Page 69 of Any Kind of Life
“Okay, well, Hannah is supposed to be visiting you, so should I get her something, too? In case she hasn’t eaten when she arrives?”
“Hannah is here now.” Juliet turned her attention to Hannah. “Paige is asking if you want something for lunch?”
“Only if you two don’t mind me being here a little longer?”
Juliet frowned. “Of course not. What do you want?”
“I’m easy. Just a sandwich or something.”
“Did you hear that?” Juliet asked, the sound of traffic in the background.
“I did. I’ll see you soon, babe. I love you.”
Juliet swallowed down the lump in her throat. She was overly emotional lately, but she still smiled. Paige always gave her a reason to smile, even when life was terrible. “I love you, too.” She ended the call and set her phone down beside her, her eyes narrowed when Hannah grinned back at her. “What?”
“It’s nice to see you smiling, Juliet.”
Juliet nodded slowly. Strangely, life felt a little more normal today. “Yeah. It’s nice to be in a position to smile.”
Chapter 25
Five days later…
Paige jogged towards the lift, catching the door before it closed. She had just been held up at the dock because of some kind of police incident. She couldn’t make out what was going on; she was too busy panicking about Juliet’s lunch, so she chose not to be one of those people who stood around watching, instead sprinting across the city centre to get back here.
She bent at the hip and braced a hand on one knee. God, she needed to work on her fitness. Juliet’s Philly cheesesteak baguette sat safely inside a brown paper bag, freshly pressed orange juice chilled and ready for her. Seemed her fiancée wasn’t overly fond of hospital food. Given what she’d been through recently, the least Paige could do was go out and pick her something up that she would enjoy.
When she arrived on Juliet’s floor, a police constable still standing outside her door, Paige took a breath. She was sure her face was purple.
“Hi,” she said as PC Ramsey smiled back at her. “I’ll just give Juliet her lunch, and then I’ll go and get some coffee for us all.”
He lifted a hand. “That’s great, but we’re on handover in twenty minutes. I’ll grab one on the way out.”
Paige nodded as she lifted the brown paper bag. “Okay. I’d better get this inside before everyone can hear how hungry Juliet is out in the corridor.”
PC Ramsey laughed and stepped aside, allowing Paige into Juliet’s room.
“Hi, babe.”
Juliet placed a hand on her chest. “Thank God. I’m starving.”
“Sorry. I got stuck in the city.” Paige ripped the paper bag open and got to work on sorting Juliet’s lunch out for her. She’d thrown in a blueberry muffin too, knowing Juliet would need to get her strength up. The last thing she wanted was for her to not be eating. Appetite was important in her recovery. “Have the police been in to see you while I was away?” It had been almost a week since Juliet had woken up. Two detectives had been in to question her—Juliet hadn’t really told them anything they didn’t already know—but they hadn’t heard anything new as of yet. “I know they said they’d be in touch when they have something, but it’s been five days.” Paige blew out a frustrated breath. She eyed Juliet, but she didn’t seem to be taking in anything Paige was saying. “Babe?”
Juliet’s gaze shot up from the baguette to Paige. “Sorry, what?”
“Never mind.” The police were the least of Juliet’s concerns right now. “You’re starving, aren’t you?”
“So hungry.” Juliet managed to sit up better, glaring at the baguette again. “All I see is cheese, and I really need to have a bite.”
“Philly cheesesteak,” Paige said as she wheeled Juliet’s hospital table over the bed. “I’m sure you’ll devour it, so I got you a blueberry muffin too.” Paige took the orange juice from the bag and the muffin, checking everything was laid out within reach for Juliet. “I’ll get us coffee soon. Since you’re going to inhale this food, I’d better not leave you alone in case you choke.”
“This is why I’m marrying you, you know,” Juliet spoke between mouthfuls, moaning as she rolled her eyes. “Because you bring me really good food.”
“Well, at least I’m useful for some things.”
Juliet shook her head, offering her baguette to Paige. “Have some.”
“No, I’m good. You just enjoy it.” Paige hadn’t been eating very well lately. She thought her appetite may have improved once Juliet had woken up, but it seemed to be taking longer than expected. “Hey, something major is going on down at the dock. I got caught there because of all the emergency services.”