“Uh, uh. Not before I get the key,” Vince stated, dragging her to the surface for one last moment.
She felt him rummaging around in the first of two big pockets inside her coat.
“E-reader, that side,” she informed him with her last few brain cells. “Other one.”
His fingers worked their way around, and, “Bingo,” he said triumphantly.
Lace forced herself to stay awake for one more, Prince-Charming-carry, and the next thing she knew, she was inside herhome, her coat was off, and Vince was settling her on her couch, draping her with a blanket.
But there was something gnawing at her…
“No,” she complained, although at what, she wasn’t sure. Lace attempted to sit up when it hit her. “I need to show you around,” she slurred.
Why was that?
Had she…?
Right.She’d told him he could live here.
“We can do it another time, Lace,” he assured her gently. “Or, I can just have a quick look by myself.”
Her hand, which seemed to be the only functioning part of her body, again waved in compliance.
“Go ‘head,” she told him, and that was the last she knew.
When Lace next awoke, it was to a sun that was setting.
She caught and relished the pinks and oranges in the sky outside her living room windows.
A slight noise to her right had her turning her head.
Vince.
He sat there patiently as if he had all the time in the world.
“What are you still doing here?” Lace asked, sitting up while reaching to fix her…
Crap.Her scarf had definitely come off.
Vince smiled unconcernedly. “It seemed rude to just leave you, so I thought I’d stay and make sure you were okay,afterwhich I would confirm that you eat real food before you go to bed.”
“Thanks,” Lace replied, feeling more awake by the minute. “But you didn’t have to do that. One big crash, and I’m normally good to go after that.”
She felt rested.Reallyrested. For the first time in a long while. Maybe her subconscious had known that Vince was watching over her, making sure she was breathing.
She threw the blanket off her legs, blinking when the scarf went with it, but…
Screw it.She wasn’t putting it back on. Vince had seen her without it before, and if he reallydidstick around, it wouldn’t be the last time.
Putting a smile on her face, she gave Vince an option. “How about this? I can come up with food for both of us,ifyou feel like staying,” she informed him. “Or you can be on your way.”
He looked undecided. “I don’t want you to cook when you’re feeling this tired,” he demurred.
“It’s not a problem,” Lace told him. “I often make food in the morning before I leave for chemo, knowing I won’t want to cook when I get home. Tonight, it’s a chicken and dumpling casserole with a salad on the side. You interested?”
“Sounds great,” he said. “I actually already called my Mom and told her I wouldn’t be home for supper. I was going to grab something on the way there, but now I’m throwing myself on your mercy.”
Lace chuckled. “There’s nothing to worry about. I won’t poison you. I’m actually a good cook. And an even better baker,” she teased as she headed for her kitchen.