Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (6 page)

“
I'm
going to be sick,” she said.

Josh
jumped up, grabbed a little bucket they had for her trash, handed it
to her, and stood next to her. He rubbed her back and kept asking if
she was okay. Josh got a nurse from the hallway. She went into the
room and helped Lisa. When the nurse left, Lisa was so embarrassed.
The nurse had explained that sometimes people got sick after surgery.
It was from the medicine she had while she was out.

Lisa
could not imagine how much more embarrassing it could have been.
Josh, her first crush, had seen her in her tiny pajamas, had seen her
with black yuck all over her, had seen her hair and makeup a mess,
and had seen her get sick. She could not believe it. Heath had just
yelled at him about sleeping with her and dumping her. That wasn't
going to be a problem. If she ever thought she had a chance with
Josh, that thought was long gone.

He
must have noticed her uneasiness, because he sat down next to her on
the bed and rubbed her back.

“
It
happens all the time. I wasn't even thinking that you had not eaten
at all yet,” he said.

Josh
walked over to a duffel bag and pulled out a pack of cards. She
wanted to ask him a ton of questions about what him and Heath had
said to each other. Lisa knew Josh had no intention of getting to
know her outside of friendship. She heard him make that clear to
Heath. Why didn't he do relationships, and why had Heath mentioned
his dad? She couldn't ask him anything, because she didn't want him
to know she had been listening to them. He got the cards out and sat
in the chair.

They
played until she was tired, and the nurse came back to tell her she
should really get some sleep. Josh got into the bed next to hers. She
watched him fall asleep. He was gorgeous and even cuter when he was
asleep. She wanted to run her hands through his sexy hair and cuddle
into him. It made her comfortable to know he was there. Lisa wondered
why he was being so nice to her.

Lisa
could hear someone calling her name over and over. She felt a hand on
her shoulder, and her eyes flew open as she sat up. Josh was standing
next to her bed with a worried look on his face. She focused her eyes
on him.

“
What?”
she asked, feeling shaken.

She
had been dreaming about the fire. Her body felt nervous and afraid.
She felt uneasy as she tried to settle herself down, without letting
him see her fear.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

“
I'm
fine,” she answered.

“
You
were crying and yelling, help me. What were you dreaming about?”

Lisa
reached up and wiped her face. She felt sweat on her forehead and
tears on her cheeks. Josh grabbed some tissue and wiped the tears
from her eyes. He sat next to her on her bed and put his arms around
her. She leaned back and put her head on his shoulder.

“
I
don't know,” she said.

“
Was
it the fire?” he asked.

“
I
don't want to talk about it.”

They
sat in silence as he held her.

“
Have
you ever dreamt about fire?” she asked.

“
Yes,
I have,” he answered.

Neither
of them said anything else.

Josh
woke up to a nurse standing over them. He quietly got up and moved
out of the way. The nurse smiled and shook her head.

The
doctor checked on Lisa and told her she could go home. She had a
place to go and someone to stay with her all day, so he was going to
let her leave. Josh confirmed that one of them would be with her at
all times. The doctor handed Josh everything they needed. Papers,
directions, prescriptions, and a card with an appointment time for
her to get her staples out and hard cast put on.

“
Can
you hand me that bag so I can get dressed?” she asked Josh,
once the doctor left.

“
What's
in there?” he asked.

“
My
clothes.”

“
What
clothes?” he asked.

“
The
ones I was wearing when I got here,” she answered.

Josh
laughed and walked over to the bags he brought in with him the night
before. He handed them to her. She looked into the bags and back up
at him.

“
What
is all this?” she asked.

“
Some
clothes and stuff to last you, until we can get to the store to get
you what you need,” he answered.

“
Where
did they come from?”

“
I
went shopping yesterday,” he said, as she pulled out a bra and
pair of pink lacy panties.

She
looked up at him with wide eyes and a grin.

“
Becky
picked that out. Don't look at me like that. I had her go with me, so
I could get things you would not mind wearing,” he said, as he
laughed at the look on her face.

Lisa's
grin faded, and tears came to her eyes.

“
Thank
you,” she said. “I am so happy that I have all of you. I
don't know why you are here with me, but I appreciate it. Never in a
million years, did I ever think you would see me in every
embarrassing way possible.”

She
shook her head.

“
Get
dressed,” he said. “We need to get out of here. Just
think, you'll be able to sleep in a real bed tonight. These are
awful.”

She
could tell he was avoiding what she had said. Lisa grabbed some
clothes and got dressed, while he took everything else out to his
car.

She
had a walker to go home with. They pushed her in a wheelchair to the
hospital doors. Lisa's mouth dropped when she saw a beautiful, new
Camaro waiting for them.

“
This
is your car?” she asked.

“
Yes,
why?” Josh responded.

“
I
want one of these so bad. It is my favorite car. It is so nice.”

“
Thanks,
I've only had it for about a month,” he said, as he helped her
into the car.

“
I
love it,” she said, as they pulled away from the hospital.

