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“You do?” I lift my head since I want to check to make sure he’s telling me the truth.
He is. I can see it in the sincerity of his expression. He’s being open with me. Completely vulnerable. His eyes are very soft. “Yes. Stop questioning yourself, princess. You were right, and I was wrong. You did so good.” His breath gives an odd little hitch. “I’m proud of you.”
For some reason, that’s the thing that does me in. Everything I was holding together inside myself cracks right in two. My shoulders shake. I bury my face in his shirt. And I sob.
He tightens his arm and moves his right arm to hold me as well, wrapping me completely in him. I cry for a long time, and he doesn’t try to stop me or reason me out of it. He occasionally murmurs, “It’s okay” or “I’ve got you.”
Finally I’ve cried myself out. My shaking has stopped, and I’m still cradled in his arms. I sniff and say, “I’m okay.”
“I know you are.”
“Sorry I got your shirt all wet.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the shirt.”
For some reason, that triggers my sense of humor. I gasp out a broken laugh.
“Was that funny?” he asks with a smile in his voice.
“Yes. For some reason, it was.” I’m finally able to pick my head up and gaze down into his face.
“Come closer,” he says thickly. “I want to give you a kiss.”
I readjust so our mouths are aligned, and he lifts his head to kiss me. It’s gentle. Tender. It seems to put my heart back together.
I’m pretty sure he’d keep going, but I’m not about to risk any sexy times. I’m not going to be responsible for holding back the healing of his leg even a little. So I pull away and snuggle more comfortably at his side. He keeps one arm around me but holds me more loosely.
And it’s not long before I actually fall asleep.
I don’t know how long I doze, but I don’t wake up until I hear Mack’s voice in the room.
“Hey,” he’s saying as I’m trying to get my eyes open. “Just checking to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine.” That’s Grant. I feel his soft voice rumble slightly through his body. “But she’s sleeping. Don’t wake her up.”
“I’m awake,” I announce rather groggily. I still can’t seem to open my eyes.
Mack laughs. “You look very awake to me. Sorry to interrupt.”
I’ve finally managed to pry open my eyes. I don’t bother trying to sit up. “I’m glad you stopped by. You’re not taking off right away, are you?”
“No. The New Haven folks will be leaving in an hour or so, but I think I’ll stick around for a day or two if y’all don’t mind. I’ve got nothing pressing, and that swimming pool and theater are too tempting.”
“Please stay as long as you want,” I tell him. “You can live here if you’d like.”
“I travel around most of the time, but I’ll definitely stop by when I can.” He’s already heading back toward the door of the room. “I’ll leave you alone now since you’ve clearly got something going on.”
I start to object, but Grant says, “Thanks for stopping by.”
Mack turns to scan us together in the bed for a few seconds before he leaves. I hear him saying, maybe to us and maybe to himself, “Next time, I gotta work on getting shot. That must be the way to get the girl.”
