Angelo Deluca's POV

The moment I saw Harper covered in blood when she opened the door, my heart stopped beating. Thousands of different possibilities ran through my head, none of them pleasant. When she hadn't returned to the office after going out for lunch and then failed to answer my text's and calls It felt like something in me snapped, I was consumed by fear and seeing her stood there covered in dried blood with tear-stained cheeks made me assume the worst.

"Harper, what the fuck happened to you" my voice came out as a near growl, I groaned inwardly at myself, anything could have happened to her, and you go and scare her. It took her a while to tell me the story, how she'd got the phone call about her nan while she was out and that she'd instantly came back to the house. I was relieved to find out that the blood covering her hands and blouse wasn't hers, but I could feel the pain and fear she was feeling, it was her nan's blood. I knew how much the woman meant to her; it was hard to see Harper in this state, I knew that she was a strong woman, but everyone has their limits, and I think she just reached hers.

After she'd gotten cleaned up, I could see the extent of how her nans fall affected her eyes were puffy and looked lifeless. She looked like a lost little girl, gone was the confident woman that I picked up for work. "I'm all alone" the small noise that left her lips cut me deeper than any knife could, I couldn't form the right words to comfort her. Nothing I could say would make her feel any better, so instead, I pulled her into my arms.

My fingers found her hair and I started running them through it, I'd thought of doing this to her since the day I met her. Her body relaxed slightly, and so did mine I knew she was crying, her small frame shaking slightly." I need her to be okay, Angelo , I can't lose her. She's all I've got left; I can't bury any more of my family, I just can't. I'm all alone, and it hurts so fucking much." I wanted nothing more than to be able to tell her that as long as I was here and that I'd look after her for the rest of her life if she'd let me.

I felt her nuzzle further into my body; her face buried deep in my neck. My voice is low, and I hope to god that she's asleep or at least to worn out to hear this. "You'll never be alone, Harper , you have me."

Ten minutes passed, and Harpers breathing had slowed to a more steady pace, I make the decision there and then to take her back to the penthouse. I move her off me so I can quickly grab her phone. Thankfully it's still in her bag, slipping it into my pocket I make my way back into the living room.

I leant against the doorway and watched her for a moment; she was gorgeous even though the pain of today was still evident on her face even when she was asleep. I could stand and watch her for hours, I knew it was wrong now that we were working together, but I still couldn't stop myself from thinking how it would feel for her to be mine.

I gently pick her up off the sofa, and her arms automatically wrap around my neck, the feeling of her being this close sends a shiver down my spine. I manage to get Harper into the back of the limo without waking her up. I keep my arm wrapped around her on the drive back to the penthouse; thankfully, she stayed asleep for the journey. I knew she'd want to stay in the house, but having her somewhere I could keep an eye on her made me more at ease.

It didn't take long for me to get her up into the penthouse, my mind drifted to the last time she was here, I shook my head, trying to clear the depressing thought. Walking to the bedroom, I turned the light on and dimmed it slightly, I placed her sleeping body into the bed and covered her up with the sheets.

 I walked back into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of scotch; everything that had gone on in the past ten hours was utterly fucked up.

I took a long drink from the glass, it was only 8 pm, and I already felt like passing out on the sofa. I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket and looked up the number of the hospital Harper's nan had been taken to and pressed call.

"St Mark's hospital, Anne speaking how can I help?"

"This is Mr Deluca calling on behalf of Miss Harper Dawson; her grandmother was brought in earlier today due to a fall."

"One moment sir" a few agonisingly long minutes passed, I prayed to God that I'd be able to give her some good news when she woke up.

"I've got some positive news from the Dr, Mrs Carter is stable, but she is currently in a medically induced coma. This is only due to the injuries sustained when she fell; I can tell you now that she sustained a fractured skull and unfortunately she has also sustained a fractured hip that will need surgery to fix."

"When will she be allowed, visitors?" I knew as soon as Harper woke up, she'd want to be by her nan's side. "If her condition stays the same and there are no complications Mrs Carter should be okay to have visitors by Thursday, is there anything else I can help you with sir?"

"No, that will be all, thank you." I ended the call and finally allowed myself to relax slightly.

I pour myself another drink and take a deep breath. All the times in these past few months, I've thought about getting this girl in my bed, and now she's here, but not under the circumstances I would have liked. Downing the scotch I make my way back to the bedroom. 

Harper was still led in the same position I left her in, but her arms are now wrapped around my sheets, the sight makes me smile. Grabbing a pair of joggers and a t-shirt, I go into the bathroom and change. 

I walked back out into the room and took my place next to the bed in one of the armchairs; I decided then and there that taking tomorrow off is a must there's no way in hell that I'd leave Harper alone after what happened today. 

I admired her for being strong but tomorrow with the realisation of what happened to her grandmother is going to be tough, and the last thing she's going to do is deal with this alone, if she thinks she can push me away then she's wrong.

Harpers POV

The sunlight hitting my face pulls me out of my sleep, I take a deep breath and inhale the deliciously familiar scent that's surrounding me. It takes me a few minutes to realise what the smell was; it was Angelo. My eyes snapped open, and I realised that I wasn't in my bedroom, I wasn't even at my house. 

