Page 83 of The Marriage Agreement (Agreement)

“Good.” I pull her to me. “So, what’s with the makeup? Any outing plans with my crazy brother?” I’ve come to accept him as her usual partner in crime.

“No outing. Vanessa just used my face to practice her technique. I was her model,” she answers as she unwraps the gift basket.

“Tell Vanessa I’m going to need payment for my wife’s modeling work.”

“Very funny, Luke,” she laughs. I smack her ass. I’m so lucky to be able to do it whenever I want. “This is some good stuff. Mrs. Grayson’s son went all out.” She grins. “A man after my heart,” she says, opening one of the chocolate boxes, and two unwrapped chocolates go into her mouth. The unexpected constriction in my chest alarms me. I know her words are casual, and it’s all about the chocolate display, but the fact that the Levi guy couldn’t stop staring at her annoys and concerns me at the same time. I need Bruce to work faster.

Chapter 54

LUKE

The next afternoon, as promised, Dele and I visit Mrs. Grayson, who seems pleased and grateful to Dele. She tells us that she has told everyone about Dele saving her and how thankful she is. The fact that she’s telling everyone makes me cringe, but I put on a smile and agree with her that I’m proud of my wife. Levi doesn’t say much, but his eyes seem to zone in on mine and Dele’s connected hands. As soon as Mrs. Grayson starts to yawn, Dele says she needs her rest, and we get up to leave.

The doorbell rings as we head to the door. Lily walks in, smiling and hugging Levi, then turns to see Dele and me. I pull Dele close to me.

“What a surprise to see you here,” she says to me, ignoring Dele.

“I could say the same of you.”

“You two know each other?” Levi asks.

“Yes, Luke and I dated,” she offers with a sad laugh. “But we still work together,” she adds, and I turn a stern look toward her.

“Small world. Lily and my sister went to college together, and Dele saved mom,” Levi offers his own unsolicited connections.

“Well, have a good evening,” I say, taking Dele’s hand. She waves at Levi and follows me out.

“Do you still work with Lily?” Dele asks right as the elevator opens. Her voice is low, and her head is down. We get on, and I lift her face to look at me. I need her to know I have nothing with Lily.

“We still have a few projects with McIntyre, but I’ve delegated them to my team. The last project we worked late on, I’ve canceled. She’s bitter about it, but she’ll live.” Dele nods and doesn’t say much. Our evening is quiet, which I don’t like, especially with my travel plans coming up. I keep her close to me all evening, the more she tries to pull away.

Chapter 55

DELE

I sit for a moment. Today has been nonstop at the ER. I’m tired. My nipples are tender, which I can’t understand. I’ve adjusted my bra a few times today. The text from my brother doesn’t help my mind. We haven’t talked in a while; he’s asking if I’m still sticking with the plan. Truth is, he’s right.

I’m choosing Luke.

I want to be with Luke. I want a future with him. He did say he loves me, and I believe him, but crazy Lily and my trust issues with men are tying my tongue, stopping me from saying it back to him. Maybe I need to say it to believe it and manifest it into our lives. I’ll tell him when he returns from this trip.

One more hour, and I’m out. I’m already dreaming of my bed and some sexy talk with Luke. I smile just thinking of our nightly conversations. A good thing Martin dropped me off this morning, which means I’ll get a ride home. I can barely stay awake these days. Tomorrow will be my rest day. I hear the ER door open; the paramedics are bringing someone in. I get upand see Curtis, the patient I call “giant baby.” I work with the paramedics to transfer him to bed.

“I see you can’t stop coming to visit me, Curtis, or you just love this place,” I joke with the boy I call “giant baby,” who's a frequent flyer at the ER. Once he doesn’t take his meds, which is often because he dislikes the side effects. According to him, the meds make him slow in playing baseball, and as he’s always said to me, baseball is all he lives for. I’ve often tried to change his thinking that he can be more than just baseball, but he’s too young to understand.

“How else do I get to see the most beautiful woman if I don’t make an excuse to be sick?” He smiles. This young, and he’s already a flirter.

“You got jokes, giant baby,” I laugh with him as I get ready to inject him with his meds prescribed by the doctor. It all happens so fast—before I can inject him, he jerks and pushes me hard. I stumble into the equipment.

Everything makes a loud crash in the room. I try to get up, and before I can balance myself, he comes at me and kicks me, then picks me up and throws me.

“I don’t want medication!” giant baby shouts at me.

My head hits something hard, and I black out.

When I open my eyes, I’m in a hospital bed with doctors checking on me. “You had us worried for a second there,” Jax says to me.

“What happened?” I ask with all my strength, though it is barely a whisper.

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