Shimmering Emeralds by Ann Omasta

Author:Ann Omasta [Omasta, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ann Omasta

21

Meg

I had assumed that I would spend the night wide-awake and staring at the ceiling, but the pressure and stress of the past twenty-four hours must have finally taken their toll on my body because when my eyelashes fluttered open, there was sunlight streaming in through the room’s window.

My eyes darted to the side to check on Harper, but she hadn’t budged. I was surprised to see Levi sitting up in one of the room’s chairs and looking at me. His voice sounded amused and jovial, like he’d just had the best sleep of his life––even though I knew he couldn’t have––when he said, “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Morning,” I responded, but my sore throat made my voice sound gravelly. I reached a hand up to gingerly pat near my collar bone as I tried to swallow the raw, dry feeling away.

“Is your throat sore?” Levi asked. Without waiting for a response, he added, “It must be after all that noise you made last night.”

I felt my eyes widen. Mom, Claire, and Harper had always teased me about my loud snoring, but I assumed they were exaggerating. The utterly bemused look Levi was giving me made me wonder if they might have been serious. My voice still sounded scratchy when I asked, “Did I keep you up?”

“Oh, you kept the entire hospital up.” Levi’s gorgeous eyes glinted with barely-contained amusement as he added, “I can’t even imagine how someone so dainty can make so much noise. It’s truly uncanny.”

His delight in teasing me made my embarrassment quickly morph into irritation. Angling a glare at him for exaggerating, I said, “It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, it’s worse,” he quipped before turning serious. “Ready for some coffee?”

Those were the magic words I needed to lift my spirits. I nodded and sat up.

He was already up and moving past the bed when he asked, “How is your ankle feeling this morning? Need a fresh bag of ice for it or some ibuprofen to help with the pain?”

I stood up and tested my weight on it. It was a bit tender, but nothing unbearable. “I think it was just a slight sprain. It’s feeling much better today.”

Levi gave me an assessing gaze, obviously trying to determine if I was downplaying my injury. To prove my point, I walked without limping over to the chair he had just vacated.

Seeming appeased, Levi turned to go before promising over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back.”

I was thrilled to find that Levi had included a still-in-the-box toothbrush and a partially-used tube of toothpaste in the gym bag, so I made use of those. It felt overly-familiar to be utilizing his toothpaste. We’d been so young when we dated that we’d still been living in our parent’s homes, so we hadn’t experienced the same types of grown-up intimacies outside the bedroom that adult couples enjoyed.

I never had been in that kind of mature relationship. Being a young single mother had effectively eliminated my dating options, and I’d been just fine with

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