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A bead of worry she’d told herself she wouldn’t feel joined the guilt "You won’t change your mind, will you?"
Annnd he flashed his teeth in yet another fearsoain was struck"
And he was always a man of his word She’d already known that about hi his sense of honor He ht stick around no matter what, but she wanted hi it "Why do you want to teach so to offer in return "And what do you want to teach ht you only wanted , "Perhaps I knohat it’s like to suffer one travesty after another, desperate for hope but discovering none" He studied her sister for a long while "I just pray Laila proves to be as accepting as you"
"Would that help her? Save her for more than a feeeks?" A whisper A desperate rasp
"Honestly? Only she knows the answer to that I can teach her what I teach you--and no, I won’t share the details yet You’re drugged, and will forget theI possibly can to make her feel calm, at peace and joyful" A flicker of doubt in his eyes, followed byanger? He shook his head and added, "But will she listen?"
Would she? Laila, as so stubborn, so hardheaded, she would argue until she ran out of breath Laila, who possessed the unique ability to tune out anyone at any tihly aware of her faults
"What you teach us, e feel, will help us heal?" she asked
"Yes I have seen lepers cleansed I have seen the laht"
"I’ll make her listen, then" Determination mixed with a heady dose of excitement Over the years, she had been checked out by hundreds of doctors A thousand tests had been run A nosis had always been the sa we can do
Now there was hope for Laila, too
Koldo’s expression softened as he gazed at her He actually appeared proud of her "The only sure way to fail is to give up, Nicola Lane You aren’t a quitter, I can tell"
A compliment from so blunt a man eeter than words of adoration from any charmer
"Nicola?"
Nicola jolted at the sound of her sister’s voice A voice that was rough, the edges broken, but still unbelievably beautiful "Laila! You’re awake!"
Koldo stepped back, out of the way, and Nicola’s gaze zipped in her sister’s direction First thing she noticed, the
Though their features were identical, Laila had somehoays been the pretty one The charis upon her every word
Even Nicola, the serious one, never willing to take a risk, had been enchanted by her
"I’m thirsty," Laila mumbled She was still on her side, with her head propped on her pillow, but now her eyelids were opening and closing slowly and repeatedly, as though she were fighting to stay awake "I’d really like soet--"
But he was no longer there
Laila frowned, her gaze finally reo?"
Doctor? Yeah, the title fit Koldo very well, she thought "I wish I knew"
CHAPTER EIGHT
LAILA WOULD BE COMING home today, far earlier than anyone had expected!
Nicola could barely contain her excite the files and receipts she needed Even the fact that Jamila and Sirena were the worst coworkers of all ti just as heavy as load as before failed to daht, after she had tucked Laila into bed and finished grocery shopping Who needed sleep, anyway?
"Jaain silence
Sighing, Nicola closed her bag Between half-hour bathrooirls barely had ti nicely I’ with the golden brown of Koldo’s Instantly her heart sped into a frenzied beat "You’re here"
Last night she’d lain in that hospital bed thinking about hi so badly to hear his voice, to draw in his scent, to feel his heat, to lean on his intensity His honesty His strength
Noas standing just in front of her desk, wearing a black shirt and pants, the dark shade the perfect contrast to the bronze of his skin,him more beautiful than any al Seriously Giant warrior o hot
A scar bisected the side of his forehead, adding an air of danger His lashes were thick and black His nose was aristocratic, regal, and she’d never been one to think beards were a ed herthe masculine purity of his jaw
His head tilted to the side, his study of her intensifying "You’re a strange y today Happy yet anxious, enthusiastic yet fatigued" Expression stern, he added, "You must take better care of yourself, Nicola That’s an order"