Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (25 page)

Lisa
took care of him and offered help to the nurses with anything he
needed. They thanked her for all of her help. She started to build
little friendships with them. When they came in to check on him, they
would check on her as well.

She
sat on his bed with him and ran her fingers through his hair. Lisa
talked to him all day, as if he were answering her back. She would
watch the shows they watched together and make comments the whole
time as she snuggled in next to him. Lisa told him they could watch
them again together, once he went home. She promised that she would
take care of him and even serve him food in bed. Lisa laughed and
cried. She told him all day long how much she loved him and how much
everyone needed him to wake up. Everyone missed him.

Becky
brought Lisa her laptop, so she could keep up on the restaurants. He
was in a private room, but there was a second bed in the room. She
had her work stuff spread out across it, but refused to sleep in it.
Lisa slept in the chair next to his bed. She didn't want him to need
her through the night and not hear him. With Becky and Gavin's
wedding only a couple of weeks away, they decided to have Ethan stand
up instead of Josh. They didn't think he would be in any shape to do
it. If they made the decision for him, then he would not have to make
the choice.

The
doctor went into the room to talk to Lisa. He let her know that it
was taking longer than usual for Josh to wake up. Each day that
passed without him waking up, put him more at risk of complications.
If he did not wake up by the next day, they were going to do some
more testing. His recovery could be longer than they expected.

Lisa
looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and the dark
circles underneath were getting worse. She combed her hair and put it
up in a ponytail holder. She looked at her face without a speck of
makeup on and threw water on it to wake herself up.

Lisa
sat on the bed with her arm wrapped around his and her head on his
shoulder, as she explained about the show they were watching. She
cried and kissed his cheek, as she whispered into his ear. He needed
to wake up and see his family. She loved him and needed him with her.
It was so lonely without him. Everyone else was boring. She had some
good ideas for the business and his profits were up. Everyone missed
him. Even Heath was being nice. She was tired and was going to move
to her spot next to his bed to sleep. Lisa kissed his cheek again.

“Listen,
we really need you to wake up. Tomorrow they are going to do some
more tests. If you wake up, then they won't do them. I need you to
try really hard to wake up. I'm not sure how much longer I can sleep
in this chair. If you wake up then I won't have to. We need you. You
need to be at Becky and Gavin's wedding. You're the one catering the
food. I want you there with me at the wedding. I love you, baby. You
are my everything. I need you here with me.”

She
settled into her spot on the chair, covered up with the blanket, held
his hand, and drifted off to sleep. Lisa dreamt about him that night.
They were together in a house. He had a little boy in his arms and
she had a little girl in hers. They were laughing. He had his free
arm around her waist. He kissed the top of her head.

Lisa
felt something tickle her hand. She reached over and scratched it. A
second later she felt it again. She opened her eyes and looked at her
hand. Josh's thumb was rubbing it. She jerked her body up in the
chair and looked at his face. His eyes were closed. Slowly his next
finger started to rub her hand. She was so shocked and bursting at
the seams to jump up and down. Lisa kept herself still so that he
remained calm. He squeezed her hand. She kept her eyes on his face,
willing him to open his eyes. Silently she begged him. With tears
streaming down her face, she started to softly talk to him. She asked
if he could hear her, and he squeezed her hand. Lisa kept talking.
She didn't want to make any sudden movements, so she stayed in her
chair holding his hand. She told him to open his eyes. He could do
it. Come on. Finally, his eyes opened. She wiped the tears from her
face.

“You
have no idea how happy I am to see those beautiful eyes. I have
missed those eyes so much.”

A
slight smirk crossed his lips. She got out of her chair, kissed his
cheek, and ran her fingers through his hair.

“Welcome
back, Josh. We've missed you so much. Stay still, I am going to get a
nurse.”

He
shook his head. Lisa took off out the door and down the hall.
Frantically, she got his nurse and pulled her back to the room. The
nurse laughed when she saw Lisa acting so crazy. When they got to the
room, the nurse was happy to see him awake.

“Well
Mr. Fireman, welcome back. She said you had sexy eyes, and we have
all been waiting to see them,” the nurse said.

Josh
smiled and Lisa laughed. The nurse checked him out and got Lisa some
water to give him with a straw. Lisa got him to take a few tiny sips.
A few minutes later a doctor walked into the room. They wanted to
check Josh out. The nurse told Lisa to go take a tiny walk. She would
come out and get her in a couple of minutes.

Lisa
kissed his cheek.

“I'll
be right back. I'm going to call your mom. Don't you ever do that to
me again. You scared the crap out of me. I will be right outside. I'm
not going anywhere.”

Josh
smiled and she left the room.

***

His
throat hurt and was dry. What the heck happened? He looked around and
knew he was in a hospital. How long had he been there? The last thing
he remembered was trying to get out of the fire. He remembered Lisa
talking to him and telling him to wake up, but that was a dream.

The
doctor checked him out and asked him to move his fingers, hands,
toes, and feet. He told Josh that he had been out for seven days. The
doctor went on to explain his injuries and that he needed to be
careful when he moved for a bit. With him just waking up, he wouldn't
know where the pain was yet. He needed to take it slow. The doctor
left him with the nurse.

His
nurse cleaned him up and changed his blanket. She adjusted him in the
bed. Damn, it hurt. What the heck had he been through? She gave him
some more water and said he could talk if he wanted. His throat would
feel better soon. He listened to everything she said. She told him
how amazing his wife was. Wife, he thought. What the heck was she
talking about? He looked at her with his eyes scrunched up. The nurse
continued to tell him that his wife refused to leave.

“She
has been here for seven days. They had to bring her food and clothes.
She even has a little office set up on the other bed. That woman
loves you. She talked to you all day, helped us take care of you,
made sure you were comfortable, and even watched television and
explained entire shows to you. You are one lucky man to have her.”

