Page 85 of Death, Interrupted

“Take one,” she urged, never taking her eyes off me. “I want to share.”

Fair enough.

I laughed and shook my head. “Who could ever say no to that face?”

Without that bandage, I know she would’ve been scrunching her nose by now. “You’re funny.”

“Hey, I mean it.” I took the strawberry frosted donut, knowing that was her least favorite out of the five that were left. “You’re beautiful. Inside and out.”

“And you’re very convincing.” She finally took a bite of the donut, and I watched as she leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed, delighted by the taste.

“God, you look hot eating a donut.”

She laughed and looked at me again. “Stop, Sly. Eat.”

“Okay, okay.” I grinned at her, then ate the donut in two bites before I wiped my fingers on my pants and started the engine. “Let’s get you home.”

On the drive back I kept my hand on her knee, and when we got to her apartment I unlocked the door and flicked on a few lights. I guided her to the couch and made her sit while I put away the box of donuts and her hospital bag.

“You cleaned my apartment,” I heard her say.

“Uh, yeah.” I came out of her bedroom and looked around the living room before my eyes met hers. “I didn’t want you to worry about anything when you got home.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at me with so much appreciation in her eyes. “For doing this. For making it easy.”

“You don’t ever have to thank me for that,” I said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know.”

“You’re stuck with me.”

“Good.”

I smirked. “Good.”

***

By the end of the week, Sumner was already doing everything I didn’t want her to do. She went to thestore on her own while I went to check on April at the mechanics, and when I came back, she was standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner.

I wanted to say something, to tell her that she still needed to rest, but I knew she wouldn’t listen. She was so independent, and I didn’t want to take that away from her. Not when it meant that she was getting better.

“Hi,” she said brightly when I walked into the kitchen.

I walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her temple while rubbing her lower back. “Hey, baby. Smells delicious.”

“Thanks! Try it for me, please.”

She stirred the tomato sauce before lifting the wooden spoon up to my mouth. I blew on it before tasting the sauce, then I nodded.

“Enough salt?” she asked.

“Perfect.”

She smiled, pleased with herself. “How’s April?”

I went over to the cupboards and grabbed glasses and plates to set the table. “Getting better. She needed a tire change and both mirrors were cracked, so they fixed those too.”

“And when can you take her home?”