It’s you who won’t take the next step.
You. Are. A. Coward.
“I’m sorry. For everything.” My voice is small. Unsure.
Opening the fridge, he doesn’t reply. He busies himself setting food on the counter ignoring me until he says, “I’m gonna make a batch of pineapple fried rice on the Blackstone for dinner. We’ll have plenty of leftovers for the next couple of days.”
He knows his pineapple fried rice is my favorite.
“Perfect. Can I help?”
“I’ve got it.”
The tension between us is so intense, I fear I’m about to break.
Staying where I am, I open my computer and work on a few things that may help Charlie with our client meetings, while he preps the food. Only my typing, his chopping, and Maui chewing on her toy break the heavy silence.
I know asking him to keep the truth of my accident from my family is selfish. But I need this right now. I need to be in his orbit and nobody else's while I come to grips with what is happening.
“You comfortable?”
How could I not be? He’s got me set up on the couch with two fluffy pillows behind me and two under my foot, with my favorite blanket covering me. My favorite tea waits in a steaming mug on the table he’s moved closer to the couch so I can reach it.He’s sitting in the chair facing me with my e-reader in his hands. Since he came back into the house after making dinner on the grill, all tension has vanished, and he’s back to the Owen I know and might even love.
I can’t help but giggle. “Yes, I’m great, but you don’t have to do this.”
“You’ve already had too much screen time today. Until the docs clear you, you’re stuck with me.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to read to me.”
“I’ve always wanted to know what kind of dirty shit you and Mia are into.”
“Well, if I remember where I left off correctly, you’re about to learn a lot.”
“Is that so?”
“Do you know what knotting is?”
“Like tying someone up with rope?”
“Oh, this is gonna be fun. You’re about to read your first shifter romance. Buckle up, big boy.”
“Hot damn. Let’s do this.”
He reads, and he reads. Chapter after chapter. At one point he looked at me and said, “I get it.”Other than that, he hasn’t stopped.
And neither has my heart. It takes tumble after tumble and there appears to be no end in sight for its fall.
His voice soothes the pain in my head to a bearable degree. The clouds of my denial drift away as I sit in the moment.
Owen Swift is the most caring, most giving man I’ve ever known. He makes me laugh. He listens when I talk and actually hears me. All he wants is to love me, and for years, I’ve been pushing him away. Only allowing the two of us stolen moments. I’ve been hiding my feelings for him from the world. Hell, from myself, when deep down I’ve known the truth all along.
I’m in love with Owen Swift. And it’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. Attempted murder included.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Owen
Keeping myself in my chair while I read to Daisy is a feat. Her gaze stays fixed on me as I narrate the story of a wolf shifter in love with his sworn enemy's daughter. The emotions and the goddamn sex scenes are almost too much to take. The quality of the plot, combined with the sexy scenes, is a pleasant surprise.
