Page 148 of Tapped

He climbs in bed next to me and splays a hand across my abdomen. “Chase is finally asleep.”

I roll to my side so we’re facing each other. “Did he ask any questions? He’s too smart for his own good. I don’t think he bought my story that I stepped on glass and slipped.”

“I doubt he’s ever seen you fall. The only thing he sees you do is bust your ass working or twisting yourself into a pretzel on a yoga mat. But no, he didn’t ask any questions. Well, he did. He asked a fuck ton of them. Just not about you falling or why we were late coming home. I distracted him with football talk.”

My expression relaxes into a relieved smile. “Thank you. And thank you for putting him to bed—that’s not the easiest task. I have a newfound appreciation for my patients when they have trouble walking. These crutches are going to drive me crazy for the next week or two.”

The gash in the bottom of my foot was deep. I have another set of stitches thanks to my ex-husband. These are worse than the ones on my hip, because I can’t put any pressure on my leg. The doctor said I’d be on crutches for at least two weeks—maybe three.

Once Micah loaded me up in the car to bring me home, I told him I planned to ditch the damn crutches after a week. I know my body. I’ll up my protein, and I’m a fast healer anyway.

He shook his head and muttered something under his breath about me being the worst patient in history.

I can’t deny that he’s right.

But I’m done.

All I want is a fresh start with Chase and Micah. I have no desire to get back to normal.

Normal was hell.

I’m ready to do anything and everything to make sure I never live normal again.

Though getting shot and kidnapped isn’t what I was looking for.

I’m ready for happy.

Micah pulls me back to the present. “Your mom thinks we’re BFFs. She’s called me three times in the two hours since your dad and brother dragged her out of here. I finally convinced her that I can answer Chase’s questions and convince him to go to bed. Shoot straight with me, baby, do I look like that much of an idiot that I can’t take care of a kindergartner?”

I fist his T-shirt and pull, but since he’s well over two-hundred pounds of solid muscle, he doesn’t budge. I scoot closer to him and fit my body to his. “You’re more than welcome to silence her contact on your phone. We’ve all had to do it from time to time. She’s demanding.”

He wraps his arm around me and presses his lips to my forehead. “Are you trying to get me kicked out of the club? I’m the new guy. That sounds like the worst advice ever.”

I tip my face to his and steal a kiss. “I won’t allow anyone to kick you out. You’re stuck, Micah Emmett, and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

His hand slides south to my ass. “You’re sure you can’t stay home tomorrow?”

I shake my head. “It’s Friday—I only have appointments until noon. I can manage that long. I promise to lay around all weekend and do my best to entertain Chase from the sofa.”

Micah brushes a thumb under the scrapes on my cheek as his eyes roam my face. “How’s your head?”

I wrap my hand around his. “It’s fine, I promise. No headache. No concussion. This isn’t me being a bad patient. The doctor at the ER said so.”

He pulls in a deep breath, and I feel it from my breasts to my thighs and everywhere in between. “You make it hard not to worry about you, baby. Do you know how badly I want to lock you up and keep you here for a year to make sure there aren’t any more ghosts from the past to sneak up on you?”

This isn’t the first time he’s said something like that. He’s repeated it over and over in many forms from the time he carried me out of that warehouse. “Please stop. It’s not your fault.”

The conversation takes a turn. “Slow is a relative word. I thought slow would be good for you and Chase. Before I knew you were okay today, I hated myself for taking things slow. If anyone knows that tomorrow might not look like today, it’s me. I’m done with slow, and I hope to hell you’re on board.”

When I tense in his arms, his muscles constrict around me. It’s instant and instinctive, like he’s holding onto me so I don’t disintegrate before his eyes.

“You’ll have to explain what on board means,” I whisper.

He does not whisper. His words are rough and gritty and come straight from his heart. “What I mean is we’re making this official as soon as we can. You hooked up with a guy who is not good at romance, baby. I’m not prepared. But before I found you today, I swore to myself that if you were okay, I wasn’t going to waste another minute. I don’t have a ring tucked away, and I don’t know how you want to handle this with Chase. But, right here, between you and me, I need to know that you’re mine. I love you, and I can’t take another minute not knowing that you’ll be mine forever.”

Tears form for the second time today, but these are the good kind. I can’t form words.

But I do nod.

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