“The master is back here.” Stone entered the last room. “You’ll have your own bath.”
“Thank you.” Like in Molly’s room, there were colorful quilts on the bed. The furniture was simple and utilitarian. Stone had a queen-size bed, and sure enough, there was a massive U-shaped pillow dominating it. A recliner sat next to an overburdened bookcase that matched the dresser and nightstand.
He had a deck off the bedroom. The view from the sliding door was spectacular. Outside, there were two rocking chairs amid an army of potted plants.
“I can’t take your room, Stone.”
“I insist,” he said. “Tag set up a daybed in the office, and it’s more than I need.”
Molly strolled to the en suite.
“Stone.” Her voice held surprise. “I did not see you as a bidet guy.”
“A what now?” Stone and I followed her inside.
Yup. The toilet had one of those fancy electronic bidet attachments, complete with a remote control. There was also a chair in the shower and a handheld shower attachment.
“That”—Stone pointed at the bidet—”was not here when I left.”
“Look, Molly! It has friendly icons for each operation.” I explored the remote. “It even dries your butt with warm air.”
“Stone’s face flamed. “Honestly, I’ve never seen that thing in my life.”
“This is really nice.” I burst into tears. Stone’s gaze met mine in the mirror. “Things haven’t been easy for me with regard to hygiene and—”
“Jesus. God.” Stone swore. “Can we leave the bathroom now?”
“Please, let’s.” I nodded fervently, still sobbing. We returned to the bedroom where I climbed onto the bed, turned away from them, and muttered, “Why am I like this?”
“I figure it can be my job to cook if you’ll let me.” Molly ignored my outburst. “I know what Bast likes, but you can tell me if you have any food allergies or things you refuse to eat. Bast wouldn’t eat a green pepper if his survival depended on it.”
“I’m easy,” said Stone. “Protein, carbs, fruits, and veg. I don’t care in what combinations. Simple is best.”
“Awesome.” She laid her hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t I help you get settled for a nap, honey? You’ll feel better when you wake up, and we’ll have a light supper ready.”
Stone said, “I should probably go and check on provisions, although knowing Ariel…”
“And if you could wipe the last three minutes from your memory, I’d really appreciate it,” I begged miserably.
“Will do.” Stone left the room.
Molly thumped my calf. “What is your problem?”
“My problem? You walk into his bathroom like, oooh, there’s a bidet, and I’m the one with the problem?”
“They probably put it in just for you.”
“I know.” I couldn’t even tear out my hair. “You don’t have to tell me that. I appreciate it, but I honestly don’t want anyone thinking I can’t even wipe my own ass.”
“I’m guessing you’re feeling a little helpless right now”
I glared at my arms. “Hello.”
“And you can’t go off into the wilderness to die because nobody will let you.”
“I swear to God, Molly, if you laugh…”
“There is nothing funny about this situation, Sebastian. You’ve been ignoring your emotions for a really long time, and they came up and bit your ass. Hoping the problem will just go away hasn’t worked. Now you have to face it.”
I let myself fall back. “Please. Can I just sleep for now?”
“Of course.” Molly helped me find a comfortable position. Ariel was right, the U-shaped pillow helped tremendously. It was almost as good as sleeping on Stone. “Are you going to be okay for a while?”
I nodded. “Please leave.”
“I know you’ve had a tough day, first getting discharged and then traveling all the way here in a private corporate jet,” she said dryly. “It’s my hope you’ll really take some time to heal while you’re here.”
“You’ll be my eyes and ears, right? You won’t hide things from me if there’s something I need to know?”
“Of course.” She smoothed the covers over me. “But I won’t subject you to the minutiae. You don’t need that right now.”
“Am I allowed music?”
“For now, just sleep.”
It would have been impossible not to given how tired I was. My eyelids seemed to get heavier by the second. The next thing I knew, I smelled the delicious combination of toasted cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
“Mm, butter.” I opened my eyes. “Hey.”
“Don’t move just yet.” Stone placed a breakfast tray on a chair that hadn’t been by the side of my bed before I fell asleep. “Let me help you to a sitting position, okay?”
“You don’t have to.”
“Do you want to get up and eat at the table?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Not really.”
“That’s what I thought.” With a snort, he wedged pillows behind me. Using those and the body pillow Ariel gave me, we managed a comfortable sitting position.
“You shouldn’t have to provide room service.”
“Tomorrow morning you can start moving around.”
He cut my sandwiches into gooey, crispy strips before stirring my soup to cool it. Stone didn’t meet my eyes. I waited.
He cleared his throat. “How do you want to do this?”
“I can handle the sandwiches.” I sounded pitiful, but I didn’t care. As long as I could get him to feed me the soup.
“Soup’s a little hot still. Why don’t you get started?”
I picked up a golden crusty sandwich slice with cheese oozing from the edges and took a bite. “Mm. So yummy.”
“Ariel left a ton of food, including sharp cheddar and fontina cheese. Molly said you like grilled cheese and tomato soup.”
My chipmunk cheeks were full when I said, “Love it.”
“Open.” He held a spoonful of soup for me. “Too hot?”
I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
He brought another to my lips, then waited while I ate more sandwich. It took several more rounds of trading soup and sandwich bites before I finished everything. Stone was a little distracted.
In the hospital, he’d stared at me like I was a puzzle he wanted to solve. He’d touched me often whether he realized it or not. More than once, he’d swiped a thumb across my lower lip when it was perfectly clean. He’d also stroked his finger over my eyebrows and down the side of my face when he thought I was asleep.
Why was he acting so cold now? “Is everything okay, Stone?”
“You are so pretty.” He put the tray aside and stared at me.
My tongue seemed to stick to the roof of my mouth.
He glanced at his hands. “Of course I knew that, but Ariel called while you were sleeping, and she couldn’t stop talking about how gorgeous you are in person.”
I rolled my eyes. “Pro tip, men are usually called handsome.”