Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
“ C hocolate,” Jamie whispered, and Nick couldn’t remember ever hearing a more beautiful word in his life. He sighed with relief as he left his chair, ignoring the aches and pains that came along with sitting in a plastic chair for three days straight and went to his little recluse’s side.
He cupped her face in his hand, careful of her oxygen tube as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Welcome back, sweetheart,” he said softly.
“Did I go somewhere?” Jamie mumbled sleepily.
“It’s not important right now,” he said, releasing a shaky breath. The last few days had been the worst days of his life. A few times, it had been touch and go, but she’d pulled through. His little recluse was a fighter.
“I’m tired,” Jamie mumbled around a yawn as her eyes closed.
“That’s fine, baby. Go to sleep and I’ll be right here waiting when you wake up,” Nick whispered against her forehead.
“With chocolate,” she mumbled sleepily, making him chuckle as he promised, “All the chocolate you can eat.”
“You lied,” Jamie said accusingly as she leveled the most adorable glare that he’d ever seen on him.
“The doctor hasn’t cleared you for solids yet, but the second she does, I’ll have a truck full of chocolate delivered,” Nick said, hoping to appease his grumpy little recluse.
Five days without sugar and she looked close to killing someone. He’d briefly considered bringing her a chocolate milkshake or a Coke only to decide against it. Her doctor thought that he was kidding when he suggested that she should attach a bag of sugar to Jamie’s vein.
He hadn’t been.
She looked up at him, allowing her bottom lip to quiver as she said, “But I love you, doesn’t that mean anything?”
Lips twitching, Nick leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “It means everything, but until your doctor clears you, you’re not getting any chocolate.” When she opened her mouth, most likely to argue, he added, “Or sugar.”
“Big jerk,” she mumbled under her breath as she dropped back against the pillows.
“But you love me,” Nick said as he sat down next to her on the bed and took her hand in his, careful of her IV.
“I suppose I do,” Jamie said with a heartfelt sigh.
“Does your stomach hurt, sweetheart?” Nick asked, reaching over to run his fingertips along her delicate jaw.
“Just sore,” Jamie said, shifting her hand in his so that she could entwine their fingers together.
He watched her look around the room curiously. “Are these all for me?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Yes,” Nick said, his lips pulling up into a smile when her glance turned predatory as she took in the flowers, the fruit baskets, teddy bears, and hundreds of cards that were taped all over the walls and-
“I had the nurses lock up the chocolate,” he said, chuckling when she grumbled.
For a moment, she didn’t say anything, and he was content to sit there with her. He still couldn’t believe how close he came to losing her. If it hadn’t been for the fast-thinking police officers, she probably wouldn’t be here now. While he’d been losing his fucking mind, one of the officers applied pressure and bought his little recluse a little more time.
When they loaded her into that ambulance, he felt as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He wanted to ride with her, to hold her in his arms, but they wouldn’t let him and Rick and several officers had to hold him back.
Once he made it to the hospital, no one would tell him a fucking thing because he wasn’t family. They ended up throwing him out a few times when he flipped out, but he came back each and every time, demanding to see her.
When they called her father, he’d struggled to keep it together. Her father didn’t bother asking how Jamie was doing before he signed over Jamie’s medical proxy to him. Nick calmly thanked him before he walked him outside. Once they were in the parking lot, he’d decked the asshole, breaking his nose in the process. He did it for all the years the bastard happily ignored his little recluse. While his wife treated Jamie like nothing because Jamie was the reminder of her husband’s infidelity, her father had happily ignored her because she was the reminder of what he did to a seventeen-year-old girl.
“Did my family visit while I was sleeping?” Jamie asked the same question every day, and each time, it nearly broke his heart. Her father only came that one time and that was because of him.
He gave the bastard the choice of telling her the truth or staying out of her life. Her father chose to cut her out of his life and save his own ass. It was his loss. If the son of a bitch had looked at her, really looked at her, he would have realized what a precious gift he’d been given.
“No, baby, I’m sorry,” Nick said, wishing like hell that things were different for her. She deserved a family that loved her, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for her.
At least, not yet.
“It’s okay,” Jamie mumbled quietly as she peered around the room. “Do you know if my doctor’s here yet?”
“I haven’t seen her.”
“She’s very pretty,” she pointed out conversationally.
“I guess,” Nick said slowly, wondering where she was going with this.
“I, um, think she might be interested in you,” Jamie said quietly while she looked down at their entwined hands.
Shit .
His little recluse was jealous. He would never do anything that would make her believe for even one moment that he wanted anyone else. She was the only woman that he wanted, but unfortunately, women tended to throw themselves at him, which was going to be a problem. Maybe he should-
“Do you think that you could flirt with her a little? Maybe take her out for coffee?” his little recluse asked, sounding really fucking hopeful.
What. The. Hell?
“You want me to sleep with another woman?” Nick demanded, shocked beyond words. Why in the hell would she even suggest it? Was she out of her fucking mind?
“I don’t want you to sleep with her,” Jamie said with a soft sigh. “I just want you to butter her up a bit and then maybe when she’s putty in your hands, you could ask her about the chocolate?”