I was currently wrapped up Angelo's bedsheets, in his giant king-sized bed. Holly shit how did I get here.

I heard a small chuckle, and my head snapped around, and my eyes instantly met his. "How the hell did I get here?" not that I minded waking up in Angelo's bed I was still confused, the last thing I remembered was sitting on the sofa back at the house. " I carried you here" his reply was simple, but it left me gobsmacked.

"Y-you did what?"

" I carried you up here, I wasn't going to let you stay in the house on your own, so I brought you here, where I could keep an eye on you."

"I'm not a child Angelo" I ran my fingers through my hair, I was frustrated. The events of yesterday were beginning to take its toll, and I didn't want Angelo treating me like some child who couldn't look after themselves.

"I know you're not Harper; you're an intelligent, kind and a powerful young woman. You need to realise that you can let people in and let them help you, I've got demons, you know that, and you were here for me when I needed someone. I know what it's like to want to build your walls up, so you don't get hurt, but sometimes you need to bite the bullet and let someone in who wants to help you."

His little speech left a lump in my throat, I knew that snapping at the one person I could rely on was a dick move, but I'd only ever had to rely on my family before. Never someone that chose to be in my life, relying on someone and then have them disappear when it gets tough is something I'd always feared, but the sincerity in Angelo's eyes made all of that fear melt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. This is just difficult for me that's all I've never had someone I can open up to like this who I'm not related to, this is all new to me."

"I understand, I called the hospital last night while you were asleep."

My heart began hammering against my rib cage, and my anxiety spiked "W-what did they say?" I felt the tears starting to pool in my eyes, but I closed them tightly to try and stop them from falling, you did enough crying yesterday Harper man up.

"The nurse I spoke to last night said she was stable, but she's in a medically induced coma, the only reason she's in one is because of how much pain she'd be in if she were conscious. The nurse told me that she'd fractured her skull along with a hip that she's going to need surgery to fix. However you'll be able to go and see her on Thursday, I've already spent the morning getting your nan transferred over to Appleton's, it's a private clinic, and I can assure you that your nan will receive all the medical attention she needs there. It's already been paid for, and she'll be moved there after her surgery."

I didn't know what to say , I knew my jaw had probably hit the floor. I shimmied out of the sheets that I had wrapped myself up in and all but threw myself at the man on the chair.

 "Thank you so much; you have no idea how much this means to me." The sensation of his arms wrapping around my waist sent tingles through my body. This man , this devastatingly perfect man had done all of this for me and I don't have a clue how I'd gotten so lucky , even though our relationship was purely platonic at this moment in time I didn't care. I had Angelo, and he had me, and as long as he was in my life, I'd take him any way I could.

"Don't you have work today?" I asked as I flopped back down on his bed.

"No, I told them I was having a day off. Like I said you're not being left alone today, all of the paperwork from the project is in the office down the hall so if anything needs to be done, I can do it from home." 

I try my best to suppress the idiotic grin I feel threatening to appear on my face, stop thinking this is something when it's not YOU ARE ONLY FRIENDS my subconscious sneers at me. Wow, way to kick a girl when she's down.

"Does this place come with room service? I'm starving?" I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's breakfast, and my stomach was starting to protest.

"It does, but I thought I'd cook for us instead."

" You can cook?" I answer dumbfounded; I didn't think multi millionaire's cooked I gathered his kitchen was just for decoration.

"Of course I can cook, I'm not just a pretty face" with that he winks at me and makes his way out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

I jump out of bed and walk over to the bathroom to begin surveying the aftermath of yesterday's emotional outburst. My eyes are still puffy, and bags are visible under my eyes, but apart from that, my face isn't in too much disarray.

Grabbing the bobble, I kept around my wrist, I threw my hair up into a messy bun and made my way into the kitchen. I was greeted by the scent of bacon and pancake batter; it was almost enough to make my mouth water. I walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down on one of the stools and shamefully drank in the sight in front of me. 

The way Angelo moved was always graceful, and he knew his way around the kitchen. I watched as he skilfully cooked the pancakes to perfection and placed them in a stack on a plate along with the crispy bacon.

The two plates of deliciousness were placed in front of me along with a bowl of fresh fruit; this man was something else. " I don't get to cook much; this was a pleasant treat."

"I don't remember ever having to cook for myself; my nan always makes my meals for me. I insist I'm a capable adult, but she has none of it, she loves cooking it's one of her passions." I smile at the memory of my nan always making sure I woke up to Nutella on toast and a cup of coffee.

I decided to test the waters a little "Who taught you how to cook?" I asked as I placed some bacon on top of my pancakes. "My father but he was taught by my mum when they first met my father told me he wasn't even capable of boiling water, but my mum loved to cook, but her passion was baking. 

The book she used for baking is back at the old house somewhere. After my mum passed and once I was old enough me, and my father spent much of our spare time in the kitchen, cooking and baking all of my mum's favourite recipes. He wanted to keep her memory alive, and I guess he did that through her recipes."

"She'd be proud of you; these pancakes are delicious."

"They were my father's favourites too." A sad smile appeared on his face. He was right we both had demons, but we also had each other, and even though the thought of allowing myself to be so vulnerable around another person terrified me, I knew I could trust Angelo as he could trust me.

A/N

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