He takes a seat on the ottoman. “Nothing will make me happier than to get to the bottom of this, so your superintendent rots in jail.”
“If what you say is true, I hope the asshole wears an orange jumpsuit for the rest of his life.”
I change position so my feet land on the floor.
I cradle the blanket to my chest. “Other than my best friend, no one has ever gone to bat for me like that. It means a lot to me.” My voice breaks. “Since meeting her, she’s been my ride or die.”
“Since I live here in the good old USA and I’m not pregnant with triplets, let me be your ride or die.” He taps his flat stomach.
I didn’t see that coming.
I laugh.
For the first time in forever, my tears have nothing to do with sorrow or humiliation.
“You might not smile much, but you sure know how to make me laugh,” I say wiping my eyes. “If your second career as a restaurateur, ice cream shop co-owner, and craft beer brewery owner don’t pan out, you should try comedy.”
“I tip my hat in respect to the men and women who excel at that profession, but I’m sure as hell not one of those people,” he says. “I’d rather take a job as part of a reproductive control team that collects elephant semen all day long under the hot African sun than do stand-up comedy.”
I lose it.
I’m laughing so hard, I slap my hand against my thigh. “Oh, my God.” More uncontrollable laughter. “The— The visual— Eew. Priceless.”
Kaz stares at me, his expression stoic as always.
I regain my composure. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s good to see you laugh.”
I grin. “It’s good to laugh.”
“If you’re laughing, that means you’re no longer in pain.”
“The medicine I took when we got to your place helped with my period.”
“Give me a second, I’ll be right back.” He disappears and returns in a flash. “Since I never had to buy a ‘that time of the month care package’ for a woman, I wanted to make sure I got it right.”
What is he talking about?
“Worried ibuprofen wouldn’t be enough, I did a search to find out what else you might need.” He sits back down on the ottoman and drops two massive reusable shopping bags he’s holding at my feet. “I got you more ibuprofen. A hot water bottle.” He pulls out the first two items. “Herbal pain balm. An assortment of herbal teas. Lip balm for all that cringing in pain—the site’s post’s words. Not mine. Tampons and pads for different flows.” He pulls out each item one by one.
I gawk at him.
“I already have the comfy pillows and blankets. Same for your favorite ice cream, but I made sure to stock up on salty and sweet treats. I didn’t know which ones you preferred, so I got a variety. Oh, I also got corn kernels to make popcorn.” He moves his attention to the second bag, pulls items from it, and places them on the couch next to me. “I got you an assortment of chocolate bars—something about chocolate makes women happy and helps soothe the pain.”
It’s like the man raided a convenience store.
“And based on that article I read, I stopped by a bookstore to stock up on romance books. Since you mentioned hockey romance when we were in the Hamptons, I grabbed you the top sellers. The clerk who was helping me had a few other suggestions of top reads. I bought those as well. If you’d prefer toread something else, let me know and I’ll get it for you—or better yet, you can order the books online and have them delivered. I also got you gift cards, so you can keep reading to your heart’s content.”
I’m so shocked, I can’t speak.
He meets my gaze and frowns. “Is there anything I’m missing?”
I blink.
It’s like he bought a drugstore, convenience store, and a bookstore out of business.
“Harley?”
