Page 201 of Boyfriend of the Hour
“You’ll be all right,” he said. “Meniscectomies are usually very quick to heal. You’ll be walking around the same day. Most patients heal completely in four to six weeks, and then you can work with a PT to get back into dancing shape.”
“Yeah, but…but…four to six weeks is more than a month without you!” I almost shouted as I sat up straight.
The bathrobe fell apart, baring a bit more of my chest than was strictly decent. Nathan clearly noticed, but was too much of a gentleman to ogle.
He turned to face me and gently pulled the collar of my robe closed, but didn’t release it. Instead, he used it to pull me close, kiss me again, and nuzzle my face, like he knew just what would calm me down.
It worked. But only to calm my tone—not the passion behind it.
“Do I make you happy?” I asked him. “Honestly. If I’m more of a problem, then I don’t want to add to what you already have. But would having me around make you happy, even if it’s with your parents?”
Nathan’s eyes shone bright. “It would. You make me happier than I ever thought possible.”
“Then you’re not doing this alone,” I said, grabbing his collar right back so he couldn’t turn away. “I’m coming with you.”
“Joni, my family—they won’t be kind to you?—”
“I don’t care about that,” I interrupted, though the idea of spending quality time with a woman who had basically called me a whore and a dude who shared my most intimate business with everyone didn’t sound amazing.
But there was no way I was letting my kind, sweet Nathan walk into that mess alone. Absolutely not.
“You’re not doing this alone,” I told him again. “I don’t know what I can do to help, but I’ll figure out something. Even if it’s just being there.”
I kissed him again, and this time, he didn’t stop me. Didn’t argue. Just kissed me back.
“Besides,” I told him once we finally managed to break apart. “You’re heading back into a lion’s den, so you’ll need someone with claws on your side. I grew up in a family full of cats, baby. My claws are razor sharp.”
FORTY-ONE
SISTERS IN ORDER OF MOST TO LEAST ANNOYING (TODAY)
#2 Lea. Still a nag but i luv her
“All right, Joni. I want you to count down from one hundred, starting now.”
The anesthesiologist had a nice voice, but not as nice as Nathan’s. I glanced up toward the mirrored windows at the top of the operating room. Nathan was there, watching, he said. He would be there the whole time.
“Okay,” I murmured, my voice already slurring. “One hundred, ninety-nine…”
I blinked.The room was hazy. The color of eggshells just cracked. Maybe the lace in Nonna’s wedding dress. Where was Nonna, anyway?
Oh, Italy. Right.
A moan in my throat. I didn’t remember making it.
“Go ahead and sleep a little more, sweetie. We’ll be here when you wake up.”
I tried to stay awake, but it didn’t work. Just a little more rest. Just a little more…
“Joni?”
A warm hand covered mine, the touch slightly electric, even through the haze that still seemed to cover my bones and run through my blood.
I blinked. And blinked again. The recovery room in the surgical wing at Mt. Sinai looked exactly like I remembered it. Which is to say, nothing like Nonna’s wedding dress.
I pushed myself up in the hospital bed in my bay but had to stop. I felt dizzy.
Immediately, the hand on mine squeezed. “Take it easy. You’re just waking up.”
