Page 21 of Attached At Heart
“Do you have a specialty area in mind?” she questioned, and I was just grateful she didn’t push me to explain more about what had happened years ago.
“I’ve actually been thinking about cardiology, too.”
“You can save a lot of lives by fixing hearts, can’t you?” she murmured, her voice like a soft, reassuring hug. Like she wanted to tell me that Iwouldsave lives.
I studied the sincerity of her expression. And the hue of her eyes as she watched me back.
“Yeah.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I think I’d definitely like to know more about hearts.”
CHAPTER FIVE
blake
DELANEY FELL ASLEEP ON the short trip from her apartment to mine, a natural result of how much wine she drank and her long-standing ability to pass out in any kind of moving vehicle.
She left me alone with my thoughts, alone to face the slow-sinking realization of our situation.
I needed to get a fucking grip. I needed to make a firm distinction in my head between the role I had just signed up to play for the next year and reality, which was that Delaney was mybestfriend, and nothing between us had changed or was going to change. The last thing I needed was for this fake marriage to go to my fucking head.
But clearly, it already had. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be carrying a sleeping Delaney in my arms as I maneuvered my way into my apartment. She’d only squirmed once when I picked her up out of the car, and maybe, just maybe, I could get her into my guest bedroom before she woke. That way, I could avoid saying any more shit tonight that would reveal too much about the realityof my thoughts and how they differed from the reality of our arrangement.
God, I wasn’t going to make it through the next year.
“What’s happening?”
Shit.
I could hear the fuzzy confusion in Delaney’s voice and sighed at how my chest ached when I looked down at her.
“You fell asleep in the car. Like you always do.”
The words came out sharper than I intended, but only because I was upset with myself. With the situation. With how much I liked the situation when I shouldn’t. Specifically our current situation, with her curled in my arms.
“Sorry,” Delaney muttered, a bit sheepish. Her cheeks flushed as she rubbed her eyes and glanced up at me. “You can put me down.”
That would be a good idea.
A very good idea.
But I had the undeniable urge to clarify to Delaney that I wasn’t upset withher. I wasn’t really surehowto be upset at Delaney. So I flashed her the best grin I could muster, considering the circumstances, and walked her through the apartment to the guest bedroom.
“But I’m carrying my bride over the threshold.”
She laughed the way I’d been hoping she would. “I think you’re supposed to wait to do that until after the wedding.”
I shrugged. “We’re a bit nontraditional, aren’t we?”
“Very true.” She glanced around the room, which was tragically basic but clean and tidy. The only person who had ever stayed in this room before was my niece, Chloe, who was probably the most pragmatic nine-year-old to ever exist. When I asked her what color throw pillows I should get for the bed, she replied they should be black to match the rest of my lifeless style. “Nontraditional, like having two separate beds,” Delaney added.“I’m assuming this isn’t your room, otherwise youreallyneed some decor, Blake.”
“It’s the guest room that you can have,” I said, but the words scraped my throat as they emerged. “I think nontraditional will work out best for you, considering I…snore.”
“Really?”
No, not really. I didn’t snore.
“Why do you sound surprised?” I shrugged. “It’s not like we’ve slept together before.”
The minute the sentence was out, I regretted it. Heat licked its way up my body as I tried desperately to keep my thoughts in check and not let them linger on my words—on the idea of sleeping with Delaney.
