Page 22 of Avenged

“Nope. I’ve always had something better to spend my dollar on.”

This wiped my smile away, because it brought me back to exactly how precarious her and Violet’s situation seemed. It made me grateful for Mandy and Leena all over again, and it made me more determined than ever to do this. To make sure they didn’t have to pay for at least this one thing.

I turned back to the paper and wrote.

“Are you really writing that?” she asked. I nodded. “Then you better add a line about me not wanting any of your money either.”

“Fine, but if I win the lottery, I’m still giving you some,” I told her.

“Fine, I’ll give you some as well. What would you buy?”

I put the pad of paper down and turned to face her. It was hard to look at her sometimes because she was so goddamn beautiful, and I’d find myself staring like someone does at a masterpiece hanging on a wall, taking in every last line and curve, all the colors and the shadows.

Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol—so much better than the scary pallor of the night before—and her chest was heaving, and every time she filled her lungs, it caused her breasts to tug at the buttons on the sweater she was wearing. It made me itch to unbutton every one of them slowly, while she watched my hands and anticipated where else my fingers would land.

I turned back to the contract.

“No sex,” I added. If I had sex with her, it would be difficult to walk away. That realization hit me hard underneath all the alcohol. I hadn’t given a damn about walking away from Liesl after we’d had sex. But just the thought of Jersey dating someone made me think sixteenth-century thoughts of locking her away somewhere.

Shit. Maybe this wasn’t a smart idea after all.

“You already put no kissing; it’s all the same,” she said.

“Did you even really watch Pretty Woman? There was plenty of sex with no kissing,” I retorted.

She covered her eyes with her hand. “You’re right. You better write it down. Although, I can pretty much tell you, if you’re not kissing me, you’re not having sex with me.”

My entire body reacted to that statement from her lips. Jeans tightening uncomfortably, shoulders tightening. Goddamn, this was going to be hard. Then, I reminded myself we wouldn’t be sitting next to each other every day. I wasn’t going to be looking at her across the table each morning. I’d hardly see her. She’d have her life, and I’d have mine. That was going to be it.

“I can’t think of anything else to add,” I told her.

“Does the app thingy have any suggestions?”

I opened up the app I’d been surprised to find earlier. There was a section on legal recommendations. “They have stuff in here about paying for the additional cost of medical, but I’ve already looked it up, and my military benefits won’t require any additional money if we use the HMO plan. The app also says if there’s an additional tax benefit, we should split the savings evenly.”

“I’m good with that,” she said, but her voice was kind of faraway, and when I looked over, her eyes were closed. Alcohol, pain meds, and just exhaustion from days of fighting off pain. My heart lurched. She’d been through so much in just a few hours. What had the rest of her life been like that none of this seemed to faze her?

“So, you’ll do it?” I asked, and when there was nothing, I looked up to see her face relaxed in sleep. It was beautiful, daring me to run a hand along its smooth surface.

I wrote a couple more items on the paper, signed my name, and added a spot for hers. Then, I tore out a different piece of paper and wrote a note saying I’d be back in the morning to pick her up and go to the county clerk’s office. Maybe if I just acted like she’d said yes, she’d think she had.

I pulled the crocheted blanket off the back of the loveseat and laid it on top of her, tucking it around her body. She didn’t budge. While she needed the sleep, I wondered if it was a good idea to leave her dosed on brandy and meds.

The door banged shut, and I headed into the entryway just as Violet flung all her stuff by the hall table. “Hey,” I said quietly.

She jumped. The Banner women were both jumpy. “Shit, you startled me,” she said.

“Don’t cuss,” I said out of habit, and she rolled her eyes.

“Not you, too.”

“Jersey fell asleep on the couch in the library,” I told her. “I’m glad you’re home; I didn’t want to leave her there after we’d had a few drinks and she’d taken the pain killers.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Wait. She had a few drinks?”

I frowned. “Yeah.”

“My sister, Jersey?”

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