She nodded, kicked off her shoes, lifted the blanket, and crawled into bed next to me, careful not to touch any part of my chest. She fit perfectly beneath my arm as always, her scent filling me with home, belonging, love. I kissed the top of her head. “I love you. Everything else can be said in the morning, okay?”

She nodded. “I love you. Nothing else matters.”

The nurse came back in and clucked her tongue at us while she pushed pain meds through my IV. “If you pop those stitches, Lieutenant…”

Ember’s eyes flew wide. “You stay,” I ordered her. “She stays,” I told the nurse.

She waggled her finger at us. “For now.”

I smiled my thanks, and she left. I ran my thumb down Ember’s arm as my eyes started to droop again. For now was fine. For now was better than I had yesterday, or the month before.

For now was my forever.

Chapter Sixteen

EMBER

God, I was stiff. I rubbed the back of my neck, willing it to turn even the slightest of inches without screaming. I’d been too scared to hurt Josh to move a single muscle last night.

It was well worth it.

“Hey, want to grab breakfast for the guys?” I asked Paisley as we met in the hall, my yawn distorting nearly all of the question. Jet lag was a bitch.

“Sure, but only for me. They just took Jagger to the OR.” Paisley mirrored my yawn. “Ugh, no yawning.”

“How is he?” I asked as we made our way to the elevators.

“In and out,” she answered, pressing the button to take us down. “He knows I’m here but doesn’t stick around for long. He’s getting the pins put in his legs now.” Her hand swept over her belly. “He’s a wreck, but he’s my wreck.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as the door opened.

“How’s Josh?”

“Not sure. He was still asleep when I snuck out this morning, and he was too doped up to really talk last night.” We made our way down the hallway to the cafeteria and loaded food into to-go boxes. “Want to come eat with us?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “I think I’ll go back to my hotel room and try to sleep. He’ll need me once he’s out of surgery, and Lord knows this baby needs the rest. Tell Josh I’ll see him later?”

I gave her an awkward hug, balancing the take-out boxes and lidded cups of orange juice. “Okay. Senator Mansfield?”

She drew back and shrugged. “He’s still here but keeping it low key. Jagger’s never been too open about his dad. I know the senator wants to see him, but keeping his distance right now might be the nicest thing he’s ever done for him.”

“I get it. You go get some sleep. Let me know when Jagger is out of surgery?”

“I will, I promise. They said it’s going to be hours.”

We said our good-byes and split paths, Paisley to the adjoining hotel and me back to Josh’s room. Waiting for the elevator, I noticed something…I smelled. When was the last shower I took? The night before the notification? God, it had been twenty-four hours already, but I still wasn’t expecting to smell like a sweat factory.

Okay, drop food to Josh, then get a shower.

Noise behind me made me look over my shoulder, where I saw four giant, sweaty guys in PT uniforms. Oh, that made more sense. Thank God, the smell wasn’t me. Still, a shower wouldn’t hurt.

I got off on Josh’s floor. He was half sitting up when I came in, a doctor and new nurse hovering close to his bed. “So we’ll get that done this morning and hopefully have you on your way back to the States tomorrow, if you’re feeling competent on crutches.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Josh said. The doctor nodded before heading out.

Josh gave me a relieved smile and patted the bed next to him. He was pale, more so than I’d realized in the lamplight last night. I perched carefully on the edge and placed the breakfast boxes on the rolling table. “What’s up?”

“They’re going to set my arm today and get me casted,” he answered.

“Good. That’s good.” I nodded my head like an idiot.

“Did you see Jagger?” Josh asked.

I rubbed the muscle of his uninjured thigh. “No. He’s in surgery. Not life threatening, but they’re setting the pins in his legs. Paisley wanted to see you, but she’s exhausted. You okay?” I asked. He’d flinched when I’d said Paisley’s name.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” He threw up a mask, like I hadn’t loved him for the last couple of years and couldn’t tell the difference.

I’d let him have his mask—for now. “Everything else okay?” I addressed the question to the nurse.

“Are you his wife?” she asked, her hair pulled obscenely tight.

“No, ma’am,” I answered.

“She’s my fiancée,” Josh added.

“Does she have access to your medical information?” the nurse asked.

“She has access to my bank accounts, my house, my car, my life, and anything else she wants, so I’d say yes.”

Did his eyes just narrow?

“It’s okay,” I said quietly. “She’s just making sure that she’s not violating privacy laws by talking to me.”

“Exactly,” the nurse said with a tight smile. “Everything else is as we expect it. If you’ll be the one at home with him, I can teach you how to change the dressing on his leg,” she offered.