Page 41 of You First
“What else can I do?”
He gave a small sigh. She wasn’t going to leave unless she felt there was nothing else to be done for him. He was grateful, of course, but there really wasn’t much anyone could do. Short of popping an Oxy — and Gray didn’t want to do that — he just had to try to make himself as comfortable as possible, wait out the pain, and hope that the Aleve would kick in eventually. He pulled the wet compress off his forehead and drew out the one behind his neck.
“You can put these back in the freezer and bring me the other two, please.”
She took the washcloths from him and frowned down at them. “This happens a lot?” she asked, bringing her dark eyes back to his.
Gray held her gaze for a moment. “More than I’d like.” It was evasive, he knew, but the thought of telling her about the tumor still sent a chill through his body. She didn’t need to know, so he didn’t want to tell her.
“Have you always had migraines?” Her frown deepened with concern.
“Not always, but for a while now,” he said, again, skirting the truth. The headaches, large and small, technically weren’t migraines, but they produced the same effect: debilitating pain, sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and fatigue. She could call them migraines without any argument from him.
Meredith nodded in sympathy and rose. “I’ll be right back.”
As she walked away, Gray realized he didn’t especially like keeping secrets from her — though he knew he’d like her knowing the truth even less. But he felt the slight to her honor, to the innocence that was her very nature. He wondered if there were a way to make it up to her.
She returned carrying two compresses, frozen stiff. “You really want to put these on your head?” she asked doubtfully.
“They help a little, believe it or not.” He reached for one to tuck behind his neck, and, before he’d finished, she was pressing the other to his forehead.
“It’s freezing,” she muttered, sweeping his hair away from his skin and settling the compress into place.
As if on cue, Gray shivered. He’d pulled off his sweatshirt when the nausea hit and now wore only a cotton tee.
“Gray, you have goosebumps.”
Meredith rubbed her palms together rapidly before running them up and down his arms. If he had goosebumps on his arms before, they now swept down his entire body when she touched him. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from embarrassing them both with his moan.
“Blanket?” she asked, completely oblivious to the avalanche of sensations she’d triggered within him.
“Yes,” he rasped, needing a moment to bring his body under control. “There’s one on the chair in my bedroom.”
“Got it,” she said, moving away.
Gray shut his eyes. Not because the light was too bright, but because he needed to think about filing taxes or cleaning windows or playing golf. Maybe all three at the same time.
A moment later, the blanket fanned out over him. He opened his eyes to find her smiling down.
So beautiful.
Everything in his body and soul wanted to reach out and pull her down to him. Why did he have to be her boss when he really just wanted the chance to be her boyfriend? Of course, he couldn’t ask her out — even if she didn’t work for him.You can’t ask someone out if you can’t leave the house by yourself,he told himself.
And she’d already made it clear that she needed the job. She was a mother and a student, and if he ever showed her that he was interested, it could make things awkward for her. He wouldn’t put Meredith in that position, and he’d never want her to feel harassed.
Not to mention the fact that he had a life-threatening tumor in his brain. Asking someone out under the circumstances would be more than a little stupid and more than a lot selfish.
She smoothed out the blanket over his chest, and Gray had to grit his teeth to keep still.
“You’ll be late if you don’t get going.” He spoke gently, but frustration was getting the better of him, and he needed some time to get his head together.
“Okay,” she said, smiling and patting his elbow through the blanket. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Can I get anything for you while I’m out?”
“No. Thank you.” He needed her to go, but he was already looking forward to her coming back.
“Just ask the office to bill me,” he instructed as she headed out of the room. The few times Meredith picked up groceries or prescriptions for him, Gray had either given her cash ahead of time or reimbursed her as soon as she’d returned, but check-ups for both dogs would run about four hundred, and he wasn’t about to ask her to cover that. His wallet and debit card were in the bedroom, and he’d trust Meredith with both, but having the vet bill him would be easiest. She’d have her hands full wrangling both dogs, anyway.
“Okay,” she called from the kitchen.
