“I can’t feel my leg. I think it fell asleep. Can you check it?”
He looked befuddled and on the verge of asking her a question, but instead he nodded his head and put his hand under the covers. “Can you feel this?
“Yes.”
“This?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then. I think you’ll live.”
“Thanks, Nurse Darcy.” Elizabeth met his eyes. They lacked the steely glint she’d grown used to seeing there. Now they were soft and very dark. She lifted her hand to his cheek.
“Oh, my God, you’re so bristly.”
“I forgot to pack a razor.”
She ran her fingers across the two-day-old growth and watched him close his eyes. Elizabeth pulled his face closer and gave him a brief kiss. He leaned in and she kissed him again, pulling him down.
He followed willingly.
CHAPTER THREE
It was dark when Elizabeth awoke to the sound of her buzzing phone. Her eyes adjusted gradually to the dim light edging in from the kitchen and the low flames in the fireplace. Her phone buzzed again.Jane!She pulled it from under the blanket and looked at the screen. The first message, now two hours old, read: “Car died. Waiting for the tow truck. Don’t wait up.”The newest one was simple:“We’re at a motel. Home first thing in the a.m. XO”
What happened?Elizabeth sat up on the sofa and, feeling a twinge in her leg, slid back down among the cushions. She sensed she wasn’t alone and looked around. Darcy’s dog was curled up in front of the fireplace, so she knew he must be close by. She looked down and found him next to her, asleep on the floor, glasses on his nose, and a Kindle sitting atop his chest. The reader rose and fell as he took deep breaths.
Elizabeth rolled onto her side, reached over, and gently took the Kindle. She peered closely at his face. It was different: softer than before, framed by messy hair and tortoiseshell. She thought she should remove the glasses in case he rolled over. As she leaned down, her fingers brushed his forehead. Darcy’s eyes blinked open and, slowly adapting to the dim light, settled on her.
“Hi.”
“Hi. You fell asleep reading.”
“Did I?”
“You and Princess Coconut kept me company. I think I fell asleepwhile we were talking or something.”
He pulled off his glasses and nodded. “Or something.”
Elizabeth blushed. “I kissed you, didn’t I?”
He nodded again and sat up, turning to face her.
“Sorry. Vicodin makes me a bit loose.”
“It’s fine. You were funny. I didn’t mind.”
“No?”I was funny? Cripes.
“No.”
“Well, the show goes on. The Vicodin lasts eight hours, and I took it about four hours ago.”
“You read the chemists’ labels.” He gave her a crooked smile.
“I speak from experience. So,” she said softly and slightly mortified, “did I fall asleep right after I kissed you?”
“More or less.”
