Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (4 page)

“
How
is my apartment?” she asked.

“
I'm
not sure. They have to investigate and make sure everything is safe.
Then they will find out how bad the place is. The fire started in
Becky's old apartment. It was really bad.”

Josh
turned to Becky and handed her keys.

“
What
are these for?” Becky asked.

“
Go
home and take a nap,” Josh said. “I will stay here and
call you when the doctors come in to get her ready for surgery.”

“
Nope,”
Lisa said. “You're not staying here with me. You guys can both
go. I'll be fine here by myself for a while. You have already done
enough.”

“
I'm
staying,” Josh said. “Becky, go get some sleep and take a
shower. I promise I'll call you. I am taking a couple days off. Take
my truck and go home.”

Becky
hugged Lisa and Josh before she left. Lisa turned on the television
and asked what he liked to watch. They found a game show that they
both liked. He sat in the chair next to her bed while they watched
television and talked. Lisa could see him move around in his chair a
lot. He looked uneasy and his leg kept shaking. She wondered if he
was upset or if he was just uncomfortable.

“
Are
you okay?” she asked. “What are you thinking about?”

Josh
looked at her and shook his head.

“
I'm
fine.” he replied. “I don't really like hospitals. When I
have to be in one, it brings back bad memories.”

“
You
don't have to stay here. I'll be fine if you leave”

“
No,
I want to be here. I'll be fine,” he said.

They
went back to watching television. Lisa could not help notice how
gorgeous he was. She liked him when she was younger, but he was
different now, much different. He was all man. She could see his
chiseled chest and amazing arms through his tight t-shirt. His ass
was perfect in his dark jeans. Josh kept asking her if she needed
anything. He would get up and adjust her pillow or make sure her leg
was like it should be. She could not believe he was there. He had
never noticed her as a child. She wondered if it was because she was
the one from the fire, or if it was because she was Becky's friend.
He got up again to check on her ankle and she laughed.

“
What's
so funny?” he asked, with a smirk.

“
You,”
she said. “It's cute how your being so protective and worried.”

He
shook his head and laughed.

“
I
know, sorry about that.”

Josh
sat back down in the chair. She reached over and grabbed his hand.

“
Thank
you for everything. I can't say it enough. I hope you don't feel
obligated to be here. I will be fine, honest. I will figure
everything out. I don't want you to feel you need to be there for the
girl from the fire,” she said.

“
I
know,” he said. “How could I not be there for the little
girl who spent all those days watching me?”

He
laughed. She looked at him with her eyes wide and her mouth open. Her
cheeks had to have been red. Lisa was speechless. She had no idea
what to say. Josh burst into laughter as she watched him.

“
Didn't
you think I noticed you? How could I not see you on Heath's porch
watching my every move? It was cute,” he said. “Don't be
embarrassed. I bet you still think I'm cute.”

“
I
can't believe you are bringing that up,” she said, as she
laughed. “No, I don't still think you're cute. I was little and
you were grown. I can't believe we are talking about this.”

He
reached over and took her hand in his. She could feel so much heat in
his touch. Could he feel it too, she wondered? He was more than cute.
She wanted to lean in and kiss his gorgeous lips so bad.

“
I
thought you were cute. I would sit outside and see how long you would
watch me, before Heath would get mad and throw a fit. I used to tease
him about you all the time. I used to ask him where my girlfriend
was. He would get so mad.”

“
He
never told me that. Heath is the only friend I have kept in contact
with. It's like he's my brother or best friend. We don't talk as much
now that he has his business. I can't believe you ever noticed me
watching you. I used to think you were the cutest boy in the whole
world,” she said, as she blushed.

“
You
know I'm the cutest boy there is,” he joked back. “I bet
you even wanted to kiss me.”

Josh
puckered his lips up and laughed. If he only knew, she thought. She
still wanted to kiss him.

“
Don't
pucker those lips at me. I'm not that little girl anymore. I've
learned a lot since then.”

Josh's
eyes widened as they locked with hers.

“
Becky
said you own a restaurant now,” she said, trying to change the
subject.

“
You
and Becky talk about me,” he said, with a grin. “That's
interesting.”

“
Since
we are alone, I want to ask you something,” she said, changing
the subject again.

“
OK,”
he said.

“
How
bad was it when you found me? I just need to know,” she asked.

Josh
tightened his grip on her hand. She felt nervousness in his touch.

“
You
really want to know?” he asked, and she nodded. “It was
bad. I really was not sure you were going to make it. You were
trapped and it took a minute to get the wood off of your leg. When I
was carrying you out, you were out of it. I didn't think you could
even hear me. You opened your eyes a little once or twice, but you
were having a hard time breathing. I was not sure if you had been in
there for too long. I thought you might have broken your ankle. I
have no idea if I hit it or anything on the way out. I tried to be
careful. Once I handed you off at the ambulance, I worried if you
were going to be okay. I had no idea it was you, until Gavin called
me after I had gotten home.”

