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“Thank you,” he said with a smile that made my insides melt. I took the plate and tried not to drool at the sight of this handsome man.
“Ice therapy machine?” I repeated.
He looked sheepishly away.
“Well, have you at least taken a pain pill?”
He downed his water, then pointed at me. “That I have done.”
“Just remember, you only had surgery two days ago, Truitt. Please take it easy, will you?”
He leaned in and kissed me on the mouth and then said, “I promise I’ll take it easy.”
I was stunned by his easy show of emotion in front of Ryan and Liliana. I didn’t mind that Liliana saw him kiss me. I wasn’t so sure about Ryan. When I chanced a look his way, he wore a goofy smile on his face. I glanced down at Liliana who wore the same silly smile.
Okay, well, it appears my family is happy about this.
“Y’all be careful,” I said as I watched Ryan and Truitt walk out of the kitchen. “Your cane, Truitt!” I called out and quickly brought it to him.
He snarled his lip as he looked at it. “Do I really have to?”
“Yes, you really have to.”
Reluctantly, he took the cane, even with Ryan chuckling.
“Shut up or I’ll hit you over the head with it!” Truitt said in a low voice so that Liliana couldn’t hear him.
“Please don’t do anything that will hurt you even more,” I said.
Ryan lost it laughing. “If you’re going to date this man, you better get that thought out of your head, sis.”
Truitt glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled once more. It was the type of smile that little girls dream of. The one that says a million different things all at once.
I love you. I’ll miss you. I want you. You’re mine.
Truitt Carter had officially made me fall in love with him because of pancakes, winks, and smiles.
“See you soon, sweetheart.”
I let out a sigh and whispered to myself, “And by calling me sweetheart.”
Liliana came up and took my hand in hers.
“I wuv Twuitt, Mommy.”
And there ya go. That clinched it.
“Me, too, pumpkin. Me, too.”
Truitt
RYAN AND I drove to Imaginations Unlimited first. Even though I didn’t want to use the cane, I did it. I didn’t really want to be laid up even longer simply because I was too proud to use a fucking cane.
“Well, if it isn’t boss man,” Jack said with a huge grin on his face. “Did you get my flowers?”
I shot him a dirty look. “Fuck off. How is everything going? All the finishing work getting done?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Seriously, you trust me so little that you came down here to check up on things? Yes, we are ahead of schedule and will be ready for the delivery on Christmas Eve. Stop worrying.”
“I trust you, it’s just that I want this to go smoothly. The fact that we’re having to use a new trucking company makes me nervous. So, where are we on everything?”
Jack started toward the shop. When we walked into the large room, I took a quick look around. The playhouse was broken up into five large pieces that would be assembled together once we got it delivered. Each piece had to be carefully loaded onto the trucks, then tethered down.
“All the exterior painting is finished, same for the interior. Lee has finished doing all the stenciling Mrs. Night wanted to do on the inside. A few last-minute additions, and then we’ll be ready to start loading up the pieces.”
“Good, I’m glad we’re on track. I’ll be back in tomorrow if I can.”
Jack rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Ryan, then back to me. “Roger told me that unless it was an absolute emergency, you were not to be bothered. And not to expect you back for at least a week. He said you needed…to heal.”
“I needed to heal? My brother said that?”
Jack cleared his throat. “Something along those lines.”
This time I looked at Ryan who wore a smug expression. I couldn’t figure out why in the hell my brother would interfere in my job. I would have never told his staff not to bother him. I made a note to myself to talk to him later today.
Ryan lifted his hands up in defense. “Listen, I’m staying out of this. It’s bad enough I have a mother who is…”
“Scheming,” Jack quickly added.
I rolled my eyes. “It was never lost on me what your mother was up to, Ryan. But, she also wants a playhouse for her granddaughter, and I would really like to finish this job, so…” I looked at Jack. “Can we please get back to the subject at hand?”
He nodded, then cleared his throat. “Right, it’s all good to go, Truitt. I’ve checked and rechecked everything. We will be ready for the move.”
