Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(10)

“You didn’t need to do this,” she said, her throat tight. She accepted the tray, though, and didn’t waste any time pouring her tea and adding a dollop of honey before she took ravenous mouthfuls of her soup.

“I wanted to do it,” Cam told her before sitting back down.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

“What was that? I didn’t quite hear you,” Cam said, and she sent him another withering look.

“I said, ‘Thank you!’?” But she sounded anything but thankful.

“You always have had a difficult time thanking people,” Cam told her.

“That’s because most people do things for selfish reasons, not because they’re truly selfless,” she said, then frowned when she realized her sandwich was gone.

“Want another one?”

“No . . .” But she drew out the no. His attentiveness was sapping her will.

Cam laughed and climbed off the couch, grabbed her plate, then disappeared again. She could have tried to stop him, but the food was giving her some much-needed energy, and she hadn’t eaten in . . . hell, it had to be two full days now.

He returned as she was pouring a second cup of tea. He set the sandwich on her tray and sat back down. “Feeling better? Do you need any medicine? I can make a pharmacy run.”

“I am feeling a little better. And for real, thank you,” she said as she sipped her tea and then began nibbling on the second sandwich.

“Medicine?” he repeated.

“I wouldn’t mind some NyQuil,” she practically whispered. “It’s on the kitchen counter.” She had no doubt she was going to have to repay his kindness, but it was so nice to have someone taking care of her, even if only for a little while. A truce was acceptable under the circumstances.

Cam jumped up again and retrieved the capsules, along with some water to wash it down. When she finished her meal, he set the tray on her coffee table before giving her a look that made her instantly nervous.

“We still need to chat, but since you’re sick, and slightly stinky at the moment . . .” he said with a chuckle.

“I do not stink!” she snarled.

“Okay, I made that up, but I’m sure now that you have a little energy, you would love a hot bath.”

Oh, that did sound like heaven, but it was far too much effort. “I’m fine,” she told him, although it pained her to say it.

“You forget that I know you, Grace. We may have been apart most of the last ten years, but before that we were inseparable.”

“That was a very long time ago, Cam. People change.”

“Yes, but not that much, and if I remember correctly, you can sit in a tub until your entire body is a mass of wrinkles—if you have a good book.”

With that, he leapt up again, and soon her ears pricked up at the heavenly sound of running water. Her slight food buzz was already diminishing, and she wasn’t at all sure she’d have the energy to get up, undress, and bathe, but even though he had retracted his “stinky” comment, she felt disgusting. The cold had left her either shivering or stewing in her own juices, and washing off the sweat sounded better than a million dollars right now.

Ten minutes later Cam came back in the room. “Okay, up you go,” he said, and then her cover was being flung aside, and before she knew what he intended, his arms went beneath her and he was lifting her up, holding her securely against his solid chest.

“Mmm, I remember this,” he whispered.

Grace felt her chest restrict. Yeah, she remembered it too well herself. He marched into her room, then to the bathroom, and only stopped when he reached the tub. He set her down on the side. “Need help undressing?”

“No! I’ve got this,” she told him.

The adrenaline from being pressed up against him had given her back her lost energy, and she felt her cheeks grow hot at the thought of him stripping her clothes away.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before,” he reminded her softly, temptingly.

“That was in the Dark Ages, Cam.” Thankfully he didn’t remind her of their naked reunion   a few months ago.

“Okay, I’m going to leave the door cracked in case you need me,” he told her, and disappeared.

Grace undressed, then sighed in complete contentment as she slid into the deep bubble bath and leaned her head against the bath pillow he’d blown up and attached to the back of the tub. Cam had even left a book on the side of the tub, but she couldn’t even imagine holding her arms out of the hot water long enough to take it.

With a blissful sigh, comforting food in her stomach now, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.





Cam’s determination to make Grace listen to him had died the second he panicked at her front door, imagining all sort of horrible things that could have happened to her when she didn’t answer, especially since Sage had said she hadn’t heard from her in a few days.

When he’d walked inside and found her curled up on the couch, her nose red, her breathing uneven and scratchy, he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and take care of her.

Since her return last year, he’d tried telling himself it was time to move on, that it was more than obvious she wasn’t interested in rekindling their romance. If only it were that easy. She’d been his first real love, the source of his best childhood memories, and the girl he’d let slip through his fingers. Their chemistry was undeniable even today.