Lisa
could see he was looking down at her hand. She wanted to lighten the
mood. It was very hard for her to know that he could have been hurt
saving her. She didn't want to upset him, but just needed to know how
bad it really was.

“
If
I had known that a fireman was going to have to carry me, I would
have put on something a little longer,” she said, with a smile.

Josh
laughed and he looked up at her.

“
It
was hard to miss the tiny shorts and shirt you were wearing. If it
wasn't such an emergency, I would have taken a better look.”

She
smacked his arm and laughed.

“
Why
are you still a fireman if you own a restaurant?” she asked.

Lisa
could feel his arm tense up as his grip on her hand tightened. She
could see his face stiffen, as well.

“
I'm
sorry,” she said. “I shouldn't have asked you that.”

“
No,
it's okay.”

The
door opened and a doctor walked in with Julie, Gavin's sister. Lisa
was glad there was an interruption. Her doctor examined her ankle and
let her know that her surgery would be in the next half an hour or
so. He left the room. Julie was a doctor, and Gavin asked her to come
by for the surgery. She had gotten to know Lisa through Becky. Julie
asked Lisa if she had any other questions. When she left the room,
Lisa burst into tears.

Josh
got up from his chair and sat next to her on her bed. He wrapped his
arms around her, as her head leaned against his hard chest. He
hurried to text Becky and asked her to tell Gavin, Ethan, and Heath.
Their friend John was at work and couldn't come. They needed to
hustle if they wanted to be there before she went into surgery. Josh
looked down at her and slowly wiped her tears with his thumb. She
felt her body tremble at his touch.

“
It's
going to be okay,” he spoke softly. “It will be over
before you know it. We will be right here waiting for you to wake
up.”

Josh
leaned his chin on the top of her head and sighed.

“
I
have never been knocked out before,” she said. “I'm
really scared. What am I going to do when they let me leave? My
apartment is on the second floor. They said I will have to go to a
rehabilitation facility if I can't get around and can't live with
anyone. My family's not here. I just don't know. Wait, I don't even
have an apartment right now, and I can't get any of my things back
yet.”

Her
tears flowed harder as she realized that she had nowhere to go. Josh
lifted her chin so that she was looking at him.

“
You
are not going to a rehabilitation place. We are going to take care of
you. You are going to stay with one of us. We don't need your family
to help us. You can get new things. The most important thing is that
you are alive and that we all have each other. You can stay with me.
I will take some time off from the fire department if I need to, and
I can do a lot of the stuff for the business from home. It will all
work out. We just need to you to relax and let your foot heal,”
he said.

Lisa
felt so safe in Josh's arms. She had no idea why he had stayed there
with her, but felt so much better with him there. They were looking
into each other's eyes, and she could feel something in her pulling
her toward him.

“
Thank
you so much for being here Josh. I feel so safe with you here.”

She
could feel him get slightly closer as she looked into his eyes. They
were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Kiss him, she told
herself. She could feel his breath reach her lips. The noise of the
door made her jump, as Josh bolted up off the bed. He ran his fingers
through his hair as Becky crossed the floor with Gavin right behind
her.

“
I'm
so glad we made it on time,” Becky said, as she leaned down to
hug her.

“
Thanks
for coming,” Lisa said. “They should be here any second.
I'm glad you made it too.”

Lisa
looked up at Josh, who was looking at her. She could not read his
expression, but hoped that he did not regret almost kissing her. He
pulled his gaze away from her and started talking to Gavin, just as
Heath and Ethan came through the door. Heath sat on the bed next to
her and wrapped his arms around her. She saw Josh look over at Heath
and noticed a change in Josh's expression. The caring look that had
been in his eyes vanished. Josh patted Heath's shoulder as he said
hello.

“
I
am so sorry I have not been here yet,” Heath said, as he looked
at her. “I can't believe this happened. Becky told me not to
come last night. Are you okay? I am all yours for the rest of the
day. I can be here tomorrow too. You scared the shit out of me.”

Lisa
laughed, but stopped when she saw the fear in Heath's eyes.

“
I'm
fine,” she said. “I am glad you are all here with me.
It's nothing to worry about. I have to have surgery, but it's no big
deal.”

She
was shocked at Heath's reaction. He was always so strong and sure.
She had never seen him nervous or upset. They had been friends for so
long; there was no hiding anything from her. She put her hand in his.

“
It's
okay,” she said, “I promise. Your hands are shaking. Are
you okay?”

“
I'm
just glad you're okay. I can't believe this happened. What if that
fireman hadn't gone in after you?” he asked, almost to himself.

She
had never seen Heath shaken. He was the one she had always counted on
being her rock, when they were growing up. He was such a good friend.
They must not have told him that Josh was the one that saved her.

“
Are
you nervous?” Heath asked her.