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He wasn’t wrong.
But it didn’t make her worry any less. That was until he started massaging her back again. Another groan escaped. He found a really tense spot, and she gasped, then moaned.
“You’re so good with your hands,” she told him.
“Definitely my penance.”
16
“What is that?”
Hannah stared at the item in her living room. It hadn’t been there when she’d gone down for her nap. She rubbed at her eyes, wondering if she was imagining things.
“It’s still there.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Raid said with a sigh.
“Seriously? Beautiful?” It was a huge, black monstrosity. Beautiful, it was not.
“Yep.”
“Where is my sofa?”
“On its way to the dump, hopefully.”
“Raid! That wasn’t mine! Oh my God! I’m going to have to pay for that.” She started panicking, rubbing at her chest.
“Whoa, easy, baby. It’s not on its way to the dump. I had Tanner and Beau take it to the ranch to store it.”
Oh, that was good.
Wait a minute . . .
“Tanner and Beau were here too? While I was sleeping?” Panic gripped her once again. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t even realized that they were here. That she’d slept through them bringing a huge freaking sofa into her apartment.
Oh God.
“Easy, baby. I didn’t let them in the apartment. They carried it up the stairs and then I got it into place. They carried the other one down. That’s it. No one else was in your apartment.”
“No one else?” she asked faintly.
“I promise.”
It was Sunday. She’d woken up this morning, determined to get rid of him. He had a life. He didn’t want to spend all his time babysitting the crazy lady.
So she’d decided to give him the ice queen treatment.
He’d laughed in her face.
Such a jerk.
He’d ended up staying here all day. Even insisting on her taking another nap this afternoon. Which is how he’d managed to sneak this ugly sofa in.
There was no shaking him. It was utterly aggravating. And yet . . . minute by minute, she could feel herself believing in him more and more.
Wanting, hoping that he wouldn’t give up.
That he could break through and help her fully trust him. He was getting there. Which is why he was still in her apartment.
And why she now had a black, monstrous sofa in her living room.
“Where did this come from?”
“Beau bought it. Scarlett hated it and banned it from her house. Beau didn’t want to get rid of it because this is the comfiest couch you’ve ever laid on. Swear to God, an hour on this couch, and you won’t want to get off it. So Beau had to pretend to get rid of it, but he put it in Jaret and Clem’s barn. And now, it’s here.” He looked so pleased with himself.
However, she was totally with Scarlett on this one.
“It’s huge. And ugly.”
“But comfortable. Come sit on it with me.” He sat and patted the spot next to him.
“You should have asked me.” She glared at him.
“Come sit.” Pat. Pat.
She put her hands on her hips. “This is my apartment. You can’t just make decisions like this.”
“Come. Sit.” More patting.
What was she? A dog?
“You should have asked.”
“If you don’t like it, I promise I’ll change it back.”
“And you won’t let anyone in here when you do.”
“Never, baby. That’s something I wouldn’t do without your permission. I promise. But if I have to watch another game on your sofa, I was going to need to visit the chiropractor.”
She sighed. Okay, that was fair. Only . . .
“You could just go home, you know. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about my sofa.”
Her stomach tightened at the thought of him leaving.
“Nope. You need me to look after you.”
“So you’re planning on staying tonight too?”
“Yep. Now, come . . . sit . . . please?” He gave her a begging look.
Rats.
She was a sucker for that look. Stomping over, she sat on the sofa.
“Oh, dear Lord.”
“Well?” He gave her an expectant look.
“It’s like sitting on a cloud.”
He just gave her a smug look and turned on the TV.
Darn it.
Looks like this monstrosity was staying.
And so was Raid.
It was kind of scary how used she was getting to him. And in such a short amount of time.
He looked after her. Made sure she ate, drank water, and napped. Several times already, people had turned up at her door, but he’d sent them away before she even had to decide what to do.
Perhaps under other circumstances, she might be upset with his high-handedness. But she appreciated that protection.
Right now, she needed it. She hadn’t had a chance to rest and recover. And he was giving her a safe space to do that.
So she could let him get away with being bossy and a bit heavy-handed. She could even put up with him moving a monstrous, ugly sofa into her space.
Yeah, she could forgive him for a lot.
