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He rinses and repeats.

Rinses and repeats.

And when the waves of pain come again, he shifts me, turning me over so I’m held in his left arm, resting across his shoulder.

His other hand spans my back again, pressing steady and firm until the pain passes.

And I think I might love this man.

We stay in the tub until the water grows cold.

I shiver.

"Do you want more hot water?" he asks quietly.

I shake my head. "No. I wanna go back to bed. Please."

"You don’t have to be polite," he says with a smirk. "Just bark out orders. This is the one time you’re the one in charge."

"You might regret that," I say teasingly.

I earn a rare smile and flash of white teeth. "That’s my girl," he says quietly. "There she is. You must be feeling better."

That’s my girl.

I never knew how much those words could mean to me.

He pulls the plug on the drain, and I watch the water swirl down, shivering.

Then he wraps a towel around his waist, then one around me, and carries me to the bedroom.

The bed is freshly made.

Polina sits in a chair by the little desk in the corner, tapping something out on her phone.

"Better? The meds should’ve kicked in by now."

I nod. "Thank you so much."

"Of course," she says, getting to her feet. "We’re sisters. I do have to go, but I’m going to leave very specific instructions for him."

My heart sinks.

I don’t want her to go.

I like her here.

She sees the look on my face and smiles.

"I promise you, he’s got this. And I’m giving you my phone number so you can text me. I happen to have an in with his boss."

She’s teasing, but there’s a serious edge to it, I know.

"Thank you."

It seems like too little, and yet something passes between us.

“And you owe me nothing. Just keep coming to the family dinners. As I keep telling the other girls, we need more women in this family."