Josh
stopped to get her medicine on the way to Becky and Gavin's house. He
picked up some food as well. They were both hungry. She didn't want
to stay at the hospital long enough to eat. He got her and all of her
stuff into the house. Once she was settled into her new room, he
fixed them each a plate of food.

“
Maybe
this isn't so bad,” she joked. “I have a huge,
comfortable bed here. I get to be served my meals in bed. Thank you
for bringing me here.”

They
both laughed.

“
You
can make it up to me, once you're better,” he joked.

Not
a bad idea, Lisa thought. She could feel her face blush and hurried
to stop it.

“
This
food is amazing,” she said. “Where was it from again?”

“
It's
from one of my restaurants,” he said, with a smile.

“
That
place was your restaurant. I didn't know that. You said one of your
restaurants. How many do you have?”

“
Four,
I am getting ready to open a fifth,” he answered, with pride.

She
loved the passion and confidence in his voice. He was proud of
himself.

“
Wow,
I had no idea.”

“
I
guess you and Becky don't talk about me that much,” he said,
with his bottom lip sticking out and his eyes sad.

She
laughed and smacked him.

“
Gavin
and Becky are busy, and you have a job and four restaurants to run.
Maybe I should go to a rehabilitation facility. None of you should
have to be responsible for me.”

“
That's
crazy. We have it all figured out,” he said. “You're in
good hands.”

He
waved his hands at her and she laughed.

“
I
don't have to be at the restaurants all the time. I have managers for
that. I do most of my stuff from home,” he said.

Josh
cleaned up their plates and put everything away. She heard his phone
ring and him answer it. He was talking about the fire, so she tried
to hear what he said. She heard him say something like yes he
understood that he should not have went in alone, but he didn't think
there was time. It would never happen again and he knew he could have
been hurt. She could only hear bits and pieces of what he was saying.
He hung up the phone and walked back into her room.

“
Did
you get in trouble for helping me?” she asked.

“
No,
everything's fine,” he said, as she gave him a stern look.
“Okay, I wasn't supposed to go in alone. If anything would have
happened, there wouldn't have been anyone to help me. It's fine. I've
never done it before, so they aren't going to do anything about it.
It was just a warning. I would do it again, if I had to. Don't look
at me like that. I don't want to hear about it.”

Lisa
shook her head.

“
I
can't believe you did that,” she said. “What if you had
gotten hurt?”

“
If
I wouldn't have done that, you wouldn't be here,” he snapped.
“We are both fine. I don't want to talk about it. Don't get all
sappy on me. Let's watch a movie.”

Lisa
could tell the conversation was over and knew not to push him about
it. She couldn't figure him out. There was more to him than just
fighting fires and helping people. There was a reason he was so
passionate about it. She just didn't know what it was. She turned on
a movie. He took his shoes off and sat down next to her on the bed.

“
If
we are watching a chick flick, then I get to pick the next one,”
he said.

“
We'll
see,” she answered.

Before
long, he had his eyes closed. She watched him sleep for a few
minutes. He looked so good on the bed next to her, on his back, with
his hands behind his head, asleep. She wanted to reach over and rub
his chest through his t-shirt. He had definitely gotten better with
age.

Josh
woke up and looked around the room. Where was he? He felt his arms
around someone and felt a breast under his hand. What was her name?
He didn't remember going out. He opened his eyes and focused. Josh
jumped and pulled his hand and arm back. Oh, shit. It was Lisa. Why
did he have his hand on her breast? She must not have realized it. He
sat up and looked around. The television was on, and Lisa was asleep.
She was on her back with her leg propped up on pillows. He could not
help but notice how relaxed and cute she looked. She was such a sweet
person. He was used to women always asking for things, but she was
different. The couple of days he had been helping her, she had not
asked for anything. He offered to do things for her or get her
things, and she had turned him down every time. The few things she
did let him do, she thanked him for over and over. She really seemed
like a genuine, good person.

He
watched her sleep for a few minutes, before he thought about his good
friend Heath, who he knew had feelings for her. Heath was a good guy
and deserved to find a good woman. Josh knew he needed to put some
distance between him and Lisa. He was not a relationship or love kind
of guy. Why did he want to help her so much, he wondered? Was it
because she was a fire victim? Was it because her family wasn't there
for her? She was so beautiful. Her apartment was ruined and her
things were gone, but he could not bring himself to tell her. She was
so afraid and unsure of what she was going to do. He didn't want to
upset her any more than she already was. When he talked to her, it
felt so natural. He had never felt like that with a woman. Josh was
more like the dinner and a movie, then straight to sex kind of guy.
He didn't like lengthy conversations where they got to know each
other. It was different with Lisa. He liked to hear what she had to
say and wanted to hear about her life. Maybe it was because they
weren't going to end up sleeping with each other. Maybe it was
because she didn't expect anything out of him. He wanted to reach
over and brush the hair from her eyes. Stop it, he told himself. Josh
got off the bed and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his
face. He needed to wake up. From then on, he would help with what she
needed and nothing more. No sitting on the bed with her to watch
movies.