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“Too spicy.”

“I’ll order you something bland.”

He took the opportunity to act offended. “What? You’re the one who didn’t like the chili brownies. I can handle spicy.”

I raised my brows again. They were getting a workout. “Really? Because if the food doesn’t kick your ass, I might.”

“What?” His injured act was getting old.

“Jimmy. I know it sucks you can’t do everything you want. I know you don’t like the pills and forced inactivity. But your body needs to heal. Deal with it.”

“Ouch. Time for tough love?”

I nodded. “Beyond time.”

His face softened, then turned mischievous. “You just said youlovedme.”

He said it like a naughty fourth grader, not like he was laying my feelings bare. Was now the time to tell the asshole he was right? My eyes narrowed. Not when he was joking.

I still didn’t know how he felt. He’d been in such a foul mood since his injury. I didn’t want to share my feelings with him without a better sense of his. I needed to protect myself. I had to be able to walk away if he was truly only interested in our original deal. No drama. It was becoming a harder promise to keep.

I’d believed the difficulty would be holding onto my dreams during our marriage. Not letting Jimmy change me. Maybe marrying someone else wouldn’t have had an impact, but my heart hadn’t planned on Jimmy. My clients understood when I rescheduled, explaining my husband’s accident and need for extra help. Not a peep. Between my recovery and his, I wasn’t going to make rent on my room for the first time in years. And I didn’t care. It shook me to realize it, but my savings living with Jimmy gave me a small cushion, and I didn’t give a second thought to using it. Jimmy had taken such good care of me, there was no way I could focus on work when I could be with him. Showing him my love, even if I couldn’t say it yet.



















Chapter 22

Jimmy – Killing Me Softly

Melena was killingme. Not on purpose, but still, the effect was the same. She had to help me with almost everything. Her warm hands were everywhere, skimming my ribs, rubbing my shoulders, torturing me. I hurt all the time, and it was sixty percent blue balls. I wanted to push past the pain in my ribs and leg and ask her to climb aboard the J-train, but I couldn’t. There was no way I could do her justice. She was healed, and I was broken. It’d be funny if laughing didn’t make my ribs hurt.

We were joking about her loving me, but I was dying to know if she meant it. I’d been an impossible asshole the last couple of days. She’d taken more time off work to help me, and I was an ungrateful jerk. In my defense, I couldn’t help it. I was in pain. Being helpless sucked. The meds sucked. What didn’t suck was spending time with Melena. I milked it for as much as I could, given the mobility issues.

Her parents and brothers were arriving soon. Like tomorrow soon. I was toast. I couldn’t even stand for more than a few moments to meet them. Her brothers were going to annihilate me in my weakened state if her dad didn’t destroy me first. Something about his quiet on the family calls pinged my danger meter.

I had also failed at the first rule of newlywed Christmas. I hadn’t been able to leave the house to get Melena anything. True, I could shop online, but what I wanted to get her was best purchased in person. I’d been texting with Chase, and he’d agreed to help.

Chase: Pick you up at 4?