Considering Lucas was busy feeling sorry for himself, Holly hoped that meant he didn’t see how her expression softened significantly when she spotted Church. She’d not had a pet since she moved out of her parents’ house and sometimes she missed the companionship that came with having an animal. The cat, like Lucas’ soft side, was one of those secrets that more people knew about than didn’t but everyone just pretended they knew nothing about. It was an unspoken rule in Limbo; keep each other’s secrets and blithely look the other way when something contrary to the agreed narrative showed itself.
She stretched out a hand as she approached the bed, able to hear Church purring already. The cat rubbed its face against her outstretched fingers and she smiled again, scritching it behind the ears.
“As beautifully as you may or may not wallow in your man-pain,” Holly said, settling at the foot of the bed with the bottle in her hand and ignoring Lucas’s outstretched one, “you’re a bloody idiot for deciding to take Bear on in hand to hand. You’ll only be a legend for that being a stupid decision.”
She leaned to the side slightly, gently knocking Lucas’ shoulder with her own and then passing him one of the ice-packs she’d bought for him. No alcohol unless he gave her the play-by-play or he asked really nicely. “This’ll do you no good if you’re sat up.”