Suddenly all she could hear was the sound of their breathing in the bedroom. Hers was not all that steady. His was inexplicably slow and deep, his chest extending slowly under his shirt as those dark, thick-lashed, half-mast eyes remained on her face.
“Poor Jules. I swear Molly doesn’t cook for anything,” Kate whispered, anxious to break the silence.
Now that she was able to taste the soup better, she definitely knew her little sister could use a little cooking advice from her.
Garrett chuckled. The sound was rich and male as he set down the spoon. “He’s in love with her, Katie. She can feed him cotton balls and he’ll be content.”
“I love how they love each other.”
Suddenly feeling drained, she shook her head when Garrett offered more soup. She slid down the bed a little so that the back of her head could rest on her pillow. The thought of Julian and Molly made the ache in her chest multiply tenfold.
“They’re not afraid to,” she added.
Garrett didn’t respond. He merely set the tray aside and turned thoughtfully back to her. “I wouldn’t let fear keep me from someone,” he said then, his voice a low murmur.
“No? Then what would?”
His powerful shoulders lifted in a noncommittal shrug, and then he said, “If you love someone, you want what’s best for them. Even if it means it’s not you.”
Something in his words caused a little ribbon of pain to unravel within her. Had he ever felt anything for her, and thought that he wasn’t good enough for her?
No. How could he not be good enough for anyone? He was honorable and dedicated, fiercely passionate about those he loved, as protective as an angry panther.
“Garrett, you don’t have to stay. I know you told Molly you would but I’d rather you go,” she said, getting sleepier by the second. “The antibiotics and steroids make me dizzy anyway, so I’ll probably sleep all afternoon. And if you stay here I’m going to give you strep.”
The tenderness that liquefied his gaze suddenly made her feel even more soft and languid. “You’re not giving me anything. Relax and I’ll be here when you wake up.”
His voice was so soothing and gentle she couldn’t help but nod and close her eyes. As she heard him take the tray to the kitchen, she snuggled into her pillow, her stomach warmed with Molly’s sucky soup, which, even if tasteless, had served its purpose well. Ever since Molly had moved in with Julian, the house had seemed so quiet. Just knowing Garrett was around right now made her feel safe and protected.
The steroids were kicking in as well as the antibiotics, and her fever seemed to be breaking.
New beads of perspiration popped onto her brow, and a new, unexpected heaviness settled in her chest as she thought of her move to Florida and how she wouldn’t see Garrett and Molly and all her loved ones as frequently as she did now.
She sighed when she felt something cool and damp slide along her forehead. Her pulse skittered when she realized Garrett was stroking her face with a cool towel, and she felt out of breath as she murmured, “That feels good.”
He dragged the damp cloth along her cheek, and the cool mist on her skin made her nipples bead under her T-shirt. His voice was low and sensually hypnotic. “So of all the states, why Florida?” He ran the towel along the length of her bare arms, and her nipples turned hard as stones.
With a delicious shiver, she sighed and leaned her cheek to her right, into his chest. “Some of my college friends live in Miami Beach. And I’m a sun person.”
She hadn’t realized she was grabbing onto his arm, but she knew that she didn’t want to let go. He smelled so good and felt warm and substantial, so she kept her arms curled around his elbow. God, she’d done the impossible to get this man to notice her. The impossible. She’d dated men she hadn’t even liked. She’d said she’d marry other men. Ignored Garrett and paid attention to everyone else. It had made him scowl, but that had been the whole extent of his reactions to her efforts.
It had been infuriating and disheartening.
He really did see her as some sort of friendly sister, while Kate had fantasized about him for decades. She hated that she never could really enjoy sex with her partners because a part of her heart had always belonged to this man.
This man who now caressed her neck with that cloth, and made her new purple panties damp with wanting. Even if she’d convinced herself she didn’t love him anymore, her body was still hazardously attracted to his. Hell, if she weren’t sick, she would open her eyes and kiss him even if he didn’t want her to. She’d just go crazy and kiss him, because that was the only thing she’d never tried, of all the crazy stunts she’d pulled to get him to notice her. She had his attention with Florida. But this was no longer a stunt.
She had to leave. And she had to leave now.
So that when she came for a visit, she would have a new life, a steady boyfriend and an equally great catering business in Miami, and when she saw Garrett, she would see what she had been meant to see all along. A friend and a brother figure.
“Do you want me to bring my laptop here?” he whispered in her ear, his voice strangely husky. “Kate?”
She nodded, not opening her eyes as she released him and waited, with a new kind of fever, for him to come back.
* * *
Garrett was hard as granite and hated that he was, but he was trying his damnedest to ignore it as he set his laptop on the nightstand. He kept the computer shut, and instead kicked off his shoes and plopped down on the bed next to Kate, stretching his legs out as he put his arm around her shoulders, sensing her need for comfort.