Chapter Thirteen
In the office room on the rollaway bed, Josh had trouble getting to sleep. And not because he missed his big bed at home—he did, but the rollaway was perfectly fine.
He couldn’t sleep because he wanted to be in the other room with Riley. But he knew that wasn’t wise. Not for Dillon, who was far too young to understand the stuff that went on between consenting adults. And not for Josh, either. He didn’t want to give up on Riley. But damn, her heart was locked up tight.
He kept telling himself he needed to be patient, that in the end she would realize that you couldn’t run fast enough to leave true love behind.
True love.
Yeah. It had finally happened for him. Riley was it, the one for him. He fully accepted that now.
Eventually, he reassured himself, she would see the truth and admit that what they had together was real and strong and built to last.
Love is patient, he reminded himself.
And it hadn’t been that long since he’d come to grips with what was in his heart. In his family, true love was everything. But for him personally? So far, in his experience, true love was painful and lonely. The only satisfaction heshared with Riley was the hot, sexy kind—and yes, when a man loved a woman, hot sex was a definite plus.
But it wasn’t what mattered most.
He wanted her heart. And someday, he kept promising himself, she would finally admit that her heart belonged to him.
* * *
When Riley woke in the morning, everything ached. But at least Josh was there. He took a lot of the frustration out of being laid up.
First, he woke her gently with a careful tap on her bedroom door. When she called out, “Come in,” he entered with a smile. He helped her clean up and get dressed. Then he carried her downstairs. He got her set up on the sofa with her walker in reach. Then he ran back up to get Dillon moving.
Riley’s phone rang as Josh herded Dillon toward the kitchen for breakfast. It was Lenore of all people.
“How are you doing?” asked Josh’s ex.
“I’ve been better. But Josh is here helping out, so we’re managing.”
“Good. Listen, I don’t know how long you’re going to be off your feet, but I was thinking that on the weeks Shane is with me, I could swing by, pick up Dillon and take him to daycare along with Shane.”
“That’s terrific of you, Lenore. But you don’t have to—”
“It’s no problem. I’ll pick him up and bring him home at the end of the day at the usual time unless you call me and let me know otherwise. I figure we can just work it out as we go, keep in contact and all that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sheesh, Riley. It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, okay, then. Great. Thank you so much!”
“No problem. See you in a bit.”
Riley set her phone down as Josh came out of the kitchen. “That was Lenore. She’s driving Dillon back and forth to daycare for the rest of the week.”
Josh smiled. “Well, that’s a help.” And then he hesitated. “Don’t you think?”
“Yeah. It is. It really is.”
“Eggs and toast?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
Again, Josh brought the food into the living room so they could all eat together. He cleaned up after the meal, and he was still there when Lenore and Shane arrived to pick up Dillon.
