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“Oh.” She hunched over, wrapping her arms around herself, her gaze fixed on the glimmering ocean beyond the glass.
“In the meantime, can I get you anything? Juice? Coffee? Something to eat?” No answer. With another shake of my head, I went to the kitchen. Knowing Vera had already stocked it according to the doctors’ orders, I found what I needed. Ten minutes later, Stef hadn’t moved from the recliner and I thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. Nope, she was still staring out at the ocean, a frown creasing her brow.
“I made you some lunch. Chicken avocado salad. Thought it might be easy on your stomach.”
She finally turned her head, her eyes focusing on me for the first time since we’d arrived. There was a brief flicker of surprise, then maybe annoyance, before her gaze dropped to the plate. “I’m not hungry.”
Yeah, I was done. I’d well and truly had it with her bullshit. “Oh sorry, are you a three-year-old?”
Her eyes flashed to mine. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Seems she was full of energy suddenly.
“It’s simple, Stefania. We have very strict instructions for your care. You want to get better, this is what you have to do. I don’t give a fuck if you like it or not. If you’re hungry or not. Eat it.”
“Who put you in charge?”
“Seriously?You’re not the boss of me,is the best you can do?”
Now she was good and mad. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. All I want is for you to leave me thefuckalone!”
I stared down at her, the internal tug of war raging. The part of me that felt responsible for her wanted to stay, to make sure she ate, rested, recovered. But there was another part of me that remembered that stricken look on her face when I’d assumed she’d fucked me for the recording contract.
She’d needed me to help her get through Wolfe and Esme’s wedding, but she didn’t need me now. I placed the plate carefully on the table next to her and walked away without looking back. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I gave the instructions to have the jet ready. I wouldn’t be staying here tonight.
CHAPTER 20
Stefania
Wake up, meet with the nurse, take all my medications, shower. Drag myself to the kitchen. Force Vera’s breakfast down. Lie down on the recliner all day. Rinse and repeat. The one saving grace was that I was way too tired to get bored.
So here I was again, lying on the recliner with my eyes closed and a soft blanket over me, even though it was pretty warm in the sunroom. I always felt cold when I was sick, no matter how hot it was. I was concentrating on my breathing while I listened to the waves hitting the beach outside, trying to force my aching muscles to relax.
My phone rang, jarringly loud in the peaceful quiet, making me jump and scramble to pick it up from the low table next to the recliner. Fuck. It was Dante. I stared at the screen for a long moment, seriously considering hitting the End Call button. I knew he’d have a bunch of questions I didn’t really know how to answer. He’d called twice already, and I’d rejected the calls both times. Then I’d shot him a lame, “I’m okay,” text.
But he was my brother, and I adored him. Putting him off any longer would only stress him out, and I definitely didn’t want that. Hitting the answer button, I braced myself for the interrogation.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound more upbeat than I felt. “How’s Lucy?”
“Doing okay,” Dante replied. “She’ll be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.”
“She’ll be happy to be home.” This was my lame attempt at steering the conversation away from my own situation.
“Yeah, she will,” Dante paused, and I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. “You gonna tell me what’s going on? Why I’m getting phone calls from some random guy, telling me you’ve collapsed and been rushed to hospital?”
I winced at his tone. “He’s not a random guy. He’s the owner of my record label.”
“It seems to me he’s a lot more than that, since you’re now holed up with him at some secluded beach getaway.” His voice was laced with concern and a hint of suspicion.
“Jesus, Dante! I’m not holed up with him. I haven’t even seen or heard from him for days.” Ever since I’d been a raging bitch to him, just for trying to help me.
“So he dumped you there and has left you all on your own?”
Jesus, you couldn’t win with my brother. “No, he didn’t dump me. I told him to leave me the fuck alone and he has.” My feelings about Grayson doing exactly as I’d asked left me very confused, let me just say.
“In one of your moods, were you?” Now Dante sounded amused.
I rolled my eyes. It was annoying to have a brother who knew me so well. “You know what I’m like when I’m sick.”
“Don’t I just.”