Page 60 of The Billionaire Benefactor

Jenny felt like her heart stopped. She swallowed, trying to think of the last month. Who had gotten the mail? Had someone? Then she remembered going through bills. Matt, maybe. Or Lucy. But nothing more than ads, bills, and the occasional months-later sympathy cards.

“Letters? I haven’t gotten any letters from him.”

“He never sent them,” Blake said. “I found them at his house and asked about them. He didn’t want to talk about it, but it’s clear that you mean a lot to him, despite whatever happened. You guys can talk through all that stuff, and you should. But not tonight. What you should do tonight is stop worrying. Then get up there with him. You look freezing. And I can’t imagine anything that would make him happier than to wake up and find you with him.”

“I can’t get in his bed! He’s hurt and…I—”

Blake lowered the rail of the bed. “Shush. It’s nothing weird or kinky. You’ve both got pants on. Well—he has a gown. But anyway. It’s not a violation of hospital policy. You’re not going to hurt him. Go on, get in there.”

Jenny let Blake help her climb up into the narrow bed. She felt awkward, but being close to Roman was also a relief. She’d missed him and being close to him felt right. How would Roman feel waking up with her in his bed? Would the hospital staff kick her out?

What would his mother say?

“Stop thinking,” Blake ordered. “Scoot in.”

Blake was pushy, but she didn’t mind. She didn’t know how to navigate any of this and his assurance made her feel better. She snuggled into Roman’s side, trying to nudge his arm back so she wasn’t lying on top of it, but it was loosely behind her. Blake pulled the sheet and thin cover over them and raised the rail again, which made her feel more secure. Roman was so big that he took up most of the bed. But oh, was he warm. She snuggled in further, putting her head on his broad chest and tangling her legs with his, watching his face. He sighed a little but didn’t open his eyes.

“Are you staying?” she whispered to Blake.

“Yeah. This hospital chair is calling my name. And someone has to play chaperone. I’ll also do my best to intercept Mrs. B and explain. Heard she gave you kind of a hard time when you met.”

“Little bit.”

“Don’t hold it against her too much. She’s usually quite lovely. It’s been a hard year for her and she clings to Roman too much. I think she knows she does it, but it’s still hard.”

Jenny thought about this, feeling a sudden compassion for Caro. She knew that Roman had lost his father that year. They weren’t so different, after all. Widows. She’d have to keep that thought in mind when she saw her next. It would help her to feel less intimidated and out of place around her.

“Thank you, Blake. For everything.”

“Of course. Anything for Roman. You’re not so bad either.”

Jenny smiled through the dark. She was glad Blake was staying. Lying this close to Roman was really intimate. She would have felt embarrassed if anyone had walked in with the two of them alone together like this. Having Blake a few feet away made it feel less inappropriate. Plus, his offer to talk to Roman’s mother had her breathing easier.

It was hard to tell time in a hospital room with the blinds down and the lights turned down. Though she felt warm and surprisingly comfortable in the small bed, her thoughts bounced all around her head. She was distracted by the feel of Roman’s chest through his thin gown. She kept wanting to touch the light stubble on his chin and jaw, just above her head. Being this close with the lights down low made her feel brave. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair or kiss his cheek. What would he think when he woke to find her there? Blake made it sound like he wanted her, but she still worried.

She sighed, trying to shove all the worries to the back of her mind. Jenny guessed it was around ten-thirty when she finally started drifting to sleep, curled against Roman’s warm body with Blake’s soft snores in her ears.

The first thing Jenny was aware of when she woke up was that she was warm. One of the biggest things she’d missed since Hank had stopped sleeping at home was a warm body next to her in bed. Sometimes in the middle of the night Lucy joined her, but was a wiggle worm, sending stray elbows into Jenny’s ribs and sometimes a foot to the face. Always a restless sleeper, even before the nightmares. She had even let Tiny sleep with her a few times, but he was a bed hog and he snored. It sounded like thunder and often woke her from a dead sleep.

Now, she was warm and had the satisfied feeling of a still, warm body next to hers, even if her neck was a little stiff. She sighed, leaning in as the fog of sleep began to lift.

Roman!Her eyes flew open and she stiffened, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep still.

He must have felt her shifting, because he was just blinking awake, his steel blue eyes looking unfocused as he gazed up toward the ceiling. Jenny heard whispers and could see Blake and Roman’s mother on the other side of the bed. His mother! Jenny tried to sit up, which was a challenge wedged in between Roman and the bed rail. His head turned toward her and without thinking, she trailed her fingers along his cheek.

“Good morning, Roman,” she whispered, smiling.

But he wasn’t smiling. His eyes narrowed. He stiffened, and his arm began pushing at her. Blake and Caro turned towards the bed as Roman struggled to sit up more. The bed rail ground into Jenny’s back.

“What are you doing?” His voice was cold steel.

“I—” Jenny’s gaze flicked to Blake for help. He stepped forward.

Roman pushed her harder and Jenny scooted awkwardly toward the end of the bed, tangling in the bedsheets.

“Get out! How’d you get back here?”

“Buddy—hey. I brought her back. Calm down,” Blake said.

Jenny made it to her feet, but the sheets were pulled away from Roman, revealing his bare legs beneath the gown all the way up to his thighs. Trying not to gawk at the massive muscles in his legs, she pulled the sheet up over him, red-faced. “I’m sorry. I thought—”

“You thought you’d take advantage of this situation to get close to me? Just go.”

Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes. Even Caro gave her a pitying glance. Humiliated, Jenny started to back out of the room, grabbing her purse from the table by the door. She shouldn’t have trusted Blake to think that Roman really wanted her here. This was exactly what she’d expected—he didn’t want her anywhere near him. Not after how she’d treated him.

“Hang on,” Blake said. “Roman, let’s talk about this for a second. You just woke up and you might be confused.”

“The only thing I’m confused about is why I woke up with her in bed with me,” he said.

That was the last thing Jenny heard before she ran from the room. She heard Blake calling her name, but didn’t slow, searching desperately for exit signs through the blur of her tears.

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