Chad’s smile wobbled, and then he closed his eyes and swallowed.
“And I like you,” she added hastily.
“I like you too, even if I don’t get to be an uncle.”
He liked her? But she’d been certain he hated her.
“I want to assure you that I don’t want to trap your brother or use your family. It eats me alive that I owe them all so much, but I’m . . .” Terrified. “. . . going to pay them back. For everything. I promise.”
“I’m sorry I questioned your motives earlier.” He huffed a breath out of his nose. “I’ve become a touch cynical, it seems.”
She shook her head. She understood where he was coming from. She really did. “You have nothing to apologize for. And you can still be an uncle if you want. I’d love for you to be a role model for my son. No one said sharing DNA was a requirement for the job.”
His hands slid up her back, showing no signs of releasing his hold on her anytime soon.
“Sorry you had to see that. I don’t usually let myself fall apart.”
Chad thought that was falling apart? She could teach him a thing or two about falling apart.
“Lindsey?” Owen asked from the doorway. “Did you get lost?”
Chad leaned away and looked up into her eyes. Her heart stumbled over a beat. Even with all the bandages and bruises and scratches—or maybe because of them—he was the most handsome man she’d ever known. And even though he was currently bedridden, he was also the strongest.
Chad squeezed her hand and whispered, “I’m not ready to tell him about Josie yet. This is our secret.”
She nodded. It was only fair that she’d keep his secret since he was keeping hers.
He called out to his brother, “She came back for another visit. Can’t get enough of my good looks.”
That was closer to the truth than he realized.
“Must be nice to have two gorgeous women fighting over your attention,” Owen said as he crossed the room. He glanced around and quirked an eyebrow at Chad. “Where’s Josie? I figured you two would be smooching each other’s faces off by now.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “What kind of grown man uses the word smooching?”
Lindsey chuckled, at the same time spotting the object Chad had dropped. Resting between her feet was a diamond ring. Josie’s engagement ring? She stepped on it to keep it out of Owen’s sight.
“Sucking each other’s faces off then,” Owen said. “Did she leave?” He searched the room, as if he’d somehow missed seeing her.
“She went to the bathroom, but she’ll be back later,” Chad said.
“I can’t believe she’d leave you alone at a time like this,” Owen said. “We’ll wait until she gets back before we grab dinner.”
“I appreciate the gesture,” Chad said, “but I’m okay. Go get this starving woman some food. I can hear the baby’s belly growling as well as hers.”
Lindsey covered her rumbling belly with one hand.
“You can hear the baby’s stomach growling?” Owen promptly put his ear against Lindsey’s stomach. “That is so cool!”
Chad and Lindsey exchanged smirks over Owen’s head.
After a moment of listening, Owen said, “I can’t hear it over Lindsey’s grumbling.”
Chad smacked him on the head. “That’s a sign that you should feed her. Get out of here.”
Owen lifted his head but didn’t move toward the door. “I can’t stand the thought of you being here by yourself. I thought Josie—”
“Don’t worry about where she went,” Chad said, his voice rising. “She’ll be back when she gets back! Now get the fuck out of here.”
Owen blinked, obviously too stunned to respond.
Lindsey didn’t want to leave Chad alone either, even though he probably needed a moment to himself. “You can get takeout for us all,” Lindsey said, patting Owen’s arm. “I’m sure your brother has a craving for some food or another that he couldn’t get overseas.”
“I have been craving a meatball sub,” Chad said.
Lindsey’s stomach rumbled so loud, it made her blush. Her mouth watered, and she had to swallow before saying, “That does sound good.”
“I’m on it,” Owen said. “What kind of sandwich would Josie want?”
Lindsey had a knuckle sandwich she’d like to deliver to Josie’s face freaky fast.
“Same,” Chad said.
“I’ll be back,” Owen said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent. Apparently both brothers were fans. To Lindsey, Owen spewed a second impersonation, “Come with me if you want to live.”
“I’ll stay with Chad,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
“Is that okay with you?” Owen asked Chad.
Chad nodded but didn’t meet his eyes.
Owen patted his shoulder. “Hasta la vista, baby.”
“The Arnold routine is mine, little brother. Get your own bit.”
“No problemo.”
Lindsey snorted. “Well, one of you has to get a new routine. How many more Schwarzenegger one-liners can there possibly be?”
“Consider that a divorce,” Chad-Arnie said, the sadness gone from him now.
Owen-Arnie left the room to get their subs. When Lindsey was sure Owen was gone, she bent to retrieve the ring from beneath her foot, holding on to the bed rail to keep her balance. These days she felt more Humpty Dumpty than human.
“I’m going to have to get after that brother of mine for not keeping you fed,” Chad said.
“Owen treats me better than anyone,” she said. She lifted the ring—pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“Flush it down the toilet,” he said.
“Are you sure? She might change her mind.”
“And I’m desperate enough to take her back, is that what you think?” His tone was a bit snippy. Lindsey tried not to take it personally.
“I hope not, but if you love someone, you can forgive them pretty much anything.” Unless she was referring to her parents forgiving her unplanned pregnancy. In their eyes she was no longer their daughter.
Chad sighed, plucking at the sheet covering his lap. “This has been coming for a while,” he said. “We’ve been drifting apart for years. I thought when we saw each other face-to-face, none of that would matter. That when the miles that had separated us for so long were no longer between us, that everything would go back to how it was before I left.” He snorted on a laugh. “I was stupid to believe that.”
“They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
“Whoever says that has never been in a long-distance relationship.”
Maybe. Or maybe he’d just picked the wrong woman to be his wife. The fact that their relationship had been strained before Chad’s injuries made what Josie had done a little more forgivable.
On second thought, no, it didn’t. What that heartless hag had done had been completely unforgivable. Selfish. Josie’s method might have gotten the breakup over with quickly, but Lindsey thought it had been unnecessarily cruel. Then again, Lindsey had never been the type to yank off a Band-Aid. She’d always peeled them back real slow, trying to keep the pain to a minimum even if it drew it out to intolerable lengths.
“I’m going to flush this, then,” she said, giving the ring a shake for emphasis.
She started toward the small bathroom connected to his room.
“Wait!” he called after her. Her heart sank. “That’s a complete waste of money. Go hock it or sell it for its gold. I’ll split the money with you for your trouble.”