Page 67 of Affinity

Jenner smiled down at me. His brown hair was tousled as if he’d been running his hands through it. “They gave you the good stuff.”

“You look like you could use some sleep.” I managed to get the words past my scratchy throat. “Thanks for calling my brother.”

“Of course.” He gave me a timid smile. “I’m so happy you’re okay. Do you remember what happened? You said a car ran you off the road.”

“I was—”

“Now’s not the time. She can answer questions once she’s back home and safe,” Paul interrupted.

“It’s okay,” I started again, only for this time to be interrupted by Jenner.

“He’s right. You should rest. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later. Do you need anything?”

I wasn’t sure what he thought I needed, but it was sweet. Especially since he never went to the store. If he had an assistant, I was sure he would have them get it instead. Maybe now that I was out of commission for a short while, he’d have to get one.

“No, I’m just tired. Will you be here when I wake up?” I looked from one to the other as best as I could while my eyes started to droop, hoping they’d both be here. Even though Jenner had only been in my life a short time, he’d become an important part of it.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jenner answered before his eyes flicked up to Paul.

“Please be nice to him. If you give him a chance, you’ll see he’s a good guy.”

“I’ll try. For you,” he frowned down at me.

“Where are you staying, Paul?”

“Um . . . I haven’t gotten that far. I came straight from the job I was on.”

“Let’s not get into why you were here and didn’t bother to tell me we were in the same state. As for where you’re staying, you can stay with us. There’s a nice spare bedroom for you to use. Right?” I lazily turned my head to the side Jenner was sitting on.

“Of course, he’s your family.” His words didn’t match how tight his jaw was as he uttered the words.

“He’s your family now too.” His nostrils flared, but he stayed quiet. Yawning, I tried to talk it through. “I think I’m going to go to sleep now.”

“We’ll be here,” Paul said quietly against my temple.

The last thing I felt was a soft kiss before I was back into the land of peaceful darkness.

* * *

I was finally home and in Jenner’s comfy bed after spending three days in the hospital when I heard Paul and Jenner fighting somewhere in the house. It was easy for sound to travel when we kept the area open to the outdoors.

They tried to keep their fighting away from me, but they hadn’t been successful. I’d overheard them on more than one occasion. Paul wanted me to go stay with him in Virginia while I healed. He hadn’t seemed to process that I wasn’t a little girl anymore, or that I had a husband and a job now.

Letting out an irritated huff, I sat up as gently as I could. Even though I’d had my spleen taken out laparoscopically, they’d still gone through my stomach muscles, and they hurt like a bitch when I sat up or turned a certain way. Instead of using my crutches, I used the little scooter Jenner had gotten me.

Leaving the bedroom, I found them in a standoff in the kitchen where Paul was making what looked like two sandwiches. They didn’t even notice me until I rolled over to Jenner’s side. I hated that I needed to take sides, but Paul was unreasonable in every demand he made. He still thought he had a say in what I did and how I did it.

Jenner stepped beside me and put his arm around my shoulders. “What are you doing out of bed?”

I rolled my eyes at how obtuse he was being. “I heard you fighting.Again. I’m only going to say this one more time, so you both better listen. I love that you both want the best for me, but neither of you gets to decide what I will or will not be doing. If you want to voice your concerns, then do that to me and me only. No more of seeing which one of you can pee the farthest. I’m over it.” I pulled myself out from underneath Jenner’s hold. “You want me to rest and get better, but I can’t do that with you constantly fighting. Paul, you need to get over the fact that Jenner didn’t ask you for my hand in marriage. It’s over and done, and nothing is going to change the fact.” I turned my glare to Jenner, who took a step back. Paul was used to it after living with me for years, but it had been a while since Jenner and I butted heads. “You need to listen to what my brother has to say. He only wants what’s best for me, and he usually knows what I want.”

“Are you saying I don’t know what you want now?” Paul all but crawled over the island to get in my face.

“Back off, man, and listen to her. We both need to listen.” Jenner shouldered in front of me. He didn’t need to protect me from my brother. I understood Paul only wanted what was best for me, and it was hard for him to step down as my caregiver.

Not that I thought of Jenner as my caregiver, even though he had done a great job of it so far since my accident.

“I’m staying here in California, where my husband and job are. Catherine is going to let me work from home for as long as I need to, but I do think there might be a need for some sort of security when we’re out. While I can’t say for certain the person who was driving the car that ran me off the road was the man I’d seen Poppy with all week, I don’t want to risk it.”

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