Page 44 of Jessica's Hero
Forcing a smile, I say, “I’m fine, Kane. Really. It was just a little hot coffee.” Then I start to wriggle off the counter, already bracing myself for the flare of pain when my feet hit the ground. “And I didn’t want you to worry about making breakfast for me. I?—”
His big hand cups my shoulder, holding me still. “Where are you going?”
“Um. I’m getting off the counter?”
“What did I say about not walking too much, Jess?” And in a move straight out of a romance movie, he sweeps me back into his arms and carries me effortlessly into the living room before carefully setting me down on the couch. Then he sits beside me and takes my feet into his lap. His face clouds with worry as he checks the bandages the paramedics put on last night. The gauze is still a crisp white, but he doesn’t look happy about it.
“Jess,” he continues, “you could have reopened one ofthe wounds. Especially if you jumped off the counter like you were about to.”
“I was being careful,” I protest.
“But, Jess.” His eyes are dark with worry as they meet mine. “I told you I’d bring you breakfast in bed. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Honestly? Because I felt guilty. As I lay in bed, watching the sun inch its way above the horizon, I kept thinking of all the ways I was putting him out. Forcing him to stay up hours later than normal after an already long day of work. Staying at his house and throwing off his regular routine. Being the reason he kept getting up to check on me instead of getting some well-needed sleep.
How could I ask him to wait on me when he’d done so much already?
“I woke up early,” I explain. “And I know you said to text when I got up, but I didn’t want to interrupt your sleep. It’s not like it’s that far from the bedroom to the kitchen, anyway.”
Kane stares at me for a few seconds, thoughts working in his eyes. Then he sighs heavily, and his shoulders sink. “Are you regretting agreeing to stay here? If you didn’t want to…” His lips pull down. “I’m sorry, Jess. I was worried about you, and I just wanted to make sure you were someplace safe. But maybe I pushed too hard. If you want to find a hotel room instead, I’ll make it happen.”
Seeing his dejection makes my heart twist. Grabbing his hand, I say, “No. It’s not that. You didn’t push me. And I don’t regret coming here.”
“Then what is it?” A rare flash of uncertainty moves across his face. “Did I do something wrong? Should I have—”He stops. Frowns. “Shit. Is this about me checking on you last night? Did I creep you out? I just wanted to make sure you were okay. But?—”
“You didn’t. It was…” My chest flutters. “It was nice. That you wanted to check on me.”
“Was the breakfast in bed thing too much?” he asks. “It just seemed to make sense, so you could rest your feet a little longer…”
“I felt bad,” I blurt out. “After everything you’ve done for me already; going to my place after your shift, staying there for hours, bringing me here… I didn’t want to ask you to do more.”
Confusion wrinkles his brow. “But Jess. You’re my girlfriend. Of course I’d do all those things for you. You should never—” He stops. Hesitates. “Did I mess up last night? Calling you my girlfriend? I know it was probably the worst possible time to bring it up.”
“You didn’t mess up.”
“Then what?”
My stomach knots with anxiety. What if I tell him my fear only to have it confirmed? If he realizes that he didn’t mean it, and he only called me his girlfriend impetuously?
Then again.
Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he really meant it. And I’m not being fair to him by just making assumptions based on my own insecurity.
“I was afraid you didn’t mean it,” I admit. “That you only said it because you were worried. And this morning you might be regretting it.”
Kane blinks. A moment later, understanding fills his gaze. Then he lifts me onto his lap and kisses myforehead. “Sweetheart. I absolutely meant it. I know we haven’t been dating long, but there’s just something that feels right with you. I’ve never been in a hurry to call anyone my girlfriend before. Shit. I’ve never wanted to have a girlfriend, period. But with you? It’s different. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“Yours?”
His cheeks go pink. “Not like I own you. I would never think that. But I want to be the one you go to. If you need help. If someone’s messing with you. If you just want to talk. Anything, Jess. I want to be that person for you.”
Warmth blossoms inside me, along with a floaty, cautious sort of hope. “I’d like to be that person for you, too.”
Kane smiles; his face lighting up with it. “I’d like that, Jess.” Then he bends his head to brush his lips across mine. “So you’re my girlfriend?”
I kiss him back, lingering for a few moments to nibble and tease his lips. “Yes. I am.”
As we look at each other, I feel another weight lifting off me. The crushing sorrow from last night doesn’t feel quite as suffocating. And I start to think that everything just might be okay.
