“You’re a good big brother.” I nudged his arm and fought not to swoon at his shy smile.
“She’s a pain in the ass, but … I’d kill for my baby sister,” he whispered on a shrug. “But she’s smart and can take care of herself, and if something was really wrong, she’d tell me. When she visits and I can look her in the eye, I’ll get it out of her then.” His eyes darted to mine, his crystal blue orbs now shining with a little mirth.
“You sound like Kyle.” I laughed, thinking of his almost daily calls in the almost year since the divorce. “I guess you never stop being the big brother, right?”
“No, probably not. But she looks out for me, too.” His mouth flattened before he took in a long breath. “After my surgery, my … my girlfriend broke up with me.”
“That’s awful, Jack. I’m sorry. Right after surgery she did that?”
“She did it in the recovery room.” He let out a humorless laugh as my jaw dropped.
“Recovery room? What kind of a person does that?”
“Marina was always on the selfish side. But I guess not knowing what my future was, that she might have to actually take care of me and couldn’t be a firefighter’s girlfriend anymore, she couldn’t handle it. When I went home, I guess she had second thoughts and tried to see me.”
My jaw dropped. “That’s nerve. What did she say?”
A slow grin split his mouth. “My sister wouldn’t let her past the doorway. PJ ripped her a new one so badly Marina didn’t even get a chance to respond. I pretended I didn’t hear. I was in a … bad headspace at the time. But hearing that little pip-squeak yell at my ex-girlfriend and threaten to beat the shit out of her almost made me laugh.”
“Good. I hope PJ punched her, too.”
Jack’s gaze fell to the table as he shrugged. “I … actually don’t blame Marina that much. No one knew what my prognosis was at the time. If I had any residual nerve damage. It was a lot to —”
“That’s bullshit, Jack. If you love someone, all that doesn’t matter. She should’ve been grateful that you were alive and never left your side. It’s what I would have done.”
His head whipped around, his eyebrows raised.Shit, where the hell did that come from?
“I mean … I …” I stammered, unsure of how the hell to backtrack from that humiliating slip of the tongue. “She shouldn’t have had to think about whether or not she wanted to stick by you. You’re a great guy, Jack. No matter what kind of injury you had or what the future held, she should have realized being with you was a privilege, not an obligation.”
How deep could I dig this hole? Apparently, so deep I couldn’t see the surface anymore.
Jack’s lips twisted as if he was holding back a smile. I sucked in a shaky breath in a final attempt to clean up my word vomit.
“What I was trying to say was …” I trailed off when Jack picked up my hand and pressed a light, lingering kiss on my wrist. The air stilled in my lungs as my gaze stumbled to his, and this time, my mouth forgot to form any words.
“I know what you meant. And thank you.” Our fingers laced together, and I should have yanked my hand away. This tiny gesture shifted everything between us. The banter during his sessions and the long conversations after I could reason away as being friendly. This was more than only friendly. I still felt Jack’s lips on my skin. They were soft and wet, the stubble around his lips scraping my skin as he pulled away. I wondered how they tasted, how the bristles around his mouth would feel against my lips if he kissed me.
At the end of the day, he was my patient, and I was his therapist. The closeness we shared was inappropriate and just plain wrong. I was broken like Jack, but my injuries couldn’t be fixed. Leading him on in his weakened state caused a rush of shame to filter through me. I was a fraud on more levels than I could count.
The clink of coins in the vending machine behind us made us both jump and pull apart.
“Oh, hey.” Leanne grimaced when our gazes shot in her direction. “I didn’t realize anyone was still here, and I didn’t want to … interrupt.”
“You weren’t.” I popped out of my chair so fast the metal of the chair legs screeched on the tile. “I was just stopping in for a candy run before I went home. I’ll walk out with you.”
I grabbed my things in a mad rush before I turned to Jack. “See you in the morning.” I forced a tight smile. He crossed his arms and leaned back, his shoulders shaking with a laugh. Instead of being offended by my desperate escape, he was amused.
“Yes, ma’am. But, you can’t call it a candy run if you didn’t buy any candy. I’ll take that Kit Kat tomorrow.” He winked, and either the embarrassment or spark from earlier caused my cheeks to heat.
“Right.” Tearing my eyes from his and straightening, I rushed out to meet Leanne and head to the parking lot.
“Let me explain,” I pleaded, my words sounding desperate and choppy. “It wasn’t what it looked like.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Danielle, what I saw will stay between us. I promise.” She came toward me and tilted her head. “But what it looked like was exactly what it was. He’s only here for a few more weeks, right? What’s the harm? I wouldn’t do anythinghere,”she whispered. “But after he’s discharged …” She shrugged. “That’s no one’s business but yours.”
I nodded a wordless goodbye before I opened my car door and started the engine.
My head fell back as I shut my eyes. What’s the harm? What a loaded question that was.
