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“You still need to take it easy. I figured we could watch movies all day and try to relax.”
“We? Shouldn’t you be leaving for work?”
“I can take another day off.”
“Can you? Don’t you need to be working on how to deal with everything Calvin is doing?”
He paused, but then he shook it off. “You don’t need to worry about any of that.”
I crossed my arms. “I’ll tell you what I told Nancy. I’m a pro at worrying.”
“So am I. And I want to be sure you’re okay.”
“I can take care of myself. You can take care of you.”
Levi’s eyes cut to me, and for a second, I saw his jaw tic.
And I knew that I’d stepped on a nerve.
But as soon as I saw it, it was gone.
“I know my limits,” he said. His words were choppy, the only evidence of his irritation.
“Really? Do you?”
“Doyou?” he parroted back at me.
Damn it. I’d wanted to ask him the same thing last night.
“Yes, I do.”
He huffed out a humorless laugh. “The last few days have been agreatexample of that.”
I wanted to be mad. I really did, but I knew he wasn’t wrong. “Okay, fair. I pushed myself too far. Which means I also know when people are pushing themselves too far. Have you had time to process what happened?”
He blew out a breath. “Isra talked to you.”
“No, I heard Isra talking to you. And she’s right. You need to?—”
“I know what I need,” he snapped. “And I’ve got it. That’s not your job.”
“I’m your wife, aren’t I?” I snapped back. “And don’t even give me the ‘this is fake’ excuse. You sleep in my bed. You live with me. And yet I don’t feel like your real wife.”
“How could you still not feel like this is real?” Now he was mad. Really mad. I’d never seen him this way, chest heaving, face set in a glare—I was tempted to back off. But no. I’d held onto this for long enough. “I’ve doneeverything?—”
“For me, yes! But you never let me do anything foryou.It’s all about me, andfuck,I don’t want that.”
“Why would you not want that?”
“Because if this is real, then I want to bepartners.Not just someone you save. I want your help, yes. But I also want to helpyou,and you keep pushing me away when I know you need me, and that tells me you don’t trust me.”
“I trust you.”
“Then open up to me!” I exploded. “I’ve been here waiting for you to.”
The anger melted off of his face as my wordsfinallysank in. “I—I didn’t know you cared.”
“I spend nearly all of my time with you. Why wouldn’t I care?”