Josh
thought about Lisa. She was the one there when he woke up. He knew he
loved her. Josh realized it when he was in that building. All he
could think about was getting out of there to see her. When he left
for the fire, they had argued. He wanted to see her. As he lay
beneath whatever had fallen on him, he thought about how important
she was to him and how much he needed her. He had no idea that she
had feelings for him. She planned to move out. Lisa had avoided him.
Was it possible that she had feelings for him too? Lisa must have
told them she was his wife. He knew he needed her in his life. There
was no way he was losing her. She belonged with him. No matter how
long it took, he would show her love was worth the risk.

The
nurse left the room and Lisa walked back in and went to him. She
reached to pick up the water to give him some. He grabbed her hand
and pulled her down to him. Josh took her face in his hands. He
kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes.

“I
love you,” he whispered.

She
sat next to him and hugged him gently.

“I
love you too,” she said.

He
was shocked that she said it back. It felt so good to hear her tell
him. He had never thought those words would ever sound that good. She
was his woman. He loved her and knew in that moment that he would
love her for the rest of his life. She looked into his eyes.

“I
love you so much. I know this is not me. I didn't believe in love.
It's not because of the fire. When that woman called your phone and
said you were hers, I realized that I was in love with you. I was
moving so that neither of us got hurt. I'm afraid of getting hurt
Josh. When I found out you were in that building, I realized that I
had to take the risk. I needed you to be okay. I have never needed
anything so bad in all my life. I knew that I would do anything to be
with you. I would risk getting hurt for you, for us. I am madly and
deeply in love with you. I will take care of you every moment. I will
even feed you in bed. I don't want to move out. I don't want to be
without you.”

“When
I waited for that plane to land that day, I knew I had feelings for
you. When we were together, I couldn't imagine anywhere I would
rather be. When I was in that fire, you were all I could think about.
I had to get out and hold on for you. I had to tell you that I loved
you. Thank you for being here for me. I don't want you to move out. I
don't want to be without you.”

He
held her in his arms with his head on hers and they fell asleep. Josh
and Lisa woke up when they heard a laugh. Lisa hurried to stand up
when she saw his mom standing there. He shook his head.

“It's
about time,” his mom said.

“What's
about time? It's nice to see you too,” he said.

He
went to move and pain shot through his chest as he moaned.

“It's
about time you woke up. We were starting to think you didn't want to
see us. And it's about time the two of you quit fighting your
feelings. I knew you loved each other the first time she walked into
my house.”

They
all laughed as she hugged her son. His mom never was one for holding
her tongue.

He
was in the hospital for a few more days. Becky, Gavin, and Heath came
to visit. Josh said that he needed to talk to Heath alone. When
everyone was gone, he told Heath that he loved Lisa and was sorry. He
didn't want to and tried to stay away from her. Heath let him know
that he knew how much Lisa loved him at the fire. He told Josh how
lucky he was and that he better never hurt her. The guys from the
station stopped in one at a time. He thanked them for saving him and
for helping to take care of Lisa for the week. They joked with him
about who would have gotten her if he didn't wake up. No matter how
many times Josh told her to go home and rest, she never left his
side. He was so happy to finally be able to go home. Josh was in
pain, but there was no place he wanted to be except home with Lisa.

Heath
helped Lisa get Josh home. With everything she had to bring home, she
felt as if she had moved into the hospital. They got Josh into the
house and settled in bed. Heath carried in all of the bags. He had
her write a list of things she needed from the store and left to go
and get it. Josh had prescriptions he needed and they needed some
food. She cleaned out the old food and made sure everything was in
order. Heath got back with everything and bought them a pizza as
well. Lisa thanked him for his help. He told her to call if she
needed anything.

She
took the pizza and some soda to Josh's room. He teased her about how
it was time she fed him in bed. When they were finished eating, he
asked her if she would help him to the shower. She walked with him to
his bathroom and started to undress.

“What
are you doing?” he asked.

“Were
you going to do it yourself? That should be fun to watch you put your
arms above your head and move all around.”

“I
may be in more pain if you're in there with me,” he joked.

“You're
so funny,” she said, as she took her clothes off.

She
watched Josh's eyes as they ran up and down her body when she took
her top off. They had not been naked together since that one steamy
night of amazing sex. It made her feel good to see the lust in his
eyes. Lisa removed her socks. She slid her bra strap from one
shoulder and then the other. Slowly she undid the clasp and
seductively let it fall from her chest. Josh moaned as he watched
her.

“Are
you okay?” she asked.

“It's
not at all funny, what you are doing right now,” he said.

She
smirked, turned around, slid her panties down, and bent over as she
slid them down her legs.

“You
keep that shit up, and I won't be able to hold back,” he said.
“Do not tease me like that. I will have your ass against that
wall in seconds, pain or no pain.”

“Up
against the wall,” she said. “That doesn't sound so bad.”

He
reached out for her and groaned in pain.

“Settle
down,” she said. “I'll behave.”

She
pulled his shirt over his head and froze when she saw his chest.
Tears instantly filled her eyes, as she softly rubbed across his
skin. He pulled her close to him and kissed her.

“It's
okay,” he said. “It doesn't hurt as bad as you think. I'm
okay. It's going to look worse before it looks better.”

“You
have no idea how badly I want to be wrapped in your arms,” she
said. “I was so scared.”

“Thank
you for being there for me,” he said. “The nurse told me
all about my wife and how great she was.”

She
removed the wrap around his ribs so she could help him take a shower.
He had dark, purple bruises up and down his chest and back. Lisa
undid his pants and slid them to the ground with his boxers. She
leaned down to take them off of his legs. His cock stood at full
attention. She gasped as she looked at him.