Page 33 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“Ohhh…kay,” Tess said, watching him with big eyes. “I’ll take that as a thank

you.”

With his mouth full, he answered, “If I could get out of this bed right now, I’d kiss the ground you walk on. So, yeah, thank you.”

She flushed and ducked her chin. “Well…you’re welcome.” Clearing her throat, she turned away.

He watched her wring her hands behind her back in a fretting-type manner as she wandered around his room, inspecting all the medical gadgets hooked up to him.

“So, your therapist comes tomorrow to test your walking, huh?” she said suddenly, her expression hesitant as she glanced back at him.

Just like that, his good mood plummeted. He wished she hadn’t remembered that. The hamburger went dry in his throat, and he found it very hard to swallow. After taking a large drink, he nodded and focused his attention on his food so he wouldn’t have to meet her eyes.

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

She nodded as well. “So…is it numb or can you actually feel anything down there?”

Hardening his jaw, he glanced away. “I can feel everything.” A little too well.

“Well, that’s good.”

“Sure.” His voice was so bitter she whirled around to send him a concerned glance.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, drifting closer.

Stuffing his mouth with the last third of his hamburger, he shrugged. “Nothing.”

But she didn’t drop the issue. Setting her hand on his arm, she asked, “Are you scared?”

Wow, how had she nailed it on the first guess? Since that truth wasn’t something he could confess, he looked away and kept chewing somehow through clenched teeth.

“I know I would be.” When her soft fingers touched his hair, he closed his eyes tight and swallowed the rest of his food. “It’s okay, you know, if you are scared. You don’t have to be tough and strong. Everyone experiences fear, Jonah.”

When she lightly brushed his bangs across his forehead, he opened his lashes and looked up. Something warm and powerful squeezed in his chest. He let her play with his hair for a while before he spoke again.

“Can we do what we did last night and get to know each other some more?”

The way her face lit up and she sucked in a breath told him the night before had been meaningful to her too. The pressure inside his ribcage grew hotter.

Biting her lip, she whispered, “Sure.”

He grinned—beamed really—and scooted to the far edge of the bed, patting the open space as he went. “Well, then crawl up here, sweetheart, and let’s get started.”

“Wha—” Her expressive eyes grew wide before she glanced at his face and then the doorway of the room. “We didn’t do that last night.”

Her innocence was going to be the death of him. Honestly! He loved how shy and yet totally sensual she could be. “But I want you close.” He put on the begging eyes, and by damn if that didn’t work.

She glanced toward the door again, telling him how tempted she was.

“What if I bump something? Your leg. Aren’t you in pain?”

“Na.” He lifted his morphine button. “See this little doohickey here? That’s my pain reliever. If anything hurts, I push it, and bam, just like that, no more pain.”

She looked so intrigued by the morphine pump, he didn’t have the heart to tell her he hated pushing that button because it always knocked him out and gave him horrific dreams.

“Are you sure I’ll fit?”

“As tiny as you are?” He snorted and patted the bed again. “Of course. Now get your cute tush up here, woman, before I start crying. You don’t want me to cry, do you?”

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