Perfectly Toxic (Sterling Shore 9)

“Yeah. Yeah. That’s not going to save you from my wrath, but I love you too. I’ll hug you when you’re not contagious.”

I flip her off, and she laughs while walking out. I hear her and Ethan talking in the kitchen, along with some rustling of bags, but I can’t make out their words. It takes too much effort to strain and hear, so I just lie back down, staring at the TV that’s on something random.

When I hear the door shut, I look over, watching as Ethan walks back into the room.

“Is she always so protective?” he asks, confusing me.

Deciding not to ask a bunch of questions while stuck in a hazy cloud of this stupid virus, I roll over onto my belly as the worst of the chills subside.

Ethan takes my silence as a hint, but I’m happy when a bottle of water is suddenly beside me. Leaning up, I drink just a little, staying on my stomach as Ethan moves back into the kitchen.

I hear a little clanking and clattering before a delicious smell hits my nose. I love Allie.

My favorite comfort food is chicken noodle mixed with beef broth and vegetable soup, and I can smell it from here. Even though it’s disgusting when I’m healthy, it’s the best thing ever when I’m sick.

Ethan walks in, carrying a steaming bowl of my awesomely weird wonder, and I watch with some satisfaction as he keeps a straight face. He puts the bowl down on the table, and I study him.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re impossibly stubborn?” I ask him as he sits down on the couch and pulls the coffee table closer to me.

“All the time. Then again, I did start running a very powerful business at the ripe old age of eighteen. I had to be stubborn just to endure it.”

He picks up the remote, pulling up my DVR, and h

e starts my show that he bitched about the night he left.

I’m trying to keep up with him, but he makes it hard to do.

“Okay, spill it. Go ahead and give me your explanation, since that’s the real reason you’re here.”

He eyes me, glancing down at the back of my t-shirt—his t-shirt, rather. He clears his throat while turning his attention to the TV.

“I’ll talk to you when you’re feeling better. Eat your soup and go to sleep.”

“I get that you used to be a boss, but stop being so bossy.”

He smiles, but he still doesn’t look at me.

“So explain why you ignored me instead of being an adult and asking me about who answered my phone. For all you knew, it could have been Wren.”

“I would have recognized Wren’s voice,” he says without missing a beat.

“Like you recognized Maverick’s?” I prod, yawning as the retort leaves my mouth and steals some of the snarky zing it should have had.

He tenses for a second before blowing out a breath. “I’ve talked to Wren on the phone a lot. Maverick… Not so much.”

“I’d recognize Ash’s voice over the phone, and I’ve only talked to her on the phone a few times.”

“Heat of the moment, Bella. Things are different in the heat of the moment. Shut up and eat your soup.”

“Stop telling me to shut up, because everyone will tell you that doesn’t actually work. Tell me what happened so I can decide whether or not it’s okay for you to continue sitting here, seeing me at my worst.”

“If this is your worst, then I definitely want another chance.” His lips tilt in a lopsided smile, and some stupid little fluttering thing happens in my stomach. Damn those butterflies.

Ethan Noles being sweet is a really bad thing for me.

“Explain. My patience is starting to unravel.”

“Eat your damn gross soup.”