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I smile and give his hand a squeeze. My heart jumps at the sight of him asleep, vulnerable, and gorgeous.
He stirs slowly and sits up straight, his gaze landing right on mine.
“Willow,” he gasps. “Thank fuck you’re awake.” He’s on his feet and at my side, big, calloused hands cupping my face with a smile. “Not sure if I would ever get to see those pretty blue eyes again.”
It’s good I’m in bed because if I were standing, my legs would have buckled under the sweetness of his words.
“Joaquin,” I whisper. “Thank you.” If not for his quick thinking, I would have died.
He frowns and pulls back. “Don’t thank me, Willow. Please don’t thank me for letting you get shot. You almost died, dammit, and I hope you can forgive me, babe.”
“I can’t,” I tell him as I reach out to him. “I can’t forgive you, Joaquin, because there’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t shoot me. If not for you, I would have fallen off the bike and been at the mercy of whoever those guys were. Who knows what those guys would have done to me?” Tears stream down my cheeks as I think about that night.
“Willow,” he says.
“No, Joaquin. This is not your fault. If you hadn’t insisted on coming with me, I would have been alone in my car coming from the club. Alone.” I stare deep into his eyes until he hears what I’m saying.”
He grins and pulls back. “You’re a lot like your mom, you know that?”
I roll my eyes, and Joaquin laughs. “What?”
“Even that eye roll. She gave me the same glance when I told her I’d worry about her until you were well enough to get back to it.”
“You told her that?” Mom is even more skeptical than I am, so I can only imagine how well that went over.
“I did. She said it was all right because I see you how she sees you.”
“Yeah, and how is that?”
“Fun. Fiery. Special.” His smile is big and genuine, reaching all the way up to his eyes. “I want you to know that I’m going to take care of you until you’re all better. You’re coming back to the clubhouse with me.”
An unfamiliar, unsettling sensation goes through me. “Joaquin, you know you don’t need to take care of me. I don’t want you to think you have to do anything out of guilt. I’ll be fine.”
“Guilt? I’m hoping the second you feel better, you’ll reward me for taking care of you with sexy times.” He wiggles his brows and licks his lips.
Those beautiful, kissable lips. So full and delicious, and I want them now. I need them.
“Not sure when I can participate in sexy times, but if I didn’t have weeks of morning breath, I would totally kiss you right now.”
“Ms. Martinez, it’s good to see you’re awake.” A tall man with salt and pepper hair walks in the door with a smile. “I’m Dr. Morton. I head the team on your case. How are you feeling?”
My other surgeon mentioned Dr. Morton, but this was the first time I’d been awake enough to meet him when he showed up on rounds. “Like I got shot,” I say honestly. “How do I look?”
“Good,” he sighs and steps inside, gaze darting to Maven and then Joaquin. “Is it all right if I speak freely?”
I nod, but Maven shakes her head. “I’m getting out of here, and I’ll tell everyone you’re awake. Prepare yourself,” she says and brushes a kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.
“All right, Dr. Morton. Give it to me straight.”
“You’re doing good, Willow, very good. The bullet missed all the important organs, stopping only to nick your lung. My team and I patched up perfectly.”
“Thanks,” I say, sinking into the pillows as the full weight of my injuries crashes down on me. “Uh, anything else?”
“Well, you did lose a lot of blood, and it’s important that you take it easy for a while. Consider yourself lucky to be alive. Just make sure your boyfriend here takes good care of you.”
I look to Joaquin, quietly standing by my bed with his eyes wide and worried. He reaches out and takes my hand.
“Don’t worry, Doctor. I plan on taking very good care of her. You can count on it.” He smiles and squeezes my hand in reassurance.
