.”