Peyton Brooks becomes friends with Morgan Stone, a vivacious and fun young woman. Morgan takes Peyton to the Hamptons, where her family owns a gorgeous house. Morgan's brother, a casanova with a lot of baggage, and Peyton don't get along initially...
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A gentle hand on my shoulder woke me. I groaned at the stiffness in my neck and shoulders. Morgan helped me up and carefully massaged my shoulders.
"Hey sleeping beauty," she said. "I'd like to take you home for a shower and a clean set of clothes and then I'll take you back here."
I didn't want to leave Harry, so I hesitated to take her offer. I looked at Harry and tucked his hair behind his ear for the umpteenth time without it actually having moved. I stroked his temple with my thumb, lingering there for a while. "I don't want to leave him," I said and looked back at Morgan.
She smiled and nodded. "I know, P. I know you don't want to leave him. And it'll only be for a little while. I kinda need you to be strong for him and that means taking care of yourself; eating, drinking, showering..."
"I smell like death, don't I?" I chuckled.
Morgan snort-laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you do. Now come on, little miss sewer rat, let's get you some food and a shower."
I rolled my eyes at her and stood up, very carefully letting go of Harry's hand. Morgan tousled his hair softly and I quickly fixed it again and scolded her for messing with him. I leaned in and kissed his forehead and temple three times. "I love you," I repeated after each kiss, before I stepped back and looked at him. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smile, and we both stopped breathing.
"Did he smile?!" Morgan exclaimed and looked frantically at me.
I was frozen on the spot, staring at his mouth where for a fraction of a moment his dimple had appeared. I almost didn't register Morgan exiting the room to fetch a nurse. I reached out and touched the spot where his dimple was, gently running my thumb over it.
"Are you trying to smile?" I asked. "Don't hold back on my account, baby."
A nurse, closely followed by Morgan, came back in the room. She checked his vitals and shone in his eyes with a small lamp. "It's not uncommon for coma patients to have small muscle movements, but we mostly see fingers or toes moving. A smile seems more like a reaction to stimuli." She paged for a doctor, while she did a check of Harry's reflexes.
The doctor arrived quite quickly and listened to our explanation of what had happened. He nodded and looked from us to Harry. "Can you show me what you did?" he asked me.
I nodded and felt a little awkward, but carefully leaned in and kissed Harry three times, telling him I loved him after each kiss. When I stepped back we all stared at him waiting for any sign of a reaction. And just like before, his lip moved upwards in a small crooked smile, only for a short moment.
Both Morgan and I gasped and held onto each other, while the doctor did a series of tests. He pinched Harry, applying a small bit of pain to see his reaction. His brows furrowed ever so slightly and the doctor said something to the nurse we didn't understand.
