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“You like being carried and petted.”
Jonas gave me a dark look, which tightened things low on my body. But that couldn’t be helped.
“This isn’t fucking,” he said as he carried me through the bedroom door. “This is giving you what you need.”
“What I need is not your concern. Furthermore, I’m not someone that needs their food intake supervised. Carrying me is inappropriate. I mean, we just discussed breaking boundaries last night. So, stop.”
He ignored my glare and brought me to the dining table, where he sat me down on the chair before a covered plate and took the seat next to me.
“You practically passed out in front of me yesterday. Do you know I stayed up all night watching you?”
The anguish on his face had me instantly feeling remorse.
I dipped my head. “All I can say is that I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disrupt your sleep or your life. I’ve been under a lot of… stress,” I said, my voice scratchy.
I didn’t want to bring up my situation with Declan again.
I glanced over and noticed that Jonas’s eyes had clouded over. “Yes, I know.”
The guilt on his face had me reaching out to squeeze his hand. “It’s not your fault. This is all my doing.”
“No. This is that piece of shit exe’s of yours fault.” He took in a couple of deep breaths to calm down. “You need support and that includes comforting. It’s something I would have given you anyway if you had remained my companion, and I will continue to give you as your friend. Now, eat your breakfast.”
My lips parted in protest, but I knew we were both wound too tight after yesterday and last night. So I decidedly removed the lid on the plate before me and found poached eggs, a bagel with cream cheese and salmon. My mind immediately started calculating the caloric intake out of habit, an internal voice telling me I wasn’t hungry. As I shifted the food around my plate, I wondered if I really did have a problem.
“Lily,” Jonas said my name with slight irritation, calling me back from my thoughts.
I ignored him and took a huge bite out of the salmon and bagel, then peeked at him through my lashes and found him gazing at me intently. A flutter went through my chest, and a small smile snuck to my lips.
“Thank you,” Jonas exhaled. “I have a meeting in town.”
He mixed the eggs and toast together on his plate and started eating. Back to the real world for Jonas, but not for me. I had been placed on leave.
“I probably should get information to Human Resources and call Gregor—”
“David dropped off the paperwork this morning,” Jonas said, interrupting me. “You have an appointment for a massage at the spa in a half hour. Afterwards, a body wax, manicure, and pedicure. By then I should be back for lunch.”
My cheeks warmed as I stared at him in disbelief. “I didn’t agree to any of that, and I’m not going. I don’t need it. I’ll take care of the rest when I go home.”
“Don’t fight with me, Lily. This was your doctor’s orders,” Jonas said and sipped his coffee.
“Massages, not the rest,” I muttered, staring down at my plate.
Maggie crossed my mind, and Gregor’s warnings. Even though Jonas had explained his relationship with her, I still didn’t want to get caught up in his generosity.
“I don’t need to be pampered. I want to function within my means. I know I have problems. I just need some time to think, to plan….”
“And you’ll have it,” Jonas said. “We still need the results from the blood test, too.”
My mouth went dry. “We?”
He reached out and rubbed the frown between my brows. “Yes, ‘we.’ I’m concerned about you. You need less stress. As far as the rest, I know you like those things.” His tone was light.
I pursed my lips and stared at him. I did like the manicure and pedicures, but we both knew the body wax was for him.
“Fine, your body waxing is for me,” he finally admitted. “So you’ll have it. You’re not going—”
Jonas’s phone started chiming, interrupting his next declaration. He pulled it out and answered it. I could see the relief on his face as the call ended our second argument of the day, before the day had even started.
