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Jake has proven to be patient and understanding, letting me lead, which probably doesn’t come naturally to him. Having support doesn’t mean I have to lose my independence. It just means I have people I can count on.
When he reaches the bottom drawer of my dresser, I sit up. “Oh, uh, you can leave that one for now.”
“Are you sure? This looks like it’s got all your comfy sweats in it?” He lifts the pair of grey sweatpants I stole from him when I first moved to Seattle and his eyebrows pop. “Oh, hey now.” He gives me a sidelong glance. “Looks like I found your pleasure chest.”
I feel my cheeks heating, but I shrug nonchalantly. “I’m a woman with needs.”
“I’m familiar with those needs.” His gaze moves over me in a hot sweep that I feel all the way from my toes to the top of my head.
“You can close that drawer and go about your business, Jake.” I don’t need to be thinking about the contents of that drawer and all the fun we could have.
“You sure you don’t want me to pack any of this for you? Just in case your needs need taking care of by someone other than me?” He rubs his bottom lip.
I make a circle motion with my finger. “You need to stop this.”
“Stop what? I’m trying to be proactive here, Hanna. And packing your pleasure chest seems like a smart thing to do.”
“I need to ask my doctor about what’s reasonable in that department.”
Jake’s brows pull together. “It’s not like you’re going to go without an orgasm for the next four months.”
“It raises my heart rate, which raises my blood pressure.”
He props a hip against my dresser and crosses his arms. “I can make sure they’re more like a canoe ride on the lake instead of a rocket launch so we don’t put you in the danger zone. But we can call your doctor and find out what the limitations are so we know what can and can’t happen.” He slides his phone out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling your doctor.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, Hanna, right now. No point in waiting until your next appointment if we can find out immediately.” He lifts a finger. “Hi, Jake Masterson here. I’m Hanna Kingston’s partner. I was hoping I’d be able to ask Dr. Deloris a couple of questions regarding Hanna’s bed rest, so I know what is and isn’t okay for her and the baby. Yup, I can definitely wait.”
“I can’t believe you! Give me the phone.” I hold my hand out.
“Only if you put it on speaker so I can hear the answers.”
I roll my eyes. “Fine. Give it.”
He passes me the phone after he puts it on speaker.
Three minutes and a red face later, I’m given the go-ahead to have sex. Just not the swinging from the rafters kind. And I should try to keep my heart rate under one-twenty.
Jake finishes packing up the drawer with all my fun items—they get their own bag—and we drive back to his place.
He sets me up in the living room on the couch. Then he unpacks all my clothes and puts them away for me. I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to put clothes away, but he’s determined I relax as much as possible.
“I don’t expect you to do nothing for the next four months, but I think you need to be very gentle with yourself for the next few days at the very least.” Jake takes a seat beside me on the couch.
“I can do that.”
“King and Queenie were asking if they could stop by. Is that okay with you?”
“Of course.” I’m sure I scared the crap out of Queenie last night. I know the whole thing scared me.
He nods once and his fingers drum on the back of the couch.
I tip my head to the side. “What’s up? You look like you want to say something.”
“I know your relationship with King is different, but I can’t lie and say I’m not worried about the amount of stress his visit could cause. I can’t put myself in his shoes, and I’m trying my best to understand and not overstep, but you and the baby are going to be my top priority. Always.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“Can you promise me that if anything is making you upset, you’ll tell me?” He chews on the inside of his lip. “What if he stresses you out to the point where you end up back at the hospital?”
“This is a hard position for both of you to be in, isn’t it? You’re his boss, his father-in-law, and now you have this new role in his life and mine. Ryan would never do anything to hurt me.”
“Not intentionally, no.”
“I appreciate your concern, Jake. And I will try to stay as level as possible. But I can deal with my son. He has a right to feel whatever he feels, and I’m not going to tell him he can’t because it might stress me out. What you’re asking isn’t fair. I need you to have faith in both of us.” This is probably the most challenging part of this situation. Because I have these two very strong, very important men who I care deeply about, and they’re both struggling to manage the roles they’ve taken on.
