Page 121 of Ozzie

I laugh. “No, I can live without doing either of those two things.”

Her lips curl up into a small smile. “Anyway, after a few attempts at his interests, we fell back into the routine we had previously. Then I told him I loved him, and he hit me. When I told my parents, they suggested counseling. They have been so set on me marrying him. That’s when I left Montana.”

I take her hand in mine. “And how do you think you could hold any fault here? Clearly, he pursued you hard. I’d say he was obsessed from the beginning.”

She frowns. “It’s possible.”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe it.”

“I want to go to bed now. Will you stay with me tonight?”

I open my mouth to object, but she holds her hand up to stop me.

“I need you nearby. You can keep your clothes on.”

“Okay.”

She needs me, and that’s all I need to hear.

I wakein the morning before Piper, and I carefully leave the room in search of coffee. Durango’s eyes widen as I walk into the kitchen.

“She just wanted me near. Nothing happened.”

He stares at me for a second, taking in my rumpled clothes. “Coffee is ready.”

“Thanks.” I pour myself a cup and sit across from him.

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s taking it all pretty hard, but she’ll be all right,” I say.

Piper screams from her room, and Durango and I jump up and run to her. The door flies open, and she’s still in bed, now looking at us with a funny expression.

“What’s going on?” Durango asks.

She holds up her phone. “John’s mother called me. He lived through the surgery, by the way.”

“That shocked you because you wanted him to die,” Durango says matter-of-factly.

“No! I mean, maybe. But that’s not what upset me. She was talking to me really nicely, which was odd considering our last conversation. After she said he would be okay, she told me we should move up the wedding date to give John something to look forward to. I figured John must have lied to her about it all, so I told her I don’t plan to marry their son.” She shakes her head. “She told me I have to, or they will destroy my parents’ business. I hung up on her, then screamed.”

I glance between Durango and Piper. “What could they possibly gain with you two marrying? You mentioned merging businesses, but that doesn’t require a marriage.”

“No, it doesn’t. And there is no way they can destroy my parents’ business, so I don’t know why she said that. I think that entire family is a bunch of bullies.”

Durango pulls out his phone. “Let me look into something.” He leaves the room, and I’d bet he’s calling Trip.

I make my way to the bed and sit on the edge. “If it were me, I’d block her number so you don’t have to talk to her again.”

“Already done.” She falls back and stares at the ceiling. “I want to be done with all of this.”

Watching her suffer through this is hard. I want to do something to help her, but I’m not sure how. I lie down on my side next to her, and she turns to hers. “I’m sorry I don’t know how to fix this. I’m not very experienced at being a boyfriend.”

She sits up. “Ozzie, are you my boyfriend?”

Ah, shit. We haven’t discussed it, and I shouldn’t assume. “I want to be. Is that okay?”

She lies back down, and her hand goes to my chest. “That’s very okay. As far as I’m concerned, we won’t be seeing other people, either.”

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