Page 39 of I Found You
Wyatt was pulling my car into my driveway in what felt like seconds. He rounded the car to take Jane out of her car seat, but I had an overwhelming need to hold her to me, so I told him I would get her. We made our way inside, and I collapsed on my sofa with Jane in my arms. She’d had fluids while we were at the hospital, but I wanted to give her a bottle, change her diaper, and get her into pajamas.
As if he could read my mind, Wyatt appeared with a newly made bottle in his hands. Jane drank about half as much as she usually would, but considering she was still sick and had already been pumped with fluids, I considered it a win.
“I need to get up and get Jane ready for bed, but my legs are just so heavy,” I said. My voice sounded whiny, even to my ears, so I quickly clarified, “Not that I’m complaining. At least we’re home, and Jane can recuperate in peace.”
“Maeve, take a minute to fucking rest. You’ve had a helluva day. I got some rest in the waiting room. Why don’t I get Jane changed and into some pajamas?”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I can imagine your day has been pretty stressful as well.”
He stood from the sofa, his arms outstretched to take Jane. I gave her a big squeeze and a kiss to her head before I handed her off to him.
“Thank you, Wyatt. Her pajamas are in my room, top drawer of the stacked organizer. Just put her in a short-sleeve onesie.” This man was too good to be true. Every time I needed something, he was there for me.
He walked upstairs with her cradled against him. I debated about allowing my gaze to track him up the stairs just for the view, but my heavy lids won out, and my eyes closed.
I must have nodded off because when I opened my eyes, it was half past one in the morning. Wyatt must have put Jane to sleep and left quietly. I hauled myself up from the sofa and went to use the bathroom. Most of my earlier makeup had been cried away, but I washed my face anyway and brushed my teeth.
I forced myself up the stairs to my bedroom. I didn’t want Jane to sleep alone without supervision. The doctors told me that she was going to be fine, but I still didn’t like the idea of not having eyes on her at all times.
Apparently, I shouldn’t have worried about Jane sleeping alone because she was not. Wyatt had never left. He was on my bed, atop the light blanket that I liked to sleep with. He had taken off his boots and placed them neatly by the bed. Beside his boots lay his shirt in a messy heap, as if he’d thrown it off rather than taking it off and folding it. His chest roseand fell in a mesmerizing pattern, taking Jane along for the ride as she slumbered on top of him, her head resting on the tattoo across his pec. His right arm was wrapped around her to keep her safe from falling.
My chest ached at the sight of him. Them. I thought about waking him up, but he looked so peaceful. I moved Jane to her own bed as gently as I could so as to not wake either of them. Usually, I would sleep in my underwear and lounge bra, but that wasn’t about to happen if I was going to share a bed with Wyatt.
Maybe I’ll just sleep downstairs in the spare room.
That thought didn’t sit well though. I wanted Wyatt to know that he was free to go whenever he woke. That I would be there for Jane.
As quietly as I could, I dug through my pajama drawer and came up with a small pair of sleep shorts and my Bridgewater State University tee. Wyatt had already seen me in this getup the first day we met, so I figured it was a safe bet. Keeping an eye on Wyatt to make sure he was sleeping, I stripped out of my clothes and into the pajamas as fast as possible. My heart was beating wildly as I approached the bed. What if Wyatt woke up next to me and thought I was a crazy person for just assuming we would share a bed? Maybe he would want me to wake him.
No, don’t be ridiculous.We were both adults. When Wyatt woke up, he could, sadly, put his clothes back on and leave. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. It wasn’t like I was trying to jump his bones. We were just going to be sleeping together. Next to each other.
I flipped the blanket down and slid onto my bed. As soon as I started to relax, I could feel the tears well up again. I didn’tbother wiping them away before drifting off to sleep.
At some point during the night, I must have pushed the blanket off and managed to get myself on top of it instead of under it. Which was really a shame. Partly because the weight of the blanket usually helped me sleep better, but mostly because had I stayed under the blanket, I wouldn’t have woken to find myself wrapped around Wyatt like a koala. My left leg was crossed over his left leg, my upper body nearly on top of his, chest to chest. My arm was slung around him, my hand resting on his tattoo. I was pretty sure I drooled on him.
Swallowing hard, I started to extricate myself from him with agonizing slowness so as to not wake him up. As I started to move my leg, I brushed up against his hard length.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Wyatt said as his hand grabbed mine and held it in place on his chest.
“I’m so sorry. I… I have to check on Jane. She didn’t wake in the middle of the night.”
“I can see her. She’s still sleeping. Her breathing looks good. Face is a little pink, but better than yesterday.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” I tried to pull my hand away from his so I could give us both some space.
“Five more minutes,” he said. I hadn’t thought about where his other arm was while he was holding on to my hand, at least not until I felt his hand brush up my back under my T-shirt. I sucked in a breath at his touch.
“Wyatt,” I warned.
“Maeve.” His voice was all playful cockiness.
I rolled away from him on the bed carefully and moved to sit up, my face probably now more pink than Jane’s. He moved to get up too, the bed dipping and bouncing with hisshifting weight. “I really am sorry about that. That was a bit mortifying.”
“Maeve. Look at me.” He was no longer using that playful, smug tone. He sounded serious. My heart sank as a thousand thoughts about how inappropriate I was flooded my brain.
My head was down as I turned to face him. He was standing by the bed, his shirt in his hand, but he hadn’t put it on yet. I wanted to spend a second longer admiring him, but I forced my gaze up to meet his.
His eyes darkened, and the expression on his face changed from irked to intense. “If you don’t stop apologizing for every little thing, I’m going to have to teach you a lesson the only way I know how.”
