Page 96 of Just One Kiss

His eyes fluttered open and it took him a minute to piece together the events of the night before. He hadn’t slept at all in the hospital, so when they got Jaden home and settled in the recliner with a fresh dose of pain meds, it took almost no time at all for Josh to nod off on the couch.

Someone had covered him with a knitted afghan and he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he might’ve fallen asleep with his shoes on. They were now on the floor next to the couch.

He sat up and ran his hands over his face, then saw Jaden, still sleeping peacefully in the chair. At this point, sleep was probably the best thing for him.

He stood and shuffled into the kitchen, where Carly stood in pajamas, hair in a bun on top of her head, her perfect skin practically glowing.

She gave him a once-over. “You look rough.”

He nodded toward the coffee. “Did you make enough for me?”

She hesitated, then opened the cupboard and took out a second mug. The coffeemaker beeped, and she poured two cups. “Can you grab the cream from the fridge?”

He opened the refrigerator door and found three casserole dishes, something that looked like a dessert, two Tupperwares and a cake. “What’s all this?”

“The neighbors and Beverly,” she said.

He had to shift things around to find the creamer, but he pulled it out and handed it to her. “That was nice.”

“Your mom brought muffins.”

Had he slept through that? “When?”

She shrugged. “It was all in the refrigerator when we got home. I’m thinking Quinn must’ve organized it.”

“Ah.”

She stirred cream into both cups of coffee and handed one to him.

“Have you called your mom?” she asked.

He took a sip of the hot drink and wished she hadn’t asked that question. Maybe he should’ve called them, but he hadn’t. He shook his head.

“You should call her, Josh.”

He inhaled and leaned back on the counter. “Probably.”

“Was it hard seeing them yesterday?”

He shrugged. They weren’t doing this now. He wasn’t going to talk about his parents.

“They show up to things sometimes. Birthday parties, that sort of thing.”

“As long as you never leave him alone with my dad.”

“I would never,” she said. “I promised you that.”

There was that word again—promise.She’d kept her promises. He hadn’t. Was that what she was thinking too?

Josh stared at the mocha-colored drink in his mug. “Does Jaden know?”

He could feel Carly go still across the room. “No.”

He looked at her. “Does anyone?”

She shook her head.

After a beat, she picked up her mug and took a sip. “Do you think it’s still going on?”

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