Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

“Tell me you’re not even thinking of going to work.”

Sitting upright against the headboard the next morning, I looked from my phone to Dax. He stood at the foot of the bed in only sweatpants, glaring at me. Hard.

I’d woken to the sound of him puttering around the bathroom, but I was so tired I might have fallen back asleep if it wasn’t for the dull pain and stiffness in my neck. Yeah, whiplash had struck, as expected. It was nowhere near as bad as the first time I’d had it, thankfully—small mercies and stuff.

When his brow flicked up in question, I twisted my mouth. “Well—”

“No,” he interrupted, his tone non-negotiable. “You’re staying home even if I have to sit on you to make it happen.”

Dramatic much? “Relax, jeez.” I idly plucked at the coverlet as I admitted, “I did think about going.” I wouldn’t have been able to drive, of course, but I could have called a cab or something. “But Sabrina will just nag me to go home, and I’m too tired to argue with her. I can answer important emails and stuff from here anyway.”

Plus, my parents and siblings planned to visit at some point. As news traveled fast in Redwater—especially around Oakengrove—I’d texted them with news of the crash last night. Alicia would have undoubtedly otherwise learned of it from Jenson. They’d all called me, as concerned for me as they were enraged with Thaddeus.

Dax grunted in a kind of grumpy satisfaction and held out painkillers. “Take these.”

I gladly did so with the help of the glass of water I kept on my nightstand.

“A dip in the jacuzzi might help.”

Ooh, good idea. “And wine.”

“Wine and painkillers don’t mix,” he reminded me.

I felt my face fall. “Fuck,” I muttered.

He placed the remote control for the TV on the mattress beside me. “You’re to stay in bed as much as possible,” he stated with all the authority of a medical professional.

I frowned. “That’s not really a viable option, considering I’ll need to scrounge up food here and there.”

“I’ll be doing that for you.”

I blinked twice. “You’re not going to work?”

“No. I’m staying here with you.” His tone said, Obviously. “Don’t tell me you’ll be fine on your own, Addie. I’m not leaving you. End of discussion.”

My belly flipped. That was the second time he’d called me “Addie.” The first time had been while I was mid-orgasm, so I hadn’t thought much on it. And now, well, now I wasn’t sure what—if anything—to think of it.

I swallowed hard. “Okay. Than—”

“Don’t make me bite you.”

I felt my lips curve. “But I kind of like it when you bite me.”

His eyes darkened. “I know. I won’t be doing it again until you’ve recovered, though.” He padded over to his dresser and fished out a tee. “I’ll go make coffee and order breakfast. What are you having?”

“A bagel with cream cheese, please.” I almost sighed in disappointment when he slipped on his tee. Just looking at his abs could improve my mood.

“I’ll be back in a sec.”

Once he’d left the room, I none-too-awkwardly made my way to the bathroom and did my business, wincing and flinching now and then. Whiplash was the devil.

Back in bed, I switched on the TV, intending to find something to watch. By the time Dax returned with a tray of culinary delights, I was a few minutes into a movie.

“What are you watching?” he asked.

“Okay, quick warning: it’s a romcom. But not a cringy or soppy one. You’ll like it.”

I half-expected him to say “count me out” and head to his home office. Instead, he stayed with me. Even after we’d demolished our breakfast, he didn’t leave, though I could tell he wasn’t enjoying the movie quite as much as I was.

When it was over, he looked at me. “You said it wasn’t soppy.”

“It wasn’t,” I lied.

“He gave her a compass as an ‘I love you’ gift. Though how a compass is supposed to convey love, I don’t know.”

“Where you not listening? He was telling her she’s his north, south, east, and west,” I explained. “That she’s his home. The only place he wanted to be. That everything he did would lead him back to her.”

“And you don’t find that soppy?”

Tilting my head, I allowed, “Okay, yes, but it was also a little sweet.”

His snort made it clear what he thought of that.

He vacated the room again but quickly returned—this time carrying his laptop. Without a word, he settled beside me again and … did whatever he needed to do.

My heart—so damn easy for him—did a dreamy little sigh, touched by his determination to stay close. And he really did. The only times he left the room were to grab us food and drink or to answer the front door. I had a string of visitors in the form of my siblings, my grandparents, and also Dax’s brothers.

Both sets of our parents weirdly arrived at the same time. He guided them into the bedroom, and the two couples gathered around the bed.

Blake smiled at me. “Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

“Never better,” I said, my voice dry.

His lips quirked. “I’m sure.”

