Chapter 8

Later Sunday night - Ellie

Sleep on it? Sleep on it? I didn't need to sleep on it. Now I had to stay. Not only was the man going to donate a ridiculous amount of money to the kids I loved so much, but he'd shown me his vulnerable side and asked me to do it…as a friend. Frick. Frick. Frick.

If he'd been condescending, or had assumed I'd do it for the money, or had seemed manipulative at all, I would have been able to use righteous indignation to get out of this. But he'd gone and been all gentlemanly and sweet and agreed to donate the money without my agreeing to anything.

That wasn't the reason I was going to stay though. The reason I was going to stay was because Luke was a very old friend of mine. My best friend's older brother. I'd known him since I was six years old. And he'd just been super open and honest and vulnerable for the first time ever and asked me to do him a favor…as a friend. I couldn't say no. Plus, I had the spare time, and he'd even agreed to let me fly back to Milwaukee when I needed to. On a freakin' private jet. I mean, my visits with Mindy were going to be online for the next month because the environment, but still. He'd offered me everything. I'd be one surly bad friend to refuse.

There were still a half a dozen reasons why this was probably a bad idea. Luke was hot. Luke was being nice. And we were about to be stuck together for weeks. But all I'd really need to do was check his wound and arm once a day and try to talk him into taking some sort of pain medication if he needed it. The rest of the time, I'd hide in my room. Or in any of the other endless rooms in this house. This house was freakin' ginormous. It couldn't be that difficult to evade him. And Meg and Jeremy would be here too, so it's not like we'd be alone. I mean, Luke was still a player, and I was still a player hater, but I could manage it. I had to.

A soft knock on my bedroom door pulled me from my thoughts. I padded over and opened it to see Meg standing there. She looked slightly guilty but very happy.

"Missed you at dinner," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and pushed her glasses up her nose. "I heard you got blackened salmon though."

"Sure did."

Meg shuffled inside, made her way over to the bed, and sat on the edge. "So…Luke kinda sent me to see what the odds are."

Meg was a horrible liar, and she knew I knew it, so she usually just cut right to the chase with me, which I appreciated. I took a seat next to her and sighed. Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared down at my sock-covered feet against the plush rug. "Did he tell you he offered to donate six figs to the children's hospital if I stay?"

Meg nearly popped off the bed. "No! Really?"

"Yes, really." I nodded slowly. Hmm. Why hadn't he mentioned that to Meg? Because he's not a jerk. No. No more praise for that man.

"Well, you should let him," Meg replied. "He spent that much on a couch, after all."

"Of course I'm going to let him. But I have to say I'm pretty surprised that he's this set on having me be his nurse. Until a few days ago, I thought Luke couldn't stand me."

"I told you." Meg knocked her shoulder against mine. "That's just Luke. He only gives hell to people he likes."

"You could have fooled me," I grumbled. But I already knew that Luke had stopped giving me shit. I mean, if anyone was still doling it out, it was me, and I was the one who needed to stop. Awkward as it might be. We were actually trying to be friends now. Friends friends. Like do-me-a-big-favor-just-because-I-asked friends.

Meg's voice lowered and her face got all serious. "He's really worried, Ellie. I think he needs you."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I got the same impression," I admitted quietly.

Her lips curled into a tentative smile. "So? You're staying?"

Blowing out a deep breath, I pressed my hands against my thighs and stood. "I'm staying."

"Great. Let's go tell Luke. He'll be thrilled."