Page 91 of Simply Yours

“You still have to marry me.”

“I don’thaveto do any such thing.”

His smirk softened. “Do youwantto?”

She swallowed hard, the teasing falling away as the weight of the question settled between them. Then, gently, she reached up, brushing her fingers through his hair, letting them linger against the rough line of his jaw.

“More than anything,” she whispered.

Jason exhaled like he had been holding his breath for years.

“Pregnant, huh?” she teased, her voice barely above a murmur.

His grin returned, slow and lazy. “I think maybe we’re both done waiting for our lives to begin. And I know I’d love to chase a little girl with pigtails and big green eyes—teach her how to swim in the creek, how to pick up a crawdad, let her pet the baby chickens…”

“One of those barefoot Baird kids who run around like wild animals?”

“One can only hope,” he said solemnly, then gave her that devilish grin again. “And I knew you were interested.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “So when’s this happening in your mind? A week? A month?”

“Nah—today.”

Caitlin’s heart nearly stopped.“What?!”

“I texted my family and told them to be here at eleven with the pastor.”

She gaped at him. “You did what?”

Jason chuckled, completely unbothered. “Can’t have people thinking our kids were born on the wrong side of the bed. Can you imagine the scandal? Yonder is a small town, after all.”

She stared at him, still processing. Then, slowly, she smiled.

“Where did this guy come from?” she murmured, half in awe.

Jason’s expression softened, his fingers tracing the inside of her wrist. “He’s always been here,” he said quietly. “Struggling to get out. I’m just glad you see me—the real me—and love me regardless.”

Her throat tightened. “Oh, I do,” she whispered. “I really, really do.”

His thumb brushed over her knuckles, his touch reverent. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better, Catnip,” he murmured. “But don’t ever scare me like that again.”

She laced her fingers through his. “I promise.”

* * *

The doctor arrived shortly after ten a.m., making his rounds just as Caitlin pushed away the remnants of whatever had passed for breakfast on her tray. The eggs had been rubbery, the toast dry, but she hadn’t really been focused on food anyway. Jason, however, had been watching her like a hawk—his gaze flicking from her face to the doctor’s clipboard as the man rattled off medical jargon about lingering effects from the bite.

Jason, ever the protector, was already shifting in his seat, bristling. “Side effects? What kind of side effects?”

The doctor sighed, flipping a page. “A little pain, maybe some soreness for a few more days. The prescription should help with that.”

Jason's frown deepened. His fingers tightened on the edge of her hospital bed, and Caitlin could see the wheels turning in his mind, running calculations, weighing consequences. He wasn’t just worried about her comfort—he was already thinking ahead, likely wondering what this meant fortheirnight,theirfirst night together as husband and wife.

Their eyes met.

A silent conversation passed between them in that instant—one that made her cheeks heat, one that promised there would be a veryrealdiscussion about this later, when they weren’t in the middle of a hospital room with a doctor present.

But before Jason could say anything—beforeshecould say anything—the door swung open.

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