Eventually, we fell asleep with me carefully draped half on top of him. I never thought it would be comfortable to sleep on a man like that, but his warmth, those arms wrapped around me, and the solid thump of his heartbeat put me to sleep almost instantly.
I wokebefore James and managed to disentangle myself without waking him. There was a tray of food and a coffee that looked like it had gone cold a while ago. It was weird that there was only one drink on the tray, though. I made my way downstairs and ran into Collette in the kitchen brewing fresh coffee.
“Did you bring the tray up?” I asked.
Her cheeks grew rosy as she shook her head. “That was Greg.”
“Greg? What was he doing here?”
“When Finch mentioned to him that you came home yesterday, he headed up to see you. We didn’t realize that Knuckles stayed in your room with you or we wouldn’t have let him up there. When he saw you two snuggled together on the bed, he left the tray and took off without saying anything. I think you broke his heart.”
“Well, I have news for him, it would have broken after that kiss we shared on our date anyway.”
“What? No! He’s a terrible kisser?” Collette asked. Considering she had also once had a thing for him, the news of our zero chemistry kiss was probably horrifying to her.
“No chemistry. No heat at all. It was just meh.”
I heard someone snicker and turned to see James there with amusement written all over his smug face. “Funny, because that’s exactly what I thought when he kissed you.”
“Could have fooled me when you went all caveman and decided you needed to put your brand on me.”
“Maybe when you’re fully healed up,” he told me as he winked and then spun to get the first cup of coffee from the pot Collette brewed.
“Wait, what?” I asked and the only answer I got was Collette’s laughter.
“Good luck with that one,” she managed to choke out. “He’s going to have you wifed up, inked with his property patch, and wearing one of those ol’ lady cuts before you can take your next breath.”
“I like these ideas of yours,” James told her.
“I think I’m going to need the rest of that pot. Can you slide it over?”
“Dr. Roberts said easy on the caffeine, remember?”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t had good coffee in over a month, so I’m at least going to enjoy a cup and I’ll deal with the consequences if there are any.”
“We need to make an appointment with the local doc and have you checked out in the next day or so, sooner if you feel off. I know that ride took more out of you than you wanted to admit.”
“You know,” Collette interrupted before I could wave James off the idea of another doctor visit so soon. “I was worried when you were the one there with her, but I see you now, Knuckles.”
He tipped his chin up to her and she returned the gesture with a smile before she went back to her cup to inhale the coffee she’d made.
“I feel like everyone is speaking in a code I don’t understand this morning.”
“Whatever is in your past doesn’t matter anymore. He’s been by your side this whole time. He has my blessing,” Collette informed me before she left me alone with James in the kitchen.
“Okay, Knuckles, maybe we should have a conversation now,” I suggested as I took a seat at the old Amish kitchen table and chairs set that my parents acquired on a trip early in their marriage.
“You don’t call me Knuckles unless you’re asking another club member to get me on a phone or to find me at the clubhouse. I’m James to you. Only you. Well, my grandparents, too. They refuse to call me anything but my given name. Unless it’s my grandpa. He calls me Moron sometimes, but I’m pretty sure it’s said with love.”
I put my coffee down and laughed because I could hear Tim Davis in my head doing just that.
“I’m yours - all yours - if you’ll have me and I fucking want nothing more than to make you mine, Cass. I meant what I said in the hospital. I already know what it’s like to lose you and I don’t ever want to live in a world you aren’t a part of again.”
Damn. How in the hell was I supposed to argue with that?
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Okay? That’s all I get? I’m over here, pouring my heart out to you and all I get is, ‘Okay.’” His teasing tone did something amazing to lift my spirits and boost my energy, so I threw the dish towel at him and a minute later he had come over, picked me up, and deposited me back into his lap as he sat in my seat. “I have to go check in with the club in a bit, but I want to make sure you’re covered here before I go.” He glanced around conspiratorially. “Fucking Greg Daniels is probably lying in wait somewhere to give you another mediocre kiss and we can’t have that.”
