Page 56 of Scoring Chances

“Drink, Princess.”

I sip on the broth he offers me. It’s warm and soothes my throat.

“Good girl,” his voice is deep and husky.

Or maybe I just imagined that. Another spoonful of broth taps against my lips and he praises me again.

I fall back after some time. Warm arms are holding me. Pushing my hair back and humming something.

I’m probably dreaming it all.

When I wake up, the sun is out and I’m alone in the bed.

Chapter 16

Joshua

“Is she okay?” Maddie asks as I close the door behind me.

I ruffle Maddie’s hair. “Yeah, brat. She’s okay.”

I fell asleep with Cassidy in my arms. Maybe I was exhausted from taking care of Cole, Parker and then her.

At one point, I thought I most likely caught the sickness already. I’d been around the three infected all day. But I woke up feeling great. Cassidy resting against my chest. I harnessed all my ninja abilities to sneak out without waking her up.

I find Rina in the kitchen making breakfast as Maddie bounces over to the living room to watch TV.

“Hey,” Rina says.

“Morning.”

“How are they feeling?”

“The boys were doing better by around two am when I went to go check on them. Cassidy seems to be on the upswing, too.”

She nods, pouring coffee into a mug and sliding it to me. “Thanks.”

She looks over at Maddie and then back at me. “Can I talk to you about something? In private?”

I still. “Uh… sure.”

She motions to the back patio and I follow her out telling Maddie I’ll be right back.

I take a seat across from her on the patio furniture. I notice she isn’t wearing the giant stone on her left hand.

She slides the hand onto her lap when she sees me eyeing it.

“Redmond cheated on me,” she says in a rush.

“Oh shit. I-I’m so sorry, Rina.”

“Yeah,” she says. “And when I found out, I texted Keelan. He came to my room the other night. And things got a little out of hand.”

Oh my god, why is she telling me this?

“You guys are grown adults, Rina. You have every right to–"

“I’m still marrying him, Hicks.”