Page 62 of In This Moment

And then… Then, he did the sweetest dang thing. He lifted his head, smiled lazily at her, and smoothed her strands, holding her face in his hands like she was a treasure. A caring, tender action no one on earth had ever done for her. Simple, yet it leveled her to rubble.

Throat tight, eyes damp, she stared at him, wrangling her emotions.

His brows wrenched in concern. “You okay?”

She nodded, not trusting her voice. It had been so very long since someone had held her or had shown consideration to this degree. Besides Gammy or her besties, she’d not been cherished.

If that’s what this was, anyway.

“Did I hurt you? Your fibro, I mean. I’m not sure how it works or what sets you off. You’d tell me if—”

“You didn’t hurt me, and I’ll let you know if there’s an issue.” Lord, this man. How had she gotten so lucky? Her ex hadn’t had any interest in learning about her condition and would display frustration if she’d been too tired or sore for going out or making love. In Boston, most days, just getting through work was all she could handle between the weather, stress, and bouts of depression causing flareups.

Reaching for the covers, he wrapped the blanket around them, but remained sitting. He studied her expression, gaze roaming, and eventually sighed. “What’s it feel like? The pain. Where is it?”

“Mostly, it targets my upper back, shoulders, and neck. On rare occasions, my thighs. Average day? It’s like the early stages of the flu. Fighting sleepiness and a general, dull ache. When it flares up, the pain is more of a throbbing. Have you ever had a Charlie horse?” At his nod, she shrugged. “The pain feels like that on bad days, all over.”

His eyes widened. “That’s… Shit, Rebecca. That’s horrible.”

No truer words. “It can be. You never really get used to it, but I’ve grown accustomed and adapted. I try to avoid situations that set it off and take preventative measures.”

“Like what?”

“The climate here helps. My fibro would get irritated by extreme weather shifts. The snow and cold were awful in winter in Boston. I make sure I sleep, do massage therapy, stretching, take antioxidants, and try not to get stressed.”

He huffed a dry laugh devoid of humor. “As if stress can be avoided.”

He was correct on that account, too. “It is what it is.”

Resting his forehead to hers, he sighed. “That sucks. I wish you’d told me sooner. I wouldn’t have let you do all that moving around at the office.”

“I know my limits, and I refuse to let it take over my life. Everything we did at the Gazette helped the newspaper and was within my scope. I was a little more sore than normal afterward, but not a big deal.”

He studied her anew, like trying to assess the honesty in her answer. “You say ‘we’ a lot when referring to the Gazette.”

Um, yeah. “Because we’re a we. We shifted things around, utilized what we had, and built it back up again.”

“You did all that. I just went along for the ride.”

The stubborn man. “Did you tell me no? To stay in my lane? Pull the boss card? No, you didn’t,” she said before he could refute. “A good boss listens to their employees, takes into account their wishes, and considers constructive criticism. You knew I had more knowledge of the town and what the residents would want. You listened to me and respected the newspaper’s history. You had ideas of your own we implemented. Since the initial changes, you’ve written great articles that are among our highest clicks on the site. You also edit everything that goes in the paper and design the layout to make sure we go to print on time.”

She exhaled, her shoulders sagging. “So, yes. I say we because we are a we.”

What had begun as a droll expression at the beginning of her rant wound up morphing into something resembling shock and ended with veiled awe. Wide-eyed, lips parted, he stared at her as if she’d belted out a showtune while twirling a flaming baton.

Silence stretched. And stretched.

Maybe she should change the topic? “I’m hungry. Want to go grab some breakfast at The Busy Bean? They have the best croissants. And coffee.”

Unmoving, he did little more than blink.

“Take over the world?” She grinned for effect.

Still nada.

What exactly had she said to render him catatonic? Was he angry? This was one of those rare instances where she couldn’t read him, and her belly cramped. Needles of concern pricked her nape.

Okay, enough. “Are you all right?”

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