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Okay, then. They’d been looking after his girl, and he should probably be nicer.
Fine. He could play nice. He could even be charming when he needed to be. Most of the time, it was all a show, of course.
Because deep down, he was a surly bastard.
But he smiled at them both. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve been awake all night worrying over Jolie, and it’s made me forget my manners. I’m Brand Starr.” He held out his hand to each of them. They shook it, but they still didn’t look overly impressed.
He didn’t really care as long as they were taking good care of his girl.
“You’re not due for another hour for painkillers, I’m afraid, Jolie,” Nurse Beverly told her.
“That’s all good. I’ll be fine.” Jolie gave the older woman a tired smile. “Can I go back to my room now?”
“You can. We’ll arrange a chair for you,” the doctor said. “Nurse Beverly will be in to check on you several times, all right? And we have your medication all ready as well. She can administer it for you.”
“All right. Thanks. That’s really kind. You’ve all gone above and beyond for me, and I appreciate it. I hope I haven’t been too much of a hassle.”
He frowned at that. Why would she think she was a hassle?
“Of course you haven’t,” the doctor reassured her.
Jolie pushed at the blankets covering her. She was wearing a pair of blue pinstripe pajamas. They looked like men’s pajamas.
He didn’t like that.
A shiver ran through her, and he jumped forward to tug the blankets back up.
“What are you doing? I need those off so I can walk.”
“You’re shivering,” he said. “Keep them on.”
“Brand.” She shot him a look.
“Jolie.” He gave her a far sterner look. “Do as you’re told.”
She huffed out a breath, but it sounded wheezy, and she let go of the blankets.
Yeah. Few people could out-stubborn him. He spotted something he hadn’t noticed before. It must have been hiding under the blankets with Jolie.
A teddy bear?
So she was a Little?
She noticed where he was looking and tucked the teddy bear back under the blankets, her cheeks growing red.
Derek cleared his throat behind him.
“I’ll get the wheelchair,” the nurse said. “And a blanket to keep you warm.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Brand told her. “I’ll be carrying Jolie back to our room. And you don’t need to check up on her. You can give me the instructions for her medicine and whatever else she needs. Although I would appreciate that blanket to wrap around her, I don’t want her getting cold.”
CHAPTER 7
Um.
What was going on?
Who was this man, and where was the real Brand? The gruff, rude, perfectionist who barely had a nice word to say to anyone.
