Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 260(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“I bet.” He’s still naked while I’m in his shirt. He finishes the task of picking up after himself, grabs a pair of athletic shorts off the counter, and slides them up his hips. “Keep your thoughts to yourself.” He gives me a wolfish grin.
“I can’t help that everything you do is hot,” I say around a tired yawn.
“We’ve got plenty of time to explore each other later. Now, let’s get you into bed.” He guides me into the bedroom with his hand on my lower back. The heat from his palm soaks through the fabric and sends a shiver down my spine.
“Will you lie with me?” I ask with slight hesitation.
“Yeah, I want nothing more than to be beside you.” Luke lifts the comforter and sheets up for me. “Slide in, baby girl.” I do as he says.
“Thank you, for everything.” We settle. I’m on my side, and he’s behind me, my back to his chest as I sink into his warmth.
“No place I’d rather be.” Luke kisses my neck, and my eyes slowly close.
11
LUKE
“Good to have you back, Gallo,” I tell my partner when he walks into my office, one that’s finally clean, making it my first priority before Shae comes in for her check-up with him. She’s officially not my patient and hasn’t since I released her. Officially removing myself from her chart this morning without checking on Shae’s lab results or ask her about them, yeah, that was damn hard.
Sunday night, we both ended up passing out, me for a couple of hours, Shae for even longer. The dinging of the alarm alert going off that someone was requesting to enter through the service entrance woke me, reminding me that I’d placed an order for groceries. Once all the bags were placed on the massive kitchen island, I gave the delivery driver a massive tip for the more-than-normal-sized order. The good news is the fridge and pantry are restocked, which came in handy when Shae joined me in the living room. She looked so goddamn beautiful my chest hurt. I had my arm over the side of the couch, my other propped on the arm rest, and she climbed in right beside me, her head in the crook of my neck. My woman is a cuddler. She likes to be held, the closer the better.
When my stomach started growling, right on cue with it getting later in the evening, I knew I’d have to get up from the couch and make us something to eat. Shae helped chop the vegetables, and I sautéed the chicken and what she diced up, boiled the noodles, and we had a stir fry of sorts. We ate on the couch, her tucked in next to me while a movie played, and when it got later in the night, neither of us said a word. I simply held my hand out, she took it, and we went back to bed.
The next morning, I dropped her off at her apartment, kissed her until the last minute, and came to work. She was nervous the entire time, waiting on the results she’ll receive. I did everything I could to keep her mind off it, and still, Shae worried her bottom lip, nearly chewing the skin raw. I kept in constant contact and was about to call in sick myself if it weren’t for Gallo being out of the office already.
We stopped at her apartment last night. This time, she packed a small bag, and we stayed at my place again. I did similar this morning by dropping her off, telling Shae I’d see her after her appointment, and we’d grab a quick bite to eat. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if she wanted me in the exam room today. I didn’t, and now my gut is swirling with regret.
“Glad to be here. You won’t believe this. The medicine they gave my father to combat his congestive heart failure, it seems he and my mom got the medicines all mixed up, doubling on doses one day, not taking anything the next. It wasn’t until I sat down with them to look at the prescriptions that I put two and two together.” Jesus, he can’t catch a break. I get it; multiple pills twice a day can get confusing, especially if they’re switching up combinations as much as they have the past few months.
“Damn, no wonder he’s been in and out of the hospital as much as he has. Everything okay now?” I ask, not for selfish reasons but out of pure genuine concern.
“Seems to be. This is day four, and everything has been good as of this morning. I only hope this week, I can actually be at work without the world coming to an end.” I wince with the news I’m about to deliver.