“You’re willing to whore me out for chocolate?” Nick demanded, pulling his hand free as he stood up so that he could glare down at the little pain in the ass.
“I was kind of hoping that you’d be willing to use that pretty smile and convince the doctor to let me have chocolate,” Jamie said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.
It was a big fucking deal!
“Pretty?” Nick spat out in disgust.
“Well, yeah,” she said, shrugging as she gestured lazily in his direction. “You have a very pretty smile.”
“ Pretty ?” Nick repeated in disgust.
His smile wasn’t pretty . It was charming and passably boyish, but pretty? Hell no. By all rights, he should have stormed out of the room, but he was still too shaken up to leave her side for more than five minutes at a time, so he decided to sit in the chair in the corner and settle on glaring at her.
When she sent him a little wave and a hopeful smile, Nick had to struggle not to smile back. It was difficult, but he managed to do it. Her willingness to whore him out for chocolate pleased him immensely, not because he was fine with her using him, which he was, but because she wasn’t jealous. His shy little recluse knew that he loved her and would never have to worry that he would hurt her.
“I’m not asking, Jamie,” he said firmly.
“But-”
“No.”
“Maybe-”
“No.”
“You won’t even hear me out. I-”
“You’re not having any chocolate until your doctor says so, so let it go,” Nick said, smiling when she released the cutest fucking growl that he’d ever heard.
“Fine. Then, let’s talk about something else,” Jamie grumbled as she settled back against her pillows.
“What would you like to talk about?” Nick asked, deciding that he’d punished her for her traitorous ways long enough. He moved back onto the bed and took her hand in his.
“Any luck on the job front?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
He inwardly winced when he realized that there were a few things that he’d failed to tell her, but in his defense, when she wasn’t passed out, she was drugged out of her fucking mind.
“I’m staying with Rerum Publishing, sweetheart. After you left, we sorted it out and realized that Holly was behind everything, including the complaints,” he said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.
“Oh,” Jamie said, frowning as she thought that over for a moment. “Do I still have a job?”
“If you want it, it’s yours,” Nick said casually as he silently prayed that she stayed. He loved working with her, but more importantly, he loved being with her.
“Will they still let you handle my books?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Yes,” he said, knowing that J.L. Lewis was the key to his happiness. As long as he worked with J.L. Lewis, he would be able to spend time with the woman that he loved more than anything.
“Then, I’ll sign the contract, but there’s something that you should know,” she mumbled sadly.
“What’s that?” Nick asked, wondering if the painkillers were wearing off and leaving his little recluse in pain. He’d rather die than watch her suffer.
“I’m fine, but the two books that I wrote were destroyed. Holly did something to my computer and I think it’s dead,” she mumbled with a little sniffle that damn near broke his heart.
He leaned down and brushed his lips tenderly against hers. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“No, it’s not, Nick. I really liked those books. They were due next month and there’s no way that I’m going to be able to write them again in time. I violated my contract and-”
“Shhh, baby, you don’t need to worry,” Nick said soothingly as he gently cupped her face in his hand.
“I don’t have the books that I promised and-”
“You have the books, baby. I installed software onto your computer that automatically backed up your files online. It’s all there. Everything’s fine,” Nick promised.
“Oh,” Jamie mumbled absently as he watched her frown adorably.
“Is there something else?” he asked, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb.
“I was just wondering if we were going to get a chance to finish the tour. We never got to go to Vegas, Hawaii, or do the rest of the things on the list,” she said, making him bite back a smile.
“Is there something in particular that you wanted to do, sweetheart?”
She shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but he wasn’t buying it. “What do you want, sweetheart?”
“I don’t want to go back to being the old Jamie,” she mumbled sadly.
“What was wrong with the old Jamie?” Nick asked, running his fingertips along her jaw.
“She didn’t have you.”
Nick chuckled as he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” Nick whispered as he leaned back down and-
“And you’ll give me chocolate?” she asked, sounding so damn hopeful that he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Not yet.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.”
“No, I love chocolate. I hate you,” Jamie clarified even as she reached up and ran her fingertips along his jaw.
“Really?”
“Mmmmhmm, really,” she said, nodding solemnly.
“What if I sneak you in a double chocolate milkshake later? Will you love me then?”
“Will it have a shot of hot fudge?” she asked, appearing to think it over.
“It will have anything you want in it, sweetheart.”
“What if I want you? Can I have you?” Jamie whispered, her gaze softening as she looked at him.
“You already have me, Jamie,” Nick swore, turning his head to press a kiss against her palm.
“In that case, I’ll take a double shot of hot fudge,” Jamie said with a satisfied sigh.
He chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her. “It’s a shame that I lied about the milkshake.”
“I really do hate you,” Jamie said, sighing as she brushed her lips against his.
“Too late, Jamie. I already know that you love me.”
“Do you love me?” she whispered against his lips.
He moved back just enough so that he could look into her beautiful eyes. “So much that it hurts, Jamie.”
“I think you should prove it with chocolate.”
“I just bet that you do,” Nick said, chuckling as he leaned in to cut off her protests with a kiss that probably wasn’t appropriate for a hospital room, but he couldn’t help himself. The little recluse set him on fire, and holy hell, did he burn for her.