“I’m so damn relieved you’re okay.” My mom planted a kiss on my cheek and asked me a billion questions—had I taken pills? Was I hungry? How were my stitches? Did I need another pillow behind my back? On and on it went until, finally, she seemed to feel reassured that I was fine. “I love your Christmas tree, by the way,” she then said.

Dane shot her a droll look. “You would.”

Dax met his gaze. “So Vienna turns six again during the holidays as well?”

“More like five,” replied my dad.

Vienna frowned. “Hey.”

“I’m not wrong, and you know it,” Dane insisted before dropping a quick kiss on my hair. He scrutinized my face. “How bad is the pain?”

“Not so bad I want to cry, so there’s that,” I told him. “I hope it’s worse for Thaddeus.”

Dane slid his attention to Dax. “Has he been found yet?” he asked, a silken threat lacing his voice.

“No, but he will be,” Dax swore.

Coming to my side, Kensey gave my hand a small squeeze. “It’s no coincidence that we’re all here at the same time. The four of us had a chat about something, and now we want to hear what you think.”

I straightened a little, curious. “What?”

She gestured at Blake and my parents. “We were thinking it would be nice if both our families got together for Christmas dinner.”

Tensing slightly, I exchanged a surprised look with Dax.

“Your parents said we could have it at their place, since their dining table is allegedly huge,” Kensey went on. “Vienna and I would share in the cooking and, between us both, could definitely make it work. But it will break our hearts—like, wide open—if you and Dax don’t agree to attend. We want everyone at the table or it won’t be the same.”

Dax sighed at her. “Just so you know, Addison doesn’t respond to emotional blackmail. Neither do I, as you’re already aware.”

Kensey grinned, unrepentant. “But you’ll come, right?”

He refocused on me. “Do you want to?”

“It depends on a few things,” I replied, sliding a meaningful look at my father.

Dane didn’t miss it. “I’ll behave. So will Ollie. I’m not saying I’ll ever like Dax—”

“You already do like him,” I said, impatient.

“—but I’ll be nice,” Dane promised, and I could see he meant it.

Pursing his lips, Dax shrugged at me. “I’m game if you are.”

Then it looked like both our families would be eating Christmas dinner together.

Needless to say, our parents were thrilled that we’d agreed.

I was just as psyched at the thought of us all being together like that. Even better, I had the guarantee that my dad would stop behaving like an idiot toward Dax. And since Ollie had earlier been the height of friendliness toward him, I wouldn’t have to worry about my brother being a pain either.

Later on, when Dax and I were once again alone, I closed the book I’d finished reading and said, “I know this is wrong—like really, really, really wrong—but I wish I could strap Nina Bowen to a kind of writing treadmill so she’d churn out one book after another without pause. Inhumane and selfish, yes, but I’m lost whenever I finish one of her novels.”

His lips twitched. “If you had a constant flow of them, you’d get bored of her style.”

“No. No, I really wouldn’t. That’s an actual impossibility. It’s—” I hissed as I accidentally aggravated the pain in my neck by moving too sharply. “God, I loathe whiplash. I loathe knowing it’ll linger for at least another few days. There are a number of events I’m organizing that I was also intent on attending, and now I won’t be able to.”

“Your team can handle it,” he said, scrolling through his phone.

I folded my arms with a petulant huff. “I’d better be back to normal by the time Christmas day rolls around.” There was only a week left to go.

Without moving his gaze from his phone, he gave my thigh a gentle squeeze. “You should be mostly fine by then.”

“I must say your bedside manner has improved from the last time I was unwell. You’ve actually been very nice to me today. Which is remarkable, considering I make a terrible patient.”

He shrugged. “You don’t do well with being made to sit still. I’m no better, so I get it.”

It was good that he “got” it, because I was just as awful a patient as the days went by. And God, they seemed to pass at an agonizingly slow pace. The celibacy made me even grumpier. But he stayed home with me, batting off my moodiness like a champ.

It wasn’t until day four that I had my full range of movement back. Dax and I celebrated that with a morning quickie that I’d so needed. A short time later, while we were waiting for our breakfast to arrive, he asked me to follow him outside; said he wanted to show me something.

Curious, I happily followed him out of the front door.

And came to a halt.

Sidling up to him, I cast him a sideways glance. “What’s this?”

“What does it look like?”

I returned my gaze to the large object in the driveway. “It looks like a car.”

“So observant,” he said dryly.

I snickered. “It’s parked in my usual space.”

“Because it’s yours. I had someone drive it here