Chapter 187 Could These Two Also Become a Couple?
Matilda was sprawled on top of him, laughing. "I’m just sad about leaving my villa behind. The renovation manager called this morning—it’s finished, and I haven’t even spent one night there ."
"So which is it?" Wentworth asked. "Me or the villa—who’s more important?"
Matilda didn't hesitate. "The villa."
"I'll give you one chance to take that back." He put on his most serious face.
But Matilda doubled down. "The villa's more important."
With barely any effort, he flipped her onto the mattress.
An injured man, and he still had this much strength!
He pinned her beneath those long legs of his and grinned. "Not too late to change your answer."
"And if I don't? What are you gonna do about it?"
"Devour you."
"You're literally injured," Matilda pointed out.
"Some positions don't require much effort." That wicked grin again.
Her face went hot. "You’ve barely started healing. Take care of yourself! And this is a hospital—you’re a soldier. Doesn’t that matter?"
He kept her pinned. "But first and foremost, I'm a man."
Matilda glanced toward the door. "The nurse..."
Wentworth pressed closer. "There's no one out there."
When did his hearing get so good?
At the same time, he guided her hand downward—already aroused.
She stared at him wide-eyed. He really needed this? An injured man, still wanting her like this?
His expression turned pleading. "Matty, help me."
"H-how?"
"You're a doctor. You'll figure something out."
Fine.
Half an hour later, Matilda went to wash her hands and called the nurse to change the sheets.
When the nurse saw the liquid on the bed, she did a double-take. Was it... that kind of liquid?
She glanced suspiciously at the two people in the room—one reading, the other scrolling through their phone on the sofa. Both acting completely innocent.
Maybe she was reading too much into things.
She quickly changed the sheets.
...
The next morning, Matilda went to check out the villa.
It really was finished—just needed furniture now.
This was her first time walking into such a gorgeous house. Everything was decorated exactly how she liked it. Home theater, game room, gym, a library with three walls of built-in shelves, and next to the master bedroom was a walk-in closet over two hundred square feet.
Matilda usually kept things simple—didn't dress up much, didn't own tons of clothes. But what woman didn't dream of a massive walk-in closet?
She could organize everything by season, finally have proper space for socks and underwear, never fold anything again—just hang it all up.
Such a beautiful house. She really wanted to move in immediately.
But thinking of Wentworth's pleading eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse him.
Following him to the military base it was. When he got leave, they could always come back.
...
That afternoon, Nason and Juliana came to visit.
Matilda had heard from Zoey yesterday that these two had been hanging out constantly—she wondered if something was going on.
Juliana brought flowers. Nason brought supplements as a token gesture.
"Wentworth, are you feeling better?" Juliana asked.
First time seeing him since the kidnapping.
Juliana tried to hide her feelings, but her eyes gave her away. Calm expression, but inside? Emotional chaos.
Matilda noticed. So did Nason.
Wentworth remained politely distant. "Much better, thanks."
Juliana gave him one more lingering look before turning to chat with Matilda.
"Matty, I heard you're following Wentworth to the base?"
Matilda nodded. "That's the plan."
"Then I won't see you much anymore. I don't really have friends in Phoenix City—I was hoping we could hang out regularly, go shopping, grab meals."
"When Wentworth comes back on leave, we can definitely meet up," Matilda said.
Juliana didn't look at Wentworth again, just smiled. "I've been hanging out with Nason a lot lately. Eating and drinking our way around town. Never knew Phoenix City was this fun—the ice cream here is incredible."
"Right? And the desserts."
"He's been teaching me about wine. It's actually pretty interesting. Matty, do you know much about it?"
Matilda smiled. "A little—enough to read labels, I guess. I don't drink much myself."
"We should drink together sometime when you're free."
"Sure."
Nason, lounging on the hospital sofa, teased her. "You're a terrible drunk though. Get all ridiculous when you're wasted."
"How am I ridiculous?"
"The other night..."
"Bring that up again and I'm gonna lose it." Playful annoyance crept into her voice.
"Fine, I promise not to tell anyone how you climbed a telephone pole when you were drunk."
Matilda's eyes went wide.
Juliana lunged to cover his mouth.
They seemed pretty close already.
After another half hour, Juliana and Nason left.
Once they were gone, Matilda turned to Wentworth. "Are those two gonna end up together or what?"
Relationships were weird like that—sometimes people who seemed totally incompatible ended up clicking through some random twist of fate.
Wentworth shrugged. "How should I know!"
...
At the hospital entrance, Nason asked, "It's getting late. Want to grab dinner?"
"Sure, and drinks too," Juliana said.
They found a seafood place, ordered food and beer.
The drinks came first. Juliana expertly popped open two bottles, handed one to Nason. "Let's drink."
Nason took a sip, then watched Juliana gulp down more than half her bottle.
"Take it easy. It's still alcohol—not good for you."
Juliana smiled and finished the rest. "Worried I'll get drunk and be a pain again?"
"Taking care of a beautiful woman? That's no trouble at all."
Juliana suddenly stared at him. "Seeing Matty today—weren't you sad?"
"Sad about what?" Another sip.
"Don't you like her?"
Nason drank again. "A little, I guess. But not that much."
Not enough to need to marry her, anyway.
Juliana suddenly started crying, clutching her chest. "But when I see Wentworth, my heart just aches. And I have to shove these damn feelings down."
"Never experienced it myself," Nason said, "but I can feel your pain."
Juliana took a shaky breath and reached for another beer, but Nason stopped her. "Don't."
He waved the server over to take back the unopened bottles.
Juliana glared. "Why won't you let me drink? Didn't you say we'd form a heartbreak alliance when we got back? Drink until we couldn't walk straight?"