Page 98 of Whatever You Want

“Ava,” I reached for her hand, “you need to stop worrying about everyone else. Just focus on getting better.”

“Logan.” Her eyes softened as she brought her hand up to my face. “Are you okay?”

I rubbed the back of her hand. “You’re in a hospital bed and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“You must have been so worried.” Her eyes filled with tears, and it was taking every bit of strength I had to keep it together.

My chin trembled. “Honestly, I’m still feeling a little unsettled. I’m trying to come to terms with what happened to you, but I need you to understand something.”

She ran her thumb over my cheek. “What is it?”

“When you’re released from the hospital, I’m going wherever you are. Either I move in with you or you and Madison move in with me. Completely your choice, but I can’t go another day without you.”

“Is that your way of saying you want to live together?” She looked at my shoulder. “And can you even take care of me right now? Aren’t you still recovering yourself?”

I could see the reluctance on her face, but thank God she wasn’t fighting me on this. “We can recover together.”

“I like that idea.”

Taking her face in my hands, I brought my lips down to hers, tasting the salty tears. I needed this just as bad as she did.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she let out a yawn. “I think my pain meds are starting to kick in.” She shifted to the side, inviting me to come closer. “Lay with me.”

Ava lifted her head so I could slide my arm underneath. Very slowly, she tucked herself into my side. I laid completely still on the edge of the mattress, trying not to touch any of the wires connected to her body. She rested her head on my chest, and I closed my eyes and held her. I just wanted to block out the past few hours and never leave this bed. I wanted to shelter her and shield her from the hurt and the pain that would follow her once she left this hospital. I would use whatever strength I had to get her through these next few weeks. She had a long recovery ahead, but she was safe, and she was in my arms, where she would always stay. And for the first time in weeks, I was finally able to drift off to sleep.

It’s been three months since the incident with Richard. My physical scars were almost gone, and my shoulder was healing nicely, thanks to some intense physical therapy. After finishing my last session this morning, I was ready to blow off some steam.

My mother, Amelia, and I spent the day at the spa and hit the mall for a little Christmas shopping. We pretty much wiped out a few stores, not caring one bit that we went a little overboard.

“Well, your house is still standing, so that’s a good sign,” Amelia joked as we walked up my snow-covered driveway. Our hands were loaded with packages. Now I remember why I preferred online shopping. One click and they were boxed up and delivered to your doorstep the next day.

“Don’t jinx us. We haven’t seen the inside yet,” I reminded her, trying to balance all the bags in one hand. They were heavy and straining my fingers.

The guys wanted no part of this shopping trip, so we left them home with the kids. The only thing we could do was pray that everyone was in one piece when we returned.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to store all these gifts for you?” my mom asked as I typed the code into the garage door panel. “I have plenty of space in the spare bedroom at my condo.”

I smiled while ducking my head under the door as it went up. “Don’t you have a guest visiting this weekend? Or is he not using the spare bedroom?”

Her face turned beet red as she turned it away from me. Amelia bumped my shoulder. “Be nice now.”

My mother had recently met someone online. I thought she would struggle after Richard’s death, but she admitted that she only felt relief that he couldn’t hurt either one of us again. Greg was good for her. They had a lot of things in common, wanted to travel to the same places, and best of all, he doted on my mother. The only thing I didn’t like was that he lived in Montana. At the speed at which these two were falling for each other, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got engaged before I did.

“Did you and Logan work out a plan with Vanessa yet?” Amelia asked as we stuffed the bags into the trunk of my car and covered them with a blanket so the girls wouldn’t see them. They already found a couple of small packages in my closet, so I had to get creative and find a new hiding spot. “Yes, Brina’s going to spend Christmas Eve with us and Logan’s family. We’ll bring her home after dinner and pick her up after breakfast the next day.”

“Sounds like Vanessa is being accommodating.”

“I think Bryce has something to do with that.” I made sure the bags were completely hidden and closed the trunk.

Vanessa met Bryce at the facility where she received her treatment. He was one of the attending doctors on staff, although not hers. They started dating after she was released. I wasn’t sure how serious they were because she and I still weren’t the best of friends. But she wasn’t slashing my tires, or throwing bricks through my window anymore, so that was progress.

I walked around Logan’s truck, sitting on his side of the garage, and took my wet boots off on the mat. Sometimes, I still couldn’t believe we lived together, but after the attack, I was grateful to have him here. The last thing I wanted was to be alone in the same house I was attacked in.

When we reached my kitchen, I groaned at all the candy, pizza boxes, and beer bottles taking up space on my countertop. We followed the sounds of raised voices into the dining room, where three grown men, along with their young daughters, sat at my table with a huge pile of poker chips in the middle.

“Are they teaching them to play poker?” I asked, glancing around at the men who at least had the decency to look guilty.

“They asked if we could teach them how to play,” Marco said defensively.

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