Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
HARPER
I t seems like Blake and I just dozed off when I hear rustling coming from the room across from our bedroom, pulling me out of sleep. My side is so sore, and when I bend my knee and bring my leg up to my chest, my hip sings in agony.
Christ, that asshole threw me hard.
I don’t want to take any pain meds because of the baby, so I need to rest and let it heal.
Dammit.
I hear more rustling and decide to get out of bed to see what’s going on. After tugging on one of Blake’s T-shirts, I get to the doorway of the guest room, and find my man, dressed only in gray sweatpants, with a tape measure in his hands, staring at the wall with his back to me.
His dark hair is all messed up from my fingers and bed, and his back muscles tighten my core.
The muscles on this man.
“Crib over there,” he whispers, making my breath catch.
He’s figuring out the baby’s room.
“Shelves here. Changing table. She’ll want a rocking chair. Do I need to open that wall and make this room bigger?”
He sighs, seeming to work it out in his head.
“She should be here with me. We’ll do whatever she wants.”
Without thinking twice, I step up behind him, wrap my arms around his stomach, and kiss his spine, right between his shoulder blades.
“Did I wake you?” he asks as his hand covers mine.
“No.” Resting my cheek against his back, I lean on him, soaking in his warmth. “I love you so much, it scares the shit out of me.”
He starts to move, but I hold him tight.
“Let me say this part.”
Bringing my hand up to his lips, he whispers, “Okay.”
“Being in love with you is so easy, Blake. You’re incredible. I couldn’t respect you any more than I do. You’re everything I’ve ever needed and wanted in my life, and now that I have you, I’m terrified that I’ll lose you.”
“I’m not going anywhere, sugar.”
“I think I’ve loved you since the minute I saw you on the plane. I recognized you, and I’d never seen you before in my life.”
He turns in my arms and cups my face in his hands, kissing my lips so tenderly, it brings tears to my eyes .
“I can’t stand the thought of you thinking that just because the words are hard for me, that I don’t love you so much,” I whisper against his lips.
“I’ve never said them before to anyone. But Blake, you’re the beginning and end for me.
When I need to talk, you’re who I want. Last night, when Ava was here talking to me about the positive test, all I could think was, Blake should be here. ”
“Baby.” He drags his knuckles down my cheek and presses his lips to my forehead.
“And earlier, when Hannah Hull, who was in town today, did my ultrasound, I just wanted you to be with me. It killed me that our schedules were so jacked up that I couldn’t tell you right away. But tonight, after that … after I got hurt, all I needed was you.”
“You never have to wait for my schedule to clear, baby.”
“I know that. I know that in an emergency, I can count on you. And even though it wasn’t ideal, I was okay with waiting a couple of days to talk to you about the little bean.
I just need you to know that you’re my person.
You’re everything. I’m going to work on saying the words more because you deserve to hear that I love you every fucking day. You’re so damn good to me.”
His hand glides over my hip, and I can’t stop the wince that comes, making him scowl.
“Are you hurting, baby?”
“I’m sore. I’ll take it easy, and I’ll be fine.”
“Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me back to the bedroom, helps me into the bed and tucks me up against his side, and we curl together, making sure I’m off my right side. “I love you.”
He kisses my head, and I smile, feeling braver. Saying the words isn’t hard when the love is spilling out of every fucking pore of my body. “I love you, too.”
Seeing him in that room, in the dark, planning our baby’s safe place just kicked my heart over the edge.
How can I not tell him how I feel?
After an exhale, he tips my chin up and smiles softly. “Please say it again.”
“I’m so crazy in love with you, Blake Blackwell.”
“I need my car and my purse.”
Blake’s already shaking his head as he follows me out to the garage, and I sit in the passenger seat of his SUV. “You need to stay home and heal.”
“Blake. Please take me to the hospital so I can at least get my purse and fill out the forms with legal for the asshole who bruised my body.” I bat my eyelashes at him. “Please. I’m not running any marathons here. I just have to go in for a few minutes. Then we can get lunch?—”
“No, then I’m bringing you home.”
“—to go from Juliet’s place. Just a grab-and-go salad or something.”
I bite my lip, but he narrows his eyes.
He’s not caving .
“The baby is craving a salad from Juliet’s place, Blake.”
“You are absolutely not going to use that excuse for the next seven months, sugar.” He grips my chin in his fingers and lowers his lips to mine, then he bites my lower lip and makes me grin. “But yes, we’ll stop and get you whatever you want.”
I brush my nose against his. “I love you.”
“Fuck, I’m so screwed when it comes to you.”
With a shake of his head, Blake walks around the car and climbs in next to me, then pulls out of the garage and heads to the hospital.
“Your wounds are fresh,” he grumbles. “I don’t like the look of that bruise on your hip, and I’d rather you were lying down.”
“I’m using arnica salve on the bruises,” I remind him. “And it does help. Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw a clot or something?—”
“Don’t fucking say shit like that, Harper.” His voice is so hard and angry, all I can do is blink at him. “It’s not funny, and it happens every goddamn day from bruises less severe than yours.”
“You’re right.” Reaching for his hand, I lace my fingers through his and squeeze.
“It’s not funny, and the bruises suck ass.
I’m really sore today, and I’m moving slow, which I hate.
I’m using the arnica. I’m taking it easy.
I’m just going to go to the legal office, and I’ve already texted someone in my unit and asked them to bring me my purse so I’m not walking all over the hospital. ”
Blake lets out a sigh of relief and nods. “Thank you.”
“I talked with Chase Wild this morning, the policeman assigned to the case, and gave him my statement.”
“Good. Chase will do a good job.”
“I know. He’s already got the asshole in custody, and he hasn’t been able to post bail. I’m filing a restraining order, so he’s extra banned from the hospital.”
Blake nods, his shoulders loosening up a little with each step that I explain to him.
I know he’s worried. He’d be worried if I wasn’t pregnant, but add in that not-so-little detail, and he’s obsessed.
Any of my brothers would be the same. I can’t fault him for hovering.
When we arrive at the hospital, Blake parks as close to the door as possible, and we walk slowly to the legal offices on the first floor, not far from the emergency room.
Signing the paperwork only takes a couple of minutes. My purse and keys are already waiting for me, and before long, we’re walking back out again.
“See? Didn’t take long. Now, I’ll follow you?—”
“No.” His voice is calm again, and he plants his lips at my temple. “Your car will stay here. You’re not driving for a few days.”
“I can drive.”
“I understand that you’re capable. But you don’t have to. Give me just a few more days, baby. ”
“Will you at least ask someone to bring it home for me?”
“That I can do.” Blake finds a parking spot in front of Sage & Salt, and the restaurant is quiet when we walk in, which isn’t too surprising at just after two in the afternoon.
I wasn’t kidding earlier. I’d do a lot of illegal things for the chopped chef salad that Juliet keeps stocked in her grab-and-go section, which I grab two of, along with some bread for sandwiches and some chocolate chip cookies.
“What do you want to grab?” I ask Blake, holding my finds to my chest like they’re my treasure and I refuse to share.
Because that’s exactly what they are.
He smirks and grabs his own salad. We approach the counter to pay, but I frown when I see Juliet brush a tear from her cheek before forcing a smile at us.
“Hey, guys.”
“Whoa. What’s wrong?” I set my stuff down and walk around the counter, not giving a shit that I don’t even work here, and take her hand. “Who do I have to kill?”
Jules shakes her head and sniffs. “No one. I’m fine. You seriously love that salad.”
“Who made you cry?” I ask her, not giving in, and she side-eyes Blake, and I immediately know. “Ah. A stubborn Blackwell man.”
“I haven’t even seen Jules,” Blake insists, making us both chuckle .
“I had to call a tow truck this morning,” she says, and Blake nods. “He wasn’t happy about that.”
“You know, you live here, too,” I tell her. “You can’t just hide from him and stay out of his way so you don’t piss him off. I don’t know what the story is there, but it’s not fair of him to expect you not to live your life, Juliet.”
“Yeah, it is,” she whispers, then shakes her head. “I’m going to be just fine. Thanks for asking, though. It means a lot. I don’t have a lot of friends here anymore.”
“I’m your friend,” I remind her. “Ava is, too. I like Brooks, and his brother is mine, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a good friend to you, too. Now, ring me up because I’m starving, and if I don’t eat that salad in the next thirty minutes, I will become someone who Blake doesn’t want to see.”
Jules laughs and bags up our food but shakes her head when we try to pay.
“Enjoy it. You made me feel better, and that’s all the payment I need today.”
“Jules,” Blake begins, but she shakes her head.
“I won’t take your money today.” She winks, and more customers file in behind us, and we leave so she can get back to work.
“I hate that,” I mutter when we’re back in the car headed home. “Brooks isn’t a mean guy.”
“He can be an asshole,” Blake says. “But no, not as a rule. He’s stubborn when it comes to her.”
“Blake, I like her a lot. She’s my friend. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not for me.” He pulls my hand up and kisses my knuckles. “I like her too. But there’s more there than either of us knows about it. And at the end of the day, it’s none of our business.”
“I know. I feel bad for them.” I clear my throat and shift in the seat. My side is a little better today, but this hip is aching like a bitch.
When we get home, we eat our lunch and then end up on the couch to watch a movie and make out.
It’s not a bad way to spend an afternoon.