Donovan arrived with a wheelchair and a huge smile plastered on his face. “You ready to go home?”
“Yes, please,” I begged.
It’d been five long days since the surgery and I was finally cleared to go home, but I wasn’t going back to my apartment just yet. I was heading home with Donovan. He’d promised Kiera and the doctors that he was the one that would be watching over me for the next few weeks while I recovered completely.
I’d seen the physical therapist daily since the second day. My strength was crap, but my balance was in much better shape. I’d only lost my balance twice since I was able to get out of my bed and walk around on my own.
Thankfully, the tumor was in a spot that when I styled my hair, no one would be able to see where they’d shaved my head for the surgery. My hair was so long that it was going to take almost a year for it to grow back and I’d tossed around the idea of cutting my hair short, but Donovan just growled whenever I brought it up. He liked my hair long.
The nurse handed me several sheets of paper, along with a card showing my appointment with Dr. Mercier in one week. I was told to get lots of rest and to not do anything strenuous until I was told otherwise. I had appointments for physical therapy twice a week for the next six weeks.
Donovan left ahead of us, saying he’d meet me out front with my car. The nurse took the wheelchair and pushed it down to the elevator and then out the front door of the hospital, where he was there waiting with the car.
“Come on, babe,” he smiled, holding his hand out. I slid my hand into his and accepted his help, smiling when the warm sun touched my face. It’d been too long since I’d been outside. The nurse said her goodbyes and we were off to his house where I would be staying with him for the next few weeks.
“Kiera is bringing over dinner after she gets off work,” he said, placing a hand on my knee. “Do you want anything special?”
“I’d love a John G from Mother’s,” I replied, leaning my head back on the headrest. “If she doesn’t mind.”
“She said she’d bring whatever you wanted,” he said, pulling my hand up to his lips. His beard tickled the back of my hand. I turned my hand around and ran my fingers through the soft hair on his face, loving the feel of him nuzzling my palm. Why did I melt every time he was being so sweet?
We arrived at his place twenty minutes later. He had his remote for the gate attached to my visor and he noticed when I smiled at it, “It’s staying in your car. You are welcome here anytime, Heather.”
“Thank you,” I replied, turning sideways in my seat so that I could see his face. “So, is this thing between us serious?”
He didn’t answer as he pulled the car through the gate and into the courtyard behind his home. Once the car was parked, he turned to me and said, “I’d like to think that what we have is more, little rose.”
“I like more,” I admitted, blushing.
“Come on, babe,” he smiled. “I have cable with about a thousand channels on it, so we may be able to find something good to watch until Kiera gets here with dinner.”
I laughed and let him come around to the other side of the car to help me out. I kept a firm hold on his arm as he led me into the house and into the living room. I smiled when I saw the leather couch was already made up with several pillows and a thick, fleece blanket.
“I set everything up when I came home to shower yesterday,” he admitted, the tops of his cheekbones blushed slightly. I brushed my thumb over the color there and then kissed him softly on the lips.
“That was before I agreed to come home with you, Mr. Milano,” I scolded.
“I wasn’t going to take no for an answer,” he growled. “What did I tell you that first night? Do you remember?”
I looked at him, confused for a moment, trying to remember the things he’d said to me after the concert. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t remember.”
“I said that if you’re with me, then it’s my responsibility to make sure you are cared for,” he smiled. “And that’s what I’m doing, because you are mine.”
“Yeah, why does everyone keep calling me ‘Donovan’s girl’?” I asked.
“Because you are,” he replied, simply.
“Well, okay,” I laughed and let him lead me over to the couch. I sank into the soft cushions and then noticed he’d removed the back pillows, making it twice as deep as it was the first time I’d sat on it. It was wider than a twin sized bed.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” I replied.
“I want you to sleep,” he said, taking a seat beside me on the couch.
“Will you stay?” I asked, hopeful that he would.
“Of course,” he smiled, leaning in to press his lips to mine.
It started off as sweet, but soon heated to boiling. My tongue pressed to his bottom lip, demanding entrance. He growled low in his throat, cupping the side of my face with his warm hand.
“Babe,” he sighed, pressing his forehead to mine. “I want you in the worst way, my little rose. I want to be inside you so badly, but we can’t…not for a few more days.”
“A few days?” I asked.
“Doc’s orders,” he smiled. “I asked.”
“You did not!” I gasped and looked at him with my eyes as wide as they could go, my cheeks turning pink from embarrassment.
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” he whispered, cupping my jaw. He was being serious and I loved him for being so careful with me and taking the time to make sure I was cared for properly.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He grabbed the remote and kicked off his boots before climbing behind me on the couch. I laid down with my head on the fluffy pillows and my back rested against his chest. I closed my eyes and let his warmth seep into me as he flipped channels on the television.
“What do you want to watch?” he asked, sliding his arm carefully under my pillow, so that my head was close to his face. He kissed me softly on the cheek and continued surfing through the channels.
“I really don’t care,” I shrugged.
He settled on a movie and dropped the remote on the end table by our heads. I closed my eyes when he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and kissed me one more time as he settled in to watch the movie.
My thoughts strayed to the past month and how I’d so quickly fallen for the rockstar. He wouldn’t let me get away, even though I tried. We hadn’t talked more about Lila, other than when we made up after our first fight. I didn’t know if he was completely over her or not. I hated that I looked like her, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.
He’d told me he was falling in love with me, but he still hadn’t come right out and said the words directly. There were so many times I wanted to say them in the hospital, but I was too scared to utter ‘I love you’ to him when he least expected it.
He would be leaving in a few weeks to go back out on the road for a couple of months. I hadn’t had a chance to check the tour schedule on the band’s website to see where he would be playing. He’d be home about two weeks before school started up in the fall and then after that, I had no clue what to expect from our relationship.
What I did know? I knew that I loved him.