“I can dress myself, you know. I’m not broken.”
“Humour me. I like taking care of you. And I fear that if I’m not needed, I might just find myself out on my arse where I belong.”
I stare down at him, my heart in my throat.
“Not tonight,” I say honestly, finally admitting to myself just how much I need his presence, his strength to keep me grounded right now. “But you might find yourself friendly with the other side of the front door sometime after the sun comes up tomorrow.”
“Ouch,” he says, but it doesn’t stop his smile that widened the second I told him that he could have the night. “I guess I need to up my game then, to prove to you why you need to keep me.”
I smile at him but keep my thoughts on that statement to myself.
It would be so easy to agree. The way he makes me feel when we’re together, it’s something I could easily become addicted to again. But I need to keep my head. I have to.
His eyes burn a trail over my body when he pulls the towel free and my nipples harden under his attention. There’s no way he misses it, but he doesn’t make any move to make the most of the situation. He just pulls my shirt over my head and tells me to get into bed. He passes me one of the mugs full of hot chocolate, cream, and marshmallows that Mum left for us before turning his back on me and dropping his towel.
I damn near choke on a marshmallow as I take in his sculpted arse.
“You sure know how to cheer a girl up, don’t you?” I mutter after fighting to swallow my mouthful.
“Anything to make you smile right now, baby,” he shoots over his shoulder with a teasing wink.
As much as I might demand he stay naked for me, I don’t stop him when he pulls on the sweats and shirt Mum left for him. It makes my heart ache, knowing that they’re Joe’s. But I’m glad they could be of use. And anything is better than forcing Toby into the clothes of the man he can’t stand.
“Is it weird being here?” I ask, unable to hold the question in.
Pulling the covers back, he slips into bed beside me.
“Yes,” he says honestly. “Although knowing your mum has taken all the photos down helps.”
“She has?” I ask, my brows pinching.
“Yeah. She’d put them all in a box when I came to see her earlier in the week.”
“Oh.”
He turns to look at me, his eyes holding mine, begging me to let him in.
“I’m sorry I ruined everything about the man you called Dad. But I’m glad you grew up thinking he was a good person. That he allowed you to believe that was possible.”
My lips part, but he beats me to it.
“I just want you to know that if me going through what I did meant you got a decent childhood, then I think it might have been worth it. You deserve it. You deserve more than he could have ever given you, but knowing he treated you like a princess makes me happy.”
“Toby, I—”
“No. I just needed to tell you that. I’m really glad you were happy. That he loved you.”
The lump that seemed to be permanently lodged in my throat earlier returns, and I lift my mug to my lips in the hope of forcing it down.
“You sent some Wolves to Foxes tonight to look out for me, didn’t you?”
A small smile twitches at his lips. “Guilty.”
“And you sat outside waiting for me to leave so you could make sure I got home safe.” It’s not a question. It doesn’t need to be.
“Yes, although I almost fucked that up royally. I was writing you a message and missed you being pulled down that alley,” he confesses.
“You don’t want me working there?” I ask, although I already know the answer.