Page 20 of Merry Fake Bride

He briefly closes his eyes while he chuckles, and it’s a beautiful sight that I want to enjoy, but the longer I stay awake, the more my senses come back to me and my defenses start to build.

“Shit.”

“What is it?” Worry steals across his face. “Are you in pain? I can get the doctor.”

“No, it’s…” I shake my head while bracing my good hand down against the bed to sit up. “I can’t even imagine what the damage is going to be.”

“To your arm?”

“No.” I flash him a sad smile. “The hospital bills are going to be insane and I—” I cut myself off.

This guy doesn’t need to know about the crushing weight of using my entire savings to cover the bakery’s overdue rent, or how hospital bills on top of that might actually bankrupt me. “Let’s just say it’ll be a small Christmas.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” The concern melts away from Kairo and his shoulders appear to relax as he smiles. “Despite your saying this isn’t my fault, it certainly feels like it. I should have approached you with more thought and I didn’t. I’m responsible for scaring you, regardless of your reaction, so I put you on my insurance to cover the cost.”

“Kairo!” I gape at him, unable to maintain any kind of composure in front of him as he drops that bomb. “You can’t do that, it must be so much money!”

“I have really good insurance.”

“But the cost of just my arm alone, I can’t afford to pay you back or anything, and I can’t let you be responsible for?—”

“Devon.” His warm tone, as gentle as it is, takes on a firm edge. “Please, let me. You got injured because of me, and I feel terribly guilty about it. So it’s absolutely my responsibility to take care of any financial fallout as a result of this.”

He tilts his head toward the cast on my arm. “And I have excellent insurance that I’ve never used, so really, you’re doing me a favor in making sure those leeches aren’t just sucking my bank account dry.”

I don’t know what to say.

This man barely knows me and yet he sits there insisting I not only take his money, but that it actuallybenefitshim in some way.

It’s like he’s trying to do everything he can to make up for something that is barely even his fault.

How is he real?

As we stare at each other, he lightly lifts his brow as if silently encouraging me to just accept his offer, and it makes me smile until something about his very presence catches in my mind.

“Kairo… why are you here? Not here, I mean… how did you find me?”

I’ve never seen him around before that night in the bar, but somehow, he ends up on my street?

His eyes open and his smile fades to something more serious. “I was actually on my way?—”

The words die as someone abruptly knocks on the door, making me jump.

As the monitor I’m hooked up to betrays my sudden heart rate increase, Kairo stands up and turns to face the door, angling himself between me and whoever walks through.

“Miss Miller? I’m—oh! You’re still here.” A thin woman in a peach pencil skirt suit and square glasses steps into the room, her black kitten heels clicking on the floor as she strides deeper into the room and stops near my bed.

An electronic tablet clings to one of her arms as she glances between the two of us. “This is actually perfect.”

“I’m sorry.” I try to adjust myself further on the bed while Kairo mirrors the woman’s movements and subtly steps closer to my bed. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jennifer. I’m from upstairs.” She glances up with a thin, tight smile.

“Upstairs?” Kairo asks.

“Administration,” Jennifer replies. “I’m glad to see you’re awake, Devon, as I have a few questions about your insurance here.”

“I can answer those,” Kairo says, and he crosses both his arms across his chest.