Chapter 289

Chapter 289

“Next time you’re out for coffee with the girls, don’t forget to put in a good word for me.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Do I look like I have nothing better to do? You might not be embarrassed, but I sure am.”

“It’s up to you whether you want to save face or want a cute, adorable little granddaughter

more.”

Curtis said, “Well, if I can’t win Leanne back, I’m gonna shave my head and join Mary on a retreat to Mount Shasta, and then you’ll really have no one to turn to.”

Jennifer was so frustrated she felt like she was having a heart attack.

“How did I end up with a jerk like you?”

Curtis chuckled. “You’ll have to ask dad about that, not me.”

Just then, the front door opened, and Leanne walked in carrying a picnic basket.

Curtis, unfazed by how irritated Jennifer was, quickly hung up the phone. “Gotta go, my personal doctor is back.”

Leanne set the basket on the dining table. “The clinic was swamped this morning, got off work late. I grabbed some food from the hospital cafeteria for you, eat up.”

Seeing her about to leave right after she arrived, Curtis stopped her, gazing down at her with concern. “Did you eat at the hospital, or are you still mad at me?”

“Haven’t eaten.” Leanne sidestepped him, “I’ve got to head back to work.”

So she hadn’t even had lunch, yet made the effort to bring him food.

Curtis felt a warm tenderness inside. “Leanne, why do I love you so much?”

Leanne, choosing to ignore, glanced at the thermometer on the table and asked him, “Has your fever gone down?”

Curtis quickly grabbed it, calmly and without a trace resetting the last measurement.

“Not yet. I’ll take my temperature again after I take my medicine.”

Leanne seemed unconcerned.

“I might not be able to get off work on time tonight. If I don’t make it back, the neighbor will bring you dinner. I’ve already talked to Mrs. Waldron.”

“I won’t eat it,” Curtis declared. “I only want the food you make.”

Leanne gave him a look. “You seem pretty lively now, so once you’re better, you should leave, stop loafing around here.”

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Chapter 289

“How do you know I’m not just putting on a brave face, weak and frail underneath?” Curtis leaned against the cabinet, the thickness of his skin astonishing, as he joked with a straight face.

“I’ve always been fragile. Others recover from the flu in a week, but it takes me two.”

Leanne stared at him expressionlessly. “Where exactly is your fragility?”

After a moment of eye contact, Curtis conceded with a smile, “Alright. I’ll leave once my fever’s gone, okay?”

“Remember to take your medicine.” Only then did Leanne leave for work.

He drawled, “Got it, Dr. Castillo.”

As soon as the door shut, Curtis tossed the medicine Leanne had prepared into the toilet and flushed it away.

His fever wasn’t going to subside, not by itself.

The hospital cafeteria food was so-so, certainly made by professional chefs. Compared to Leanne’s oddly flavored beef stew, it was superior.

But Curtis hardly touched it.

Despite the fever subsiding, his body still felt off, and his appetite was gone. If it wasn’t made by Leanne, he wasn’t interested.

That afternoon, he made a call to the manufacturer of the thermometer, inquiring in detail about how to recalibrate the device.

When Leanne came home from work and saw a 41.5°C reading on the thermometer, she frowned.

“How is your fever even worse now?”

Recurring high fevers were a symptom of the flu, and the thermometer had been accura up until now. Little did she suspect Curtis would go to such lengths.

Curtis lay half-reclined on the couch, his lackluster appearance seemingly valid.

He caught Leanne’s hand, his eyes looking straight into hers.

“I’ll sleep on the couch tonight, won’t bother you, please don’t kick me out, okay?”

Leanne was speechless.

Such a drama king.

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