Page 82 of Taming You

I grin up at him. “Well, I’m glad I’m the one taming you.”

His smile matches mine. “Me, too.”

He kisses me softly, and I hum against his lips as I lean into him. I fight the desire to stay wrapped in his arms.

“I should get home, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I whisper, and he nods.

“Text me when you get home.”

Matt doesn’t release me until I agree, his protective side needing to know I’m safe.

I groan as my phone rings Friday morning. I roll over and see the time on the screen. It’s only 6 a.m. Matt’s name and picture fill the screen. I know Matt wouldn’t be calling me this early if it wasn’t important.

“What’s wrong?” I answer.

“Jayden’s sick. Like super sick. I have no idea what I’m doing.” Matt is freaking out.

“Okay. He’s going to be okay. Let me get up, and I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Zo.”

“Of course. Everything is going to be fine.”

Matt sighs and says, “Okay.”

I hang up and throw a few extra things in my partially packed bag I had sitting on my reading chair. I quickly change into some clothes and rush out of the house and over to Matt’s.

CHAPTER 32

Zoey

When I finally get to Matt’s, he looks like he’s on the verge of a breakdown. Jayden is screaming at the top of his lungs, and I don’t think Matt’s slept a wink, which means Jayden probably hasn’t either. The look of utter relief on his face when he sees me has my heart breaking and soaring at the same time. Breaking because he looks so lost and soaring because just seeing me can bring him relief when he needs it most.

Without thinking, I go on my tiptoes and kiss him before wrapping my arms around him and holding him. His entire body is rigid, like he’s been wound so tight for so long he’s not sure how to relax. When his arms do wrap around me, some of the tension leaves his body.

“He’s going to be okay,” I whisper, and he nods against me.

When we finally pull apart, I head into the living room where Jayden is in his jolly jumper. He looks so unhappy. As soon as he sees me, he’s reaching for me. I pick him up and hold him close and can tell he has a slight fever. I ask Matt for the thermometer, and he brings it to me, telling me he took it earlier and it was one hundred and one degrees, so not in the hospital zone, but still warm. I take it again and get the same reading.

Matt sits on the couch with his head in his hands. I feel like he may break.

After a few minutes, he takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair. “He’s blowing out almost every diaper. I’ve changed him a few times and gone through almost all of his clothes because if he didn’t have a blowout, he’s puked. It’s been like this since 1 a.m. He woke up screaming, and I just haven’t been able to get him to calm down.”

I tilt my head to look at Jayden as I continue rubbing my hand over his back. “Are we sick, little man? We’re gonna get you all better.” I turn to Matt. “I’ve got him. Why don’t you throw his dirty clothes in the wash? He seems congested, too, so I’m going to take him to the bathroom and turn the shower on.”

He nods, and I head upstairs to one of the bathrooms and turn the shower on to high, waiting for the bathroom to fill with steam. After a few minutes, Jayden seems to calm a little, but he’s still not feeling well. As we step out of the bathroom and Matt comes up the stairs, he pukes all down my front and starts crying.

“Oh, it’s okay, baby.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Matt says, and I shake my head.

“It’s fine. I brought clothes, they’re in my bag in my car. My keys are in my purse, can you just grab the bag for me?”

He’s jogging down the stairs before I even finish. I take Jayden into the kitchen to see if I can maybe get him to eat some puree so we can keep something in him. He’s not happy when I put him in the highchair, but I need to reach into a cabinet to get his food.

When Matt comes back in, he pulls out a shirt and hands it to me. I take mine off, and he takes it from me before taking it into the laundry room. When Matt’s done, he picks Jayden up from his highchair, and he calms a little, but he keeps reaching for me. It seems to crush Matt a little.

“Do you want me to leave? Maybe call Liv?” I ask.

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