Page 60 of Jam and Jingle Bells
I nodded with exaggeration. “I did hear the doctor, but I also heard the nurse anesthetist who said you might be dizzy and off-balance for another twenty-four hours.”
“The yoga instructor is going to be off-balance,” he teased.
I climbed out and shook my head. If possible, he was a worse patient than the entire hospital combined. By the time I got back there this morning to pick him up, he had the nurses pulling their hair out and the doctors laughing. There was independent and then there was Ellis David.
I opened the car door and motioned him out. He slung his right arm over my shoulder and pretended to lean heavily on me. His new ICD was in his left chest and he couldn’t raise that arm above his head. He kissed my cheek and winked at me, and I was forced to smile.
“You’re the one who should be on Santa’s naughty list.” I laughed and unlocked the side door. “You drove those nurses crazy.”
“With my crazy good looks and my crazy charm,” he answered, stepping in the door. We took our boots off and climbed the stairs together where I unlocked the apartment door.
“Are you sure it’s okay to be here?” I asked, holding the door open for him. “You have to go down the stairs to use the bathroom.”
He closed the door and pushed me up against it. “Addie, stop. I’m okay and the stairs aren’t a problem. I just appreciate you lending me your spare room. Without your help, I’d be in deeper trouble than I already am.”
I slid my hand up his face to caress his cheek. “I know you’re worried about the expense and the business, but don’t be. Bells Pass has you with the business and I have your heart.”
He let a smile tip his lips. “You do have my heart. All of it.” Then his lips took over and his tongue stroked mine in a kiss of bridled passion.
“Ellis,” I said around his lips. “You have to stop. Remember, no strenuous exercise.”
He pulled back and eyed me, one brow in the air. “Kissing isn’t strenuous exercise. Kissing you calms my heart.” I gave him a brow back and he shrugged, standing up straight. “I’m not kidding. Every time we kiss it’s like my heart doesn’t feel so tight. That’s the best way I can describe it.”
I suddenly understood what he meant and smiled. “You know what, I feel the same way, along with a steady underlying layer of desire that usually leaves me hot and bothered long after you walk out the door.”
He moaned and rested his head against my forehead. “Thanks for that. You’re trying to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”
I shrugged and ducked around him. “Who me?” I joked, flipping on a lamp in the living room.
He caught my arm and twirled me back to him. “Yes you, beautiful,” he said, kissing me again. When he pulled back, he slid his hand through his hair and sighed. “I knew moving in with you was going to be a mistake. I warned you, I can’t keep my hands off you.”
“Your bedroom door has a lock,” I said over my shoulder as I walked to it.
He followed me and peeked inside. “Addie, what did you do?” He walked into the room and sat on the twin bed along the wall. “How did you get all my stuff here?”
I leaned against the doorjamb. “When Mel and Ivy heard you were in the hospital, they just kind of took over. Shep and Ivy had a spare bed, so the guys moved it in while Ivy filled the fridge. I don’t think we’ll have to cook for about three weeks.” I winked and he smiled, patting the bed next to him.
He put his arm around me and kissed my temple when I sat. “And my clothes?”
“That was me early this morning. I didn’t think you wanted the women from the diner digging through your underwear drawer.”
He jiggled with laughter and shook his head. “I appreciate that, thank you. I appreciate this. I appreciate them. Mostly, I appreciate you. This bed is super comfy, but it would be better if you were in it.”
I grinned and kissed his temple back. “No strenuous activity for at least a week, remember?”
“Oh, trust me, I’m counting down the days,” he promised, his eyes twinkling. “Seriously, Addie. Thank you. This town is really something else, but you’re just an angel.”
“Not an angel, Ellis. Trust me. But I do look out for the people I love, so I don’t want you to get mad at me for what I’m about to tell you.”
He raised one brow and sighed at me. “It would take a lot for me to get mad at you.”
“Maybe you should hold that thought until you hear this. It seems that Mrs. Tims and Audrey also heard you were in the hospital.”
“Oh boy,” he said, shaking his head. “Probably, the better question is what didtheydo?”
“They called Mrs. Tims’s grandson who apparently knows a guy who knows a guy who does yoga.”
He buried his head in his hand and shook it. “Seriously?”
