Page 76 of The Shape of my Scar
He didn’t answer at first. He just adjusted the fabric gently, tucked the blanket around her legs, and set a full glass of water on her nightstand Then he sat there for a beat, unmoving.
His voice, when he spoke, was quiet and raw, like it had clawed its way out of him. “I’d ruin everything I have for you.”
She froze.
He adjusted the pillow under her arm. “Clothes. Plans. Sanity,” he went on, eyes pinned to her mouth but not quite meeting her eyes. “You think it’s just a few T-shirts? You have no idea what you do to me. How much I’m willing to do. How far I would go to keep you here.”
The breath caught in her throat.
“You rule me,” he said, a thread of quiet awe in his voice. He caught hold of her free hand and brought her palm to his lips before sliding it to his cheek.
She didn’t know what to say.
He reached out once more, brushing her hair back from her forehead. His fingers lingered longer than they should have, trembled more than he’d like.
“I’ll be in the office,” he murmured as he stood and walked out, closing the door with a softclick.
But hours later, in the small aching dark, she felt the bed dip.
She felt the warm weight of his body behind hers.
The slow, familiar wrap of his arm around her waist. As if he was afraid she would wake up and send him away.
The faintest exhale against her nape.
He crept back in. And he wouldn’t leave.
Chapter 36
Over the course of the day, it became obvious that Thane was hyper-focused on her.
He didn’t leave.
He hovered, orbiting around her like she was his sun. Always within reach.Just in case I stubbed a toe or sneezed wrong, she thought crankily.
It would’ve been endearing if it weren’t borderline maddening.
The next day, he reluctantly relented and allowed Cormac to visit. Cormac, as expected, wasted no time. From the moment he walked in, the jabs began.
But Thane didn’t bite. Not until the very end, when he said, completely deadpan, “Since you’re going to be my brother-in-law, we should try to get along.”
It shattered Cormac. He stood there with his mouth hanging open at the audacity when Thane closed the door on him and locked it with a satisfied smile on his face.
He shrugged when Faolan gave him a look.
One week later, on the day her slab came off, Callum and Arthur dropped by later with huge smiles on their faces and pastries from her favourite store.
“We come bearing carbs,” Callum announced, holding the box like it was a trophy.
She lit up, eyes wide as a child. “Please tell me there’s almond croissants.”
“There’s almond, pistachio, raspberry jam, and chocolate,” Arthur said. “We remember your priorities.”
She dove into the box with childlike glee, but not before offering the box to Thane first.
“What do you like?” she asked, offhandedly.
He looked surprised, like he didn’t expect her to ask. “Chocolate.”
