Within These Walls (The Walls Duet #1)(45)

But I had.

Somehow, I’d managed the impossible, and even though my heart still felt like it was slowly mending itself back together again from a horrendous accident, I was moving forward again.

Lailah was my way out of that hallway and back to the land of the living.

“Hey, Margaret, can I ask you for a favor?” I leaned forward.

Anticipation replaced fear as my plans for the evening took shape.

Curious, prying eyes followed me as I tried to carry in one single load what probably should have been three. Bags were slung over my shoulders, grocery sacks were in my hands, and about a million other things were stuffed anywhere else I could fit them.

With the two fingers I had free, I managed to pry open Lailah’s door, not bothering to knock. The noise I had made as everything balanced on my shoulders fell forward against the door was an announcement in itself. I pushed forward and nearly fell on my ass. I really should have made two trips, but I’d known when I got up here and saw her, I wouldn’t want to leave.

When I heard her giggle, I looked up and melted.

“Are you moving in?” she asked, her champagne-blonde locks brushed the bare skin of her knees as she bent over her journal. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement at the sight of me tumbling into her room.

In that moment, I knew I’d do anything to bring that smile to her face.

“Do you think they’d let me?” I began the lengthy process of setting things down—first, the grocery bags and then the large equipment strapped to my back.

“Hmm…I don’t know. The bed is awfully small for two people,” she replied.

I glanced up just in time to see her eyes widen at the realization of her words. The way she’d said it had been light and joking, but all I’d heard was the possibility of the two of us back in bed together.

“I mean, you know…it would just be uncomfortably small. I might kick you and steal the covers and—”

“I think I could manage.” I grinned, letting my gaze run down the length of her body.

The gray shorts she was wearing did little to cover her long legs, and I had trouble tearing my eyes away from her milky white skin. She was usually so covered due to the frigid temperatures of the hospital that it was rare to see so much of her.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked, immediately stalking forward to feel her cheeks and forehead.

“Yes, fine. Why?”

“You’re usually more bundled than this,” I said, motioning to her bare legs.

“Oh, I, um…” she fumbled over her words, turning red and casting her gaze downward.

“You, um, what?” I asked softly, brushing my fingers over her thigh.

“I don’t have anything nice to dress up in, but I thought I could at least try to look…sexy.”

Her eyes were transfixed on the caress of my hand against her skin. She took in a gulp of air and released it slowly as I sank down next to her.

“You could be in a designer dress or a hospital gown, and I’d still find you irresistibly sexy either way. It doesn’t matter to me what you wear…or don’t wear,” I added with a smirk. “I’m attracted to you—your laugh, your voice, the sexy way your breath catches when I kiss you. None of that has anything to do with what you choose to put on your body.”

As soon as the last word left my lips, she was on me, kissing me with passion I hadn’t known she possessed. Just when I’d thought I figured out this shy, innocent girl of mine, she’d knock me flat on my back and remind me just what an amazing mystery she was to discover.

Pulling back, she gave me a pleased, happy smile, letting me know that she was very happy with herself.

“So, does this mean I should change into pants then?” she asked, placing her hand over mine and running it down the length of her thigh.

Innocent, my ass. This girl is a quick learner.

“No, these are fine. I mean, we don’t want to make more laundry for your mom,” I answered, digging my fingers into her flesh.

A sheepish grin appeared on her face, and she tried to cover it with her hand.

“So, if you’re not moving in, what’s with all the stuff?”

“Well, first, you have to promise me that you won’t get mad at me?” I said, bracing for possible impact.

“Why? What did you do? Does it involve my mother somehow? Or something embarrassing? Oh God, is it something involving my mother, and it’s embarrassing?”

I let out a chuckle. “No, nothing to do with family members and nothing embarrassing.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“I took a peek at your list today,” I said quickly.

Her eyes grew. “You said it wasn’t embarrassing!”

“It’s not,” I said quickly, holding my hands up in defense. “I swear, it was a quick peek, and I didn’t look anywhere near the top. I wanted to surprise you with something, and I couldn’t do that without looking on my own.”

She let out a disgruntled breath. “Promise you didn’t see anything that would make me cringe?”

“There was this one thing that involved whipped cream…” I started, trying to keep a straight face.

When her startled face flew up to mine, I couldn’t contain the laughter that came spilling out.

“I’m kidding!”