Page 79 of Always Knew It Was You

I shake my head. “No Micah, I can’t let you–”

“I already did,” he says. “Dropped my card off with Gracie on the way out and told her to charge whatever insurance doesn’t pay for.”

I gape. “No, you didn’t.”

“No, but now I’m going to.” He leans down so we’re nose to nose. “You can’t stop me from taking care of my fake girlfriend.”

That drags a smile onto my face, but I step back. I still don’t trust this sudden kindness. “I don’t want you to pay for it though. And you shouldn’t have told them you were my boyfriend. My family… they’re kind of like vultures. If they feel like you have something to offer them, they’ll take and take and take and pick you clean until there’s nothing left.”

He snorts. “I’d like to see them try. Fortunately, I have a lot of money to blow through.” He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “I may not like your parents and I may think that they’re deadweight dragging you down, but for the very fact that you care for them, means I have to care for them too.”

I frown. “Why? Why do you have to?”

He shrugs. “I’m not sure. Believe it or not, I actually don’t know what’s going on here either, or why I came back running to you when it would have probably been better to move on. All I know is that here I am. Because I have to be. Because I missed you more than I’ve ever missed anyone in my life.”

My emotions tremble again, and a breath gets stuck in my throat.

I believe him. Maybe I shouldn’t but I do.

There’s no disguising the honesty in his eyes, the faintly confused but bemused expression as he speaks about something he can’t entirely describe.

But something I can totally relate to as well.

And perhaps that’s the thing that helps to melt away the last of my anger.

“Come with me,” he says. “You’re not doing them any good here and I want to give you a massage.”

I give him a look. “Really?

“Just a massage,” he assures me with a wicked smile. “I got a new massage bed brought to my room at the Marriot and I want you to try it out. I think it would help you with all your stress. Of course, if you want to jump my bones at any point during, I’m not going to push you off.”

“Yeah right.” I roll my eyes at his chuckle and weigh my options.

What to do now.

I could go back into the hospital but I’m not sure that would be the best idea. My mom’s in a mood and seems like she’s itching for a fight. Plus, they’ll all grill me about Micah and I’m not ready for that yet.

Alternatively, I could go home or to the Tiki Bar, but I’m not on shift today and I’ll just sit around and be bored. There’s nothing else for me to do either. Mrs. Peach is out with her friends and Emma is with Declan, and I really don’t want to be alone right now.

Something internally warns me that I’m about to make the wrong choice, but I still sigh and give in. “Fine. But no funny business.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a boy scout, were you?”

He grins mischievously.

Nevertheless, we return to Micah’s hotel suite and I walk in, admiring the understated elegance of the room. It’s not much compared to the hotel room we got in New York and it’s not even close to Micah’s penthouse. But it’s nice and spacious, with taupe and brown accents, tasteful paintings hung up on the wall, and the faint scent of lavender lingering in the air.

It also has a massage bed smack dab in the living room.

Micah gestures to it with an elaborate flourish.

“Feel free to lay down,” he says. “We can do it clothed, but I’ll tell you that it’s far more effective if you’re nude.”

“Yeah, in your dreams,” I murmur and he laughs again.

I climb onto the massage bed with his assistance, following his directions to lie flat on my back.

---