Page 66 of Tactically Acquired

Grudgingly, I got dressed and finally headed to my doom. Baldy was waiting for me, his hands resting on the handles of the wheelchair. I gritted my teeth and sat down, wishing I could tell him what I really thought of him.

Which wasn’t really a whole lot, considering I didn’t know him. The nurse chatted with him as he wheeled me out of the room and down the hall. She was fawning over him the whole way, and a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach was starting to form that felt an awful lot like jealousy. But what did I have to feel jealous of? Up until I woke up, I didn’t even know I was married.

And shouldn’t I be more upset over my mom dying than a woman paying attention to my husband? I really needed to get my priorities straight. Then again, I hadn’t spoken to my mother in ages, and aside from that letter she’d sent me, informing me she was going to be in a musical, I didn’t even know what was going on in her life.

“Thank you very much, Charla. I really appreciate how much you’ve cared for my wife.”

“Oh, honey, she’s got a good man. I know you’ll take good care of her.”

“I will.”

I rolled my eyes as he pushed me out the door to a waiting vehicle. Before he could even stop, I was up and out of the wheelchair, spinning to face him.

“What was that?” I snapped.

He quirked an eyebrow at me in confusion. “What was what?”

“Oh, Charla,” I said mockingly. “Thank you for taking care of my wife.”

“Well…I was being nice to her for taking care of you.”

“She’s a nurse, you know.”

“Yes, I’m aware of her profession,” he said slowly. “Can I return this now so we can get out of here?”

“Why? So you can run back to Charla one last time?”

His face slowly morphed into a grin before he turned around and pushed the wheelchair back inside. A sliding noise took me by surprise and I spun around, shocked when I saw a man I recognized grinning at me.

“Hiya!”

“You.”

“IRIS, technically. But I guess You isn’t the worst thing I’ve been called.”

“Why are you here?”

“Well, see, when someone needs to go to the hospital, there’s usually someone who drives. That was me.”

“I thought Baldy drove me,” I said in confusion.

“Right, well, he was a little busy taking care of you.”

Of course, because he was my husband.

“Ready?” Baldy asked, stepping up behind me and sliding his hand across my lower back in a gentle caress. Shivers broke out across my skin, but I did my best not to notice. But then he leaned in front of me and opened the door, still pressing his hand to my back, and his body was just inches from mine.

I leaned in, completely unaware of what I was doing, until Baldy turned to me, his face marred with concern. “Are you alright? You look like you might pass out again.”

Oh God. I was leaning into him. I jerked upright and shook my head. “I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure,” I snapped, stepping around him as I fumbled with the doorframe and got into the back seat. I grabbed the handle to pull myself up into the SUV, but his hands immediately went to my hips, sending shock waves rippling through me as my body became more aware of him by the second.

“Make sure you buckle up,” he said, his voice rumbling low as he shut the door.

I did as he asked, shaking my head to clear the sound of his voice from my head. The last thing I needed was to think of him in any way as…sexy.

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