Page 105 of That One Heartbreak

I’m on my way. – Marley

She heard the rumble of his truck’s engine about ten minutes later. And it was a little confusing because he usually ran over so nobody saw his truck parked outside.

Maybe he was making a point. They were going to go official soon. She shouldn’t care that his truck was outside her house all night. And right now she didn’t. She just wanted to be in his arms again.

When she heard him start to climb up, her heart started thudding against her chest the way it always did. And at thesame time her muscles relaxed. She’d been on edge all day. Ethan was a good patient, but he was understandably whiny and kept asking when he could go to the pool with his friends.

“Soon,” she promised. “Let’s get a few days of rest, then you can dangle your legs in.” She’d already ordered a waterproof arm cover online, but she wanted him to take it easy. Even if his arm was covered, his friends were boisterous and a hit to his arm could cause him extreme pain.

So yeah, she was being a mom and putting her foot down right now. And putting up with Ethan’s moaning was way better than him getting hurt again.

Marley climbed easily into the bedroom, his feet landing on her carpet with a thud, before he stood and ran his hands through his hair.

And of course her heart did a little loop the loop. Everything about this man set her on fire.

“Hi,” she said softly.

His eyes caught hers. “Hi.”

She was wearing a pair of short pajamas because the heat had taken it up a notch this week. She reached out her hand but he didn’t take it.

“How’s Ethan?” he asked.

“The same as when you asked an hour ago,” she teased. “Asleep and fine.”

Marley nodded, looking relieved. “Did you change his dressing today?”

“Yes.” It was like being lectured by a parent. Kind of endearing but a pain in the ass. Still, she couldn’t help but smile. “And I’ll do it tomorrow, too.” With every dressing change, she had to coat his skin with the ointment the hospital had given her. He hated it.

“Good.” Marley pressed his lips together. “I took a look at the garage last night. There’s some charring in there. I’ll bring Presover next weekend and we’ll make it like new. In the meantime, I’ll get rid of the grill.”

“Is it ruined?”

“I mean it’s pretty damaged, yeah. But I assumed you wouldn’t want it, anyway.”

“There’s no need for you to do that,” she told him. “I can arrange for them to take it away when I buy a new one.”

“You’re still gonna have a grill after what happened with Ethan?” Marley’s brows pulled tight. “Is that wise?”

She started to laugh. He was joking, right? “How else am I gonna cook burgers in the summer?”

But Marley wasn’t smiling at all. “That thing hurt your child. It’s irresponsible to have a grill near him.”

She blinked, shocked by the turn in conversation. “I’m sorry?” Because clearly she hadn’t heard right.

Marley pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not saying it right.” He let out a low breath. “If Ethan’s fixated on smores, maybe you shouldn’t keep the temptation so close.”

“That’s not how it works,” she told him. “You don’t teach a kid how to behave by taking temptation away. That takes away their decision making. Ethan’s learned his lesson. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be using the grill any time soon. Pain does that to a person.”

“But why take the risk?” Marley asked her. “Why would you do that?”

She felt breathless at his question. Like he was calling her a bad mother without saying it. And yeah, it put her on edge, because she was already beating herself up about Ethan’s burns. She didn’t need him to do it, too.

“You want me to take the oven and fireplace out too?” she asked him.

“No, that would be stupid.”

Oh boy. “So would not having a grill. I’m not removing things every time the kids do something wrong. Hell, there’d be no electrical sockets after they tried to put their fingers in them as toddlers. No baths after James slipped on the edge and cut his head open when he was six. We wouldn’t have knives in the house, or stairs, because Addy once slipped down them. Did you know that?” Ooh, the annoyance was rising up in her. “You want me to take the stairs out, too?”

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