“It sure as fuck wasn’t dada,” West told them as he moved to the table and sat down. He arranged her on his lap.
“Relax, sunshine, he’s messing with you,” West told her.
“Oh. I knew that.” Sort of. Alec Malone teasing her wasn’t something she was used to. “Mia, do you feel all right?”
“I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep last night and I stood up too fast before, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with me.”
“Doc can determine that,” Alec said firmly. “And after he leaves, you’re going to bed for the rest of the day.”
“Alec! I can’t go to bed. We’ve got to go to the hospital and visit Beau.”
“You can go tomorrow.”
“I want to go today.” Mia shot Alec a deadly look. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. For a moment, it looked like she would argue then she let out a deep sigh.
“Fine. I’ll wait until tomorrow,” she muttered. “But just for the record, I think you’re overreacting.”
“Beau is still pretty out of it,” Flick told her. “It’s probably best to wait until tomorrow.”
“Flick got to see him and she’s in a far worse state than I am.”
Shit. “You said I looked fine,” she accused West. One of the nurses had helped her dress, but she knew she should have asked to check herself in the mirror.
West shrugged. “You look fine for someone who’s exhausted, dehydrated, with an injured shoulder.”
“So, in other words, I look like shit.” She glanced over at Mia who gave her a sympathetic look but didn’t give any argument.
Right, she really neede
d a mirror.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” she muttered, trying to rise from West’s arms.
He leaned in and brushed his mouth against her ear. She froze then a shiver of delight raced up her spine. “You don’t need to go check yourself out. You need to rest and relax and let me take care of you. Besides, you could never look like shit.”
She snorted even as a wave of warmth filled her at his words.
“When’s Doc coming?” he asked Alec.
“Should be here any minute.”
“Good, he can look Flick over too.”
“I just got out of the hospital,” Flick protested. “The doctor there poked and prodded me enough already.”
“I’ll feel better once Doc’s checked you out. Then you can take a nap too.”
Mia sighed. “Lord save us from the overprotective Malone men.”
Flick sent her a tentative smile. Mia eyed her for a moment. “All right, what’s wrong?”
“Um.” Besides the obvious?
“You’re sitting over there all tense, I thought it was because West was holding you in his lap, which, by the way, is a development I’m totally for, but you’re still acting strangely.”
“I just . . . I . . .”
“She thinks you’re gonna blame her for Beau getting shot,” West said abruptly.