She realised with a flush that she hadn’t offered him a bite. “I—”
“It’s for you,” he said gently. “I already ate.” He leaned back slightly “How are you feeling?”
She exhaled. “Better.”
He nodded, but seemed about to say something. “Don’t…”
She glanced at him with a question in her eyes.
“Don’t send me away,” he begged, and from what she knew of him, Thane did not beg. “Please.”
She opened her mouth, but he rushed on, eyes never leaving hers.
“I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Not just for…you know.” He winced. He couldn’t bring himself to talk about how he hadnearly killed her. “There are so many things I’ve done wrong. But first…I want to get you home.”
Her heart beat the tattoo that it normally did when he was within a five-mile radius of her.
“I’m planning to stay with Callum,” she said quickly.
“Callum’s being deployed,” Thane said. “Security contract to Poland. He’s leaving in two days.”
Her brows knit. “Then I’ll go to Cormac’s.”
“I heard Cormac has a new girlfriend. Are you sure about that?”
“Then I’ll just go back to my own place,” she said flatly.
“You won’t be able to manage,” he said. “Your arm is in a cast. Your ribs haven’t healed yet. You can’t drive. You’ll struggle even getting dressed.”
She turned her face away. “I’ll manage.”
Thane leaned forward, voice low. “Look…I’m the reason you’re here. The least I can do is help you get back on your feet. Your dad’s just been transferred to London, so he’s not going to be around. Let me take care of you”
Faolan didn’t respond. She didn’t need to know who was behind all the transfers.
“You don’t want to stay here, do you?”
She opened her mouth to stubbornly say yes, but right on the dot, Mrs. Wallace called out at the top of her voice, “Have you seen my bra? Someone’s stolen it again. I’ll have the headteacher fired, I swear!” Faolan winced, then sighed in defeat. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought Thane had set her up. It would have been easier if the chemistry that had flared up on that first day she had laid eyes on him had burnt out. But it smouldered as if waiting for a spark. He was under her skin, and she didn’t know how to dig him out.
“Fine.”
Chapter 32
Faolan didn’t want the fuss. But life, it seemed, had a flair for the dramatic, even on discharge day.
Cormac was red in the face from a complex cocktail of irritation, protectiveness, and that big brother brand of indignation.
“You could’ve mentioned it earlier,” he muttered, adjusting his grip on the handles of her wheelchair. “That you were going to your place.”
Faolan offered him a smile sweet enough to cause cavities “Didn’t want to ruin your morning sulk.”
He grunted.
“Besides,” she continued, trying to keep her tone light, “you’ve got that new girlfriend now. Don’t think I haven’t noticed your sudden interest in covering up your BO. That aftershave is like nerve gas. When am I going to meet this wonder woman, anyway?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’ll meet her when you stop looking like a mutant, multicoloured zebra.” His softened gaze flicked pointedly to the leftover bruising mottling her skin and the half-hearted attempt her hair had made at returning to its original colour.
She laughed, and it felt good. “Fair enough. Don’t want to scare her off too quickly. You can use all the help you can get. “
