Beauty Becomes You by Skye Warren

Author:Skye Warren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teacher, professor, erotic romance, student, contemporary romance, may december, scarred hero, new adult, tortured hero

CHAPTER SIX

Erin woke up with a start. She turned to her mother, who was sleeping peacefully, the machines beeping softly. Someone had dimmed the lights since she’d last been awake, leaving only a soft lamp above and a soothing blue from the machine monitors. Squeezing the limp hand she held, Erin turned toward a soft scuffing sound.

A nurse gave her a sympathetic look. “I’ve gotta kick you out before the nurse shift changes. You can come back in after she’s been seen by the doctor.”

“Oh. Right.” Erin knew they had snuck her in against the official visiting hours. She was so grateful for the nurses’s tired smiles and gentle words. The doctor, too, seemed kind and knowledgeable. Even the room was welcoming, more like a modern styled bedroom than a hospital room—if she didn’t count the bed. At least her mother was receiving excellent medical care. Her pallor still scared Erin. Her mother’s eyes had fluttered open for a few minutes in the middle of the night.

“Erin,” she’d murmured. “You came.”

Desperate, Erin had spoken urgent words of love and apology, but her mother had drifted back to sleep without another word.

Erin stood, wincing at the twinge in her back. The metal and plastic chairs were not the most comfortable for sleeping, but she wasn’t about to complain. She forced a sleepy smile as she gathered up her purse and luggage.

Doug was propped up against the wall, an empty cup of coffee dangling from his fingertips. He straightened as she came out, rubbing his eyes.

“How is she?”

“I told you to go home and get some sleep,” she scolded softly. “But she seems well. Stable, they said. Right now it’s just the medicine keeping her sleepy, but they said it’s best she doesn’t move around too much anyway.”

His expression was sympathetic. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine.”

He studied her. “No offense, but you look awful.”

“Now why would that be offensive?” she asked dryly.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

“It’s okay.” She scrubbed at her face. Surely he was right anyway. Worry and lack of sleep probably imprinted dark shadows under eyes. Her hair felt unruly and knotted to the touch. “You really should head home, though. I can take it from here. You don’t have to wait for me either. In town, I mean.”

“Then how would you get back?” he protested.

She waved a hand. “I’ll figure it out, now that I have time. I’m not sure how long I’ll need to stay here, so there’s no point in you hanging around for this. And wouldn’t you miss work? You’d better drive back today.”

Doug had sped on the open night roads, pulling into the hospital at four thirty in the morning. She glanced at the clock now, surprised to see it was already eight.

“No, I—” He paused, unaccountably at a loss for words. “I want to be here. To help you, if I can. I’m not asking to start anything right now. I know it’s not the time. But if sometime in the future, you and

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