Ready or Not (The Ready Series Book 4)(39)

She’d been asleep for about an hour, curled up in my arms, as we lounged on the couch in the living room. Watching her fall apart in Noah’s and my arms had been difficult, but I’d never been more proud of my boy for being so strong. When I’d called him while waiting for the cops to come to Liv’s, I’d only said that Liv was attacked. He hadn’t needed to know anything more.

He’d obviously been worried, but his chief concern had been what he could do to help. He’d volunteered to make dinner, grab a blanket, and do anything else to make our new guest comfortable. When Liv had started crying, I’d thought he might shy away from the immense emotions, but instead, he’d moved forward and held her. After Liv had calmed down a bit, Noah had gone to his room for the night, leaving just the two of us.

My little boy was growing up, and for once, the thought didn’t scare me.

Shifting slightly, I tucked my arms under Liv’s legs and lifted her from the couch. She stirred slightly but stayed asleep as I carried her upstairs to my bedroom. I wanted to make sure Liv felt cared for this evening. Therefore, she got the bed.

Laying her down on the soft mattress, I pulled the covers around her and bent down to kiss her cheek.

“Jackson, don’t leave me,” she murmured.

“Are you sure? I was going to sleep on the sofa.”

Considering she had just had a traumatic event, I didn’t know how much intimacy she would be able to handle, so I had decided earlier to let her have the room to herself.

“Please, just hold me.”

I tugged off my pants, leaving my boxers and T-shirt in place, and I slid under the covers next to her. She was dressed in one of my old shirts and a pair of her own shorts. I pulled her closer to me until her back touched my torso.

“I should have been braver,” she said softly.

I lifted my head and gently rolled her toward me. “What do you mean?”

“When he came at me, I froze. I didn’t do anything. I’d just always thought that if I were ever in a situation like that, I would be braver, stronger.”

“Listen to me, Liv. You are not weak. What happened today is a testament to that. I heard you. You did everything you could. You tried to talk him down. That was the smartest thing you could have done. Anything else could have gotten you hurt.”

She rolled over, fitting her body into mine, as I wrapped my arm around her waist.

“Thank you for being there for me today,” she whispered.

“I’ll always be there for you,” I vowed before sleep claimed us both.





Liv

For the first time since going into business on my own, I called my assistant the next morning, shortly after waking up in Jackson’s arms, and I had her cancel all my patients for the day.

She didn’t ask questions, but I knew she must have realized it was huge. I pushed End on my phone and set it down on the bedside table. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I gazed out the window toward my house.

“You okay?”

I turned back to find Jackson awake, his head propped up on his hand as the other reached out for me. I met his hand halfway and watched as our fingers wove together, realizing I’d never once craved someone as deeply as I did with Jackson. It was as if my body and soul recognized him as someone safe and special, long before any other part of me had.

“I canceled on my patients,” I answered.

“You can’t be everything to everyone all the time, Liv. Sometimes, you have to take a moment for yourself.”

He tugged at my hand until I snuggled down next to him. The tips of our noses touched and I could feel his warm breath on the nape of my neck, “I just feel like I’ve failed them,” I admitted.

His arms wrapped around me, and I felt the heat from his body soak into my pores.

“They’ll understand,” he urged. “Besides, you’re evading the question. I asked if you were okay. I wasn’t asking about your patients.”

It was a simple question. Was I okay?

Shouldn’t it be a simple answer?

“Honestly, I don’t know. I think back to yesterday, and I feel nothing and everything, all at the same time. It could have been so much worse,” I said, my voice starting to quiver.

“But it wasn’t.”

“No, because you came.” I looked up at him, staring into those silvery gray eyes I’d grown so fond of, and I saw a future I’d never known I would ever want. The possibility scared me. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed, I turned away, turning toward the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work soon?” I asked, knowing he usually left for work around this time.

“Actually”—he smiled,—“I was just about to call in sick myself.”

“Jackson, you can’t! You just started this job!” I nearly screeched.

Not moving an inch, his grin widened. “Watch me.”

He leaned forward, grabbing his cell phone off the nightstand. I stared in awed silence as he punched a few buttons and pulled the phone up to his ear.

“You really shouldn’t do—” I was cut off as he held up a finger and proceeded to greet the person on the other end.

He rose from the bed and motioned to me that he was headed downstairs. His phone conversation continued as he made his way down the stairs, the sound of his voice disappearing as he moved through the house.