Page 139 of Take My Hand

“Nothing will.” I grinned against his mouth. “Not with you taking care of me.”

“Always.”

As Zak kissed me again, his hold on me tightened, it was almost desperate, and I wondered how much blame he’d taken on for his friend.

I slowly pulled away from him. “You know what happened to your friend wasn’t your fault, Zak.”

He drew in a breath and then slowly let it out. “It was my party,” he whispered. “I didn’t know half the people I’d invited. I’d put it out on social media and thought I was Billy fucking big bollocks, inviting a bunch of dickheads to my parents’ big house while they were on holiday.” His eyes fluttered closed as he exhaled slowly. “If I hadn’t had that party, Maddy, then Ruby wouldn’t have gone through what she did. What she’s still going through.” He exhaled heavily. “Thinking about that night is why I don’t sleep well. Why I take random midnight drives in my mum’s car.”

Stroking my hand down his face, I looked him directly in the eye. “Zak, you weren’t to know. There’s only one person to blame, and it’s the boy who spiked her. It was not your fault. All you did was hold a party, so give yourself a break. Please, babe.”

His handsome face crumpled, and my throat prickled with emotion. I hated that he felt the pressure of blame when he didn’t need to.

“She’s so different, Mads,” he whispered.

I inhaled, breathing in his heady cinnamon scent and leaned closer to him. “And that really isn’t on you.”

Giving him a soft kiss, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight, hoping that he would eventually give himself a break—that he knew how much I supported him. How I would always be there for him if he needed me.

“Fancy something to eat yet?” he asked me, stroking a hand down my hair.

I considered it for a moment and realised that my headache had subsided, and I actually felt hungry.

“Yes, that sounds good. Although, I don’t know what I want.”

Zak narrowed his eyes on me. “You don’t know what you want? Are you actually my girlfriend?”

“Yes,” I giggled. “Why?”

“Because you should know exactly what you want to eat.” He nibbled at my jaw with his fingers digging into my hip. “What isourfood?”

I could feel him growing hard beneath me, and while any other time I would be racing him up to my bedroom, I was still feeling a little too delicate for that. As Zak’s mouth moved to my neck, I almost felt like I could give an equal contribution to sex, but my stomach growled and something sharp tapped my temple to remind me I would be less than useless.

“Chicken nuggets,” I whispered as I dropped my head back to give him better access to my neck. “I’m hungry for chicken nuggets.”

Zak smiled against my lips and gave my bum a squeeze. “There’s my girlfriend. I knew that she was in there somewhere.”Like some sort of sexy book hero, he stood with me still in his lap and carried me to the door, his mouth on mine the whole time.

“You know, you’re very lovely,” I told him.

Chuckling, he hoisted me further up his body and nipped my ear before whispering, “And so are you. Very, very lovely. Now let’s get chicken nuggets.”

And my hangover subsided just a little bit more.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Will

Maddy was in bed after a trip out to get food with Zak hadn’t gone too well. Apparently, she’d felt fine while she ate her chicken nuggets and drank her chocolate milkshake, but as soon as they’d got back in Zak’s car, she’d thrown up in a carrier bag. Good on Zak, I say, for having the brains to put a couple in the dashboard of his mum’s Mini.

It did mean, however, that Maya and I were alone, and not spending it with my daughter and her boyfriend as we’d planned.

“She’s okay,” Maya said giving me a smile as she came into the kitchen. “Says she just wants to sleep, so we should eat without her.”

I stopped chopping onions, pausing to drop a kiss to Maya’s forehead as she wound an arm around my waist.

“Thanks for checking on her.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s my pleasure.” She reached for a piece of pepper that I’d already cut up. “She does look sorry for herself.”

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