She’d watched her best friend fall in love and she’d envied that. Wanted the same thing for herself. She thought she’d had it once, but she definitely hadn’t. If she’d been wrong once before, what said she wouldn’t be again?
Of all the men in the world, why did she have to want a tall, blond, muscled mercenary who was half French, cooked like a chef, knew wine, spoke several languages, and always lived with a shadow of danger in his eyes?
That was the thing that tripped her up most of all. The danger. He embraced it like it was a natural part of life. Jace did too. How Maddy accepted that, Angie didn’t know.
Then again, maybe she had no choice. Angie was beginning to think she didn’t either. Colt Duchaine was the one who made her want to risk her heart one more time. It was insane.
Or she was.
Angie scrubbed her hair and body as hot tears fell from her eyes. She rinsed herself off, shut off the shower, shivered as she grabbed a towel and dried off. It was all she could do to dry and dress, but when she was finally in her clothes with her damp hair hanging down her back—she thought about using the hair dryer but the effort was too much—she returned to the bedroom.
There was a pile of sheets on the floor and Colt was changing a pillowcase.
Angie blinked. “You changed the sheets?”
“I thought you might like fresh ones.”
Oh god, he was too much. Dan had never changed the sheets. Not once. He’d also never slept beside her while she was sick, or took care of her the way Colt had. The lump in her throat grew again. “That’s so sweet of you. You aren’t feeling bad are you? I’d hate it if I made you sick.”
“I’m fine.” He flipped the covers back. “Here, get in. I’ll bring soup and crackers. How about a ginger ale?”
“Please.”
She leaned back against the headboard and Colt tucked the covers around her. She watched him scoop up the sheets and disappear. He was calm and competent. He didn’t bitch about having to do all the work while she lay in bed. She’d heard nothing but complaining out of Dan the one time she’d had bronchitis. He’d been such a dick about it after the first day that she’d dragged herself out of bed and microwaved her own food from that moment on.
Whenever he had a minor cold, however, he’d moaned and groaned like he was dying. She’d had to do everything. She should have realized much quicker than she had what a self-absorbed asshat he was. But he’d had one of those personalities that dazzled, and she’d stayed dazzled far longer than she should have.
Colt was back in a few minutes with a tray containing hot soup, crackers, and a can of ginger ale in a drink koozie. The tray had legs and he set it over her lap.
“You doing okay, Ang?”
She sniffed, her emotions flying high and threatening to spill over. “Better, thanks. Just tired. And a little hungry.” She picked up the spoon and sipped some broth. The soup warmed her from the inside as she ate. “Oh, that’s good. Mads can cook like a house on fire. I sure don’t know where I picked up this bug, but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
“I might wish it on a few people. Not you,” he added with a grin.
“You sure you aren’t feeling sick?”
“I’m fine, Ang. I’ve had more vaccinations against more weird shit than you can imagine. Goes with the job. I don’t think you have to worry about me.”
“I hope not. I’d feel terrible if you got sick too. I already feel terrible that I’ve inconvenienced you this much.”
“I’m not inconvenienced, babe. I don’t mind taking care of you.”
The lump in her throat tightened again. “Thanks,” she whispered, then covered her emotions by spooning more soup into her mouth. When she felt more in control of herself, she asked, “Has there been any news?”
“Nothing yet.”
“The account in the Caymans?”
“We’re close to solving it.”
“I really need to check email, see what news there’s been from work.”
“You’re sick, Angie. Maybe wait until tomorrow to worry about work. You need to rest. Give yourself time to recover.”
She knew he was right, but she hated not getting anything done. She was the kind of person who was always busy, not the kind who lounged around and flipped through television shows all day. Yet that’s what she needed to do right now. Watch TV and forget about work because her body needed to recover.
“I should let someone know I’m sick.”
“Maddy called Liam. He passed it on to management. He’ll take care of anything that’s time sensitive until you can work again.”
She glowed inside, and not just from the soup. It was nice to have a tribe who took care of you when you needed them. She wasn’t always good at accepting help, but it was comforting when people proved they were there for you. Of course she’d had Maddy for a long time. Now she had Jace too. And Colt, it seemed.
But for how long?
“You guys have thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“Pretty much.” He picked up the remote and turned on the big television sitting on the dresser at the foot of the bed. “What do you want to watch? A movie? One of Maddy’s favorite renovation shows?”
She thought about it. She probably wouldn’t be awake for the whole thing, but there was one movie she could think of. A movie that made her laugh and feel good too. “How about Groundhog Day? Do you have that?”
His brows drew together. He was smiling though. “I can find it. I wouldn’t have guessed that
