The Little Paris Patisserie. Julie Caplin

… this time she had nothing to lose. Sod it.

      She marched three full strides down the hallway of the suite into the lounge. There was no sign of Sebastian but anger propelled her towards his bedroom where she heard one of the crutches clatter to the ground.

      Pushing open the door with an angry shove, she was about to call his name when the sight of him stopped her dead in the doorway.

      He’d collapsed onto the bed, laying diagonally across it, one arm flung over his face. She paused as he let out a low moan. All the bubbling anger, threatening to explode, leeched away in an instant. Stupid, stupid, stupid man. Now she could see the pallor of his face, the tight jaw where his teeth were gritted, the reluctant movement of his lower half.

      ‘Sebastian?’

      He stilled.

      ‘Are you…?’

      ‘Go away.’ His voice was gruff and he kept his face hidden behind his arm.

      Yeah right, as if she was going to leave him in this state. She crossed to the bedside table where she could see a couple of boxes of tablets.

      Nina narrowed her eyes and took a more careful study of him. He was holding himself very still and he’d definitely turned even greyer. The stupid sod was trying to be brave. It hadn’t occurred to her that he’d still be in pain but then she’d never broken anything.

      ‘How much pain are you in?’

      The answering silence told her enough.

      ‘Sebastian?’ her voice was gentle.

      ‘Yes?’ He lifted his arm and looked up at her, as wary as a small boy caught out in a lie. There was a suspicious watery glint in his eyes.

      For a moment, she felt racked with guilt, he looked so beaten and vulnerable. It was horribly disquieting when he’d never seemed anything but invincible.

      ‘When was the last time you had any painkillers?’ Occasionally having brothers paid off. All four of them had played rugby and shunned painkillers. It was a man thing. Jonathon had broken his leg once and had moaned continuously about how itchy the cast was until her mum gave him a knitting needle.

      Sebastian lifted his chin looking mutinous. ‘A while ago.’ Now she could see the chalky whiteness around his mouth and the tension in his body.

      ‘Are these them?’

      He nodded, wincing as he did so.

      ‘When was the last time you took one?’ she asked again.

      ‘Breakfast.’

      ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’ She hid her worry in the chiding tone as she snatched up the pack of tablets. ‘How many are you allowed to have?’

      ‘Two every four to six hours but they’re very strong. They make me feel like hell.’

      ‘And being in pain is preferable?’ snapped Nina, cross with him now. No wonder he’d been so bad-tempered all day.

      Sebastian didn’t say anything but shook his head weakly, his eyes closed, and suddenly she realised how completely helpless he was and how much pain he must be in. Popping a couple of pills from the blister pack, she bustled into the bathroom to get him some water, giving herself a wry look in the mirror. Subdued Sebastian was a lot easier to deal with, but it wasn’t nice seeing him like this and she knew he wouldn’t want her pity either.

      ‘What did the hospital say about after care?’ she asked, as she put the glass of water and tablets down. She needed to get him sitting upright to give him the pills.

      ‘Rest. Keep it elevated.’ His flat tone suggested that he knew he’d been an idiot and he didn’t need her to reinforce it.

      ‘Right. Can I help you to get more comfortable? If you sit up, I can arrange the pillows and then put some under your leg to raise it a bit. Then painkillers.’

      Sebastian gave her a bleak look and the grim line of his mouth wavered. When he blinked with a weak nod as if he was too exhausted to speak, she moved forward and started shifting pillows.

      ‘Do you think you can lift yourself up?’ she asked.

      ‘Give me a minute. Sorry, that car journey…’

      She didn’t say the obvious – and being on your feet all afternoon and not taking any medication.

      Once he was nestled into the pillows and had taken the painkillers, she spoke again. She’d been trying to keep things strictly impersonal but she wanted to make him comfortable.

      ‘Do you want me to take your shoe off?’

      He gave her a baleful glare.

      Now she rolled her eyes. ‘Look Sebastian, accept that you need help.’ Moving to the other side of the bed, she unlaced his black brogue and eased it off. ‘See, that wasn’t so hard was it? I’m here. Able and willing. I haven’t got any other plans for the rest of the evening. Why don’t you have a sleep? And then I can order room service later.’

      He nodded and closed his eyes, which she took as a small triumph. At least he was listening to sense, although she suspected that was more because he’d given up trying to fight the pain. For a moment, she stood over him fighting the urge to smooth his hair from his forehead and a strangely insistent impulse to press a quick kiss there.

      With a start, she felt his hand slip into hers but he didn’t open his eyes. With a gentle squeeze of her fingers, he whispered, ‘Thanks Nina.’

      Pulling the door to, she went into the suite. There was no way she could leave him in the lurch now. She could have kicked herself for not realising how much discomfort he was in. No wonder he was so damned irritable. Despite saying he didn’t need a carer, he clearly did need someone around to look after him.

      Pursing her lips, she pulled out the notes he’d prepared in readiness for the next day. According to the recipes they were going to be making choux pastry, crème pâtissière, chocolate profiteroles and coffee éclairs. Her mouth watered, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten for quite a while, but she decided to wait another hour before ordering anything, then when it arrived she’d wake him up.

      The discreet knock at the door signalled the arrival of room service. Nina had played it safe for Sebastian and herself and ordered both of them burgers and chips. Peeping in on Sebastian as she went to open the door, she found him still sound asleep. For a moment she studied him. In sleep his face had softened, the dark hair flopped down over his forehead and his mouth relaxed. He looked much younger, more like the Sebastian she remembered and she was horrified at the unexpected ping of her heart. Quickly she turned and headed towards the door, almost wrenching it open.

      ‘Someone’s hungry,’ teased a laughing Scot’s brogue.

      ‘Alex, hi. You do room service?’

      He grinned at her. ‘Normally no, but the staff are primed to let me know if Sebastian needs anything and if I’m around, I pop up. How is he?’

      Nina grimaced as she backed up to let him in with the tray. ‘Not great, to be honest. Silly idiot has overdone it today.

      ‘Sounds like Bas. Complete workaholic.’

      Nina raised an eyebrow. ‘And you’re a slacker?’

      ‘I’m not like him. He’s driven.’ Alex shrugged. ‘I work hard—’ his cheeks dimpled ‘—and play hard, but man, he’s super motivated. Determined to prove his dad wrong.’

      Nina frowned as she followed Alex into the suite where he deposited the tray on the dining table overlooking the window and pulled back the curtain to peer out at the lights of Paris shining in the dark.

      ‘I don’t remember his dad, I’m not sure I ever saw him but then that’s not surprising. Sebastian seemed to spend all his time at our house. Mum gave him free reign in the kitchen when she realised he could cook better than she could. It was always