Shoved (Moonlit Lake Matchmaker #4)

Chapter 20

SERENA

My head pounded, and my body felt on fire. I wanted to peel off all my clothes and jump in a snowbank. I cracked open my eyes. Where was I?

That’s when I saw Storm at the other end of the couch, tenderly wiping my baby’s brow with a washcloth. I blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Nope. He was still there. Still taking care of my sick child.

There was a cloth across my head, as well. He’d been taking care of both of us. Definitely not the uncaring grinch I had him pegged for.

Not only did we show up on his doorstep, completely out of the blue, uninvited and unexpected, but Sadie puked all over him. And then we both passed out on his couch. This was so far above and beyond the normal attorney responsibilities, it might as well have been on another planet.

A jab of guilt churned my gut. I should have been the one to take care of my child. What kind of mom was I? And what would have happened if we were at home by ourselves? Or worse, if we’d been stranded in the car… and sick. Yuck!

Was this what it was like to have a partner to help shoulder the burdens and to lean on during difficult times?

In my sickened state, I easily imagined being with Storm on a daily basis. Partner, father, friend, husband… lover. This image planted seeds in my mind that grew shoots quickly, wrapping around me like a clinging vine and refusing to let go, regardless of how I tried to shake it loose.

I closed my eyes to try to refocus my thoughts. Storm was my attorney. I had to remember that. No matter how well he was caring for us tonight, he had no interest in taking on the job long-term. No interest in taking on a ready-made family. And I couldn’t take a chance on a relationship that was anything less.

I slowly lifted my head, and Storm met my gaze. My heart tripped over itself like a clumsy schoolgirl. I tried to sit up, but my head throbbed. I pressed my fingers against my temples to stop the steel spike stabbing through my skull. Where was that spike? It felt like it was cleaving my brain in two. I laid back down and moaned.

Storm was suddenly at my side. “How are you feeling?” he asked in a soft, soothing voice.

“If you could remove the spike from my head, I’d greatly appreciate it.” I moaned, resting my forearm across my eyes. “Better yet, just chop the whole thing off.” I slid my finger across my throat. “My head, I mean.”

“Well, that would make an even bigger mess than the spaghetti, so we’ll have to find another way.” Concern etched across his face as he removed the washcloth and gingerly placed the back of his hand on my forehead. “You’re still pretty hot. Do you want some acetaminophen? It’ll bring your fever down and help your headache.”

“Yes, please. If you refuse to decapitate me, I guess Tylenol will have to do. How’s Sadie?”

“She doesn’t feel as hot as you. And she’s been sleeping soundly ever since she laid down.”

“That’s good. Maybe it helped that her body purged itself when we got here.”

“Could be.” He left the room for a moment and came back with two pills in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. “Here.”

I tried to sit up, but still had difficulty. Storm supported my head and lifted me forward until I was upright enough to drink. “Thanks.”

“Drink some more if you can. You need to stay hydrated.”

“Yes, nurse.”

This time I got the corner of his mouth to twitch upwards, just a bit.

“Do you have some medicine for Sadie?” he asked, looking at my sleeping child.

“There’s some in her daycare bag. But let’s wait on that for now. As long as she’s sleeping comfortably, I don’t want to wake her.”

“Anything else that you need? Do you want to move to the guest bed where you would be more comfortable?”

“This is fine. You have a very comfy couch. And honestly, I don’t want to move.”

“Okay. I’ll be right here if you need anything.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead, brushed the hair back from my face, and let his fingers trail down the side of my face. And the way his gaze softened and seemed to melt over me like hot fudge over ice cream… mmm.

I closed my eyes to keep the moment from disappearing. Or the dream from fading.

I had to be dreaming, or deluded with fever, because I could have sworn the look in his eyes was not one a nurse gives a patient, and definitely not one an attorney gives a client. It looked a lot like love.

If I were awake, I’d shake my head to clear these crazy thoughts. But that would probably make me hurl.

Storm, the walking Greek god that he was, and smelling like outdoors and heaven, couldn’t possibly have looked at me like that. Not a frazzled single mom who probably still smelled like puke and fruit snacks. Definitely not the pheromone to attract a guy like Storm.

Nah. I must be confusing caring with something more. It’s just been so long since anyone took care of me—probably not since I was a teenager, at least. My mom was great to help with Sadie; I didn’t know what I’d do without her. But I didn’t remember the last time I had someone mop my forehead with a cloth to cool my fever, or bring me medicine so I didn’t have to get out of bed. After being on my own for so long, it would be easy to mistake this kind of caring for love. That’s it, a simple mistake.

But since this was a dream, I could make it as good as I wanted. Right?

I’d reach up, hook my hand behind his neck and pull him to me. Breathing in his irresistible scent, I’d run my fingers through his dark hair, making him groan with desire. Then I’d place a soft kiss on his lips, just enough to get a taste of him.

He’d reluctantly pull away, but not before lining my jaw and neck with featherlight kisses. Then he’d say he had to sit on the other side of the room to keep himself under control, because he wanted me to be fully aware and cognizant the next time he kissed me.

Sigh. If only I could have hit the record button on this dream and saved it to replay again and again. This was better than any of the romance movies I like to watch after Sadie goes to bed.

I cracked my eyes open to watch him quietly lower himself into the recliner on the other side of the room, and cover himself with a throw. Apparently, he was settling in to sleep there for the night, while keeping watch over us.

My heart let out a longing sigh.

I wanted to protest and tell him to go to bed, but my eyelids suddenly weighed a thousand pounds, and I didn’t have the strength to lift them open. As I drifted back to sleep, my dream continued with what it would be like if this man wasn’t just my attorney. If the love I imagined seeing in his eyes was real, and all for me.

Turning on my side, I pulled the blanket tight around me and released a contented sigh.

If only this wasn’t a dream.