We are.
But that’s about to change.
Turning around, I grab a blanket from the closet and cover her with it. Then I leave the room altogether because every cell in my body is screaming at me to get in that bed with her. To snuggle up to her, hold her against me, and comfort her. Tobe with her.
Doing that without her consent would be a dick move. She tensed up when I simply kissed her cheek. I don’t think she’d welcome my entire body wrapped around her while she sleeps.
Leaving her here alone, however, is out of the question, so I walk out to the kitchen and grab a chair, then return to the room and sit in it, right next to the bed. I’ll respect her space, but I’m not leaving her side.
Not ever again.
“Brooks?”
Someone is nudging my leg. When I open my eyes, I see Juliet’s hand touching my shin where I’ve rested my feet on the bed, and she’s looking at me with a frown on her beautiful face.
My neck is killing me, and my lower back isnothappy, but she’s touching me, so I refuse to move.
“You don’t have to stay in here.”
Her voice is a raspy whisper here in the dark. I check the time and see that it’s still the middle of the night. We fell asleep early, so I shouldn’t be surprised that she woke up.
“I’m fine right here,” I reply softly.
“You can’t be comfortable.”
“That doesn’t matter. I want to be near you.”
She lies back on the pillow, watching me in the moonlight. My leg is cold where her hand just was.
“Come here.” She pats the bed beside her. “You should lie down.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
I sit forward, pulling my legs off the bed, and rub my hands down my face.
“Because if I lie down next to you, I’ll want to hold you, and?—”
“Brooks. Get your butt over here.”
I watch her for a moment, but her gaze doesn’t falter. I stand and then lower myself next to her, keeping at least a foot between us. Jules wiggles onto her side to face me.
“Thanks for letting me come here tonight.”
“If I’d known what happened, I would have brought you here much sooner.”
She nibbles her lower lip, and I can’t resist reaching out to tug that lip free with my thumb. This is where she was always supposed to be. With me, in this house.
And now she’s here, lying on this bed with me, and it feels completely surreal. Nothing’s ever felt so right, yet unbelievable at the same time.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I ask her.
“I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rushing water. Scared the hell out of me. The pipe in the attic burst, and it ran for so long that it destroyed the floors, both upstairs anddownstairs. It’s a mess. I called the fire department because I didn’t know what to do, and Bridger came. Got the water and electric shut off.”
“So you’ve been living there for several days without water or power?”
“Just water. We got the power back on the next day after the water experts came in and drained most of it so I wouldn’t get electrocuted from walking across the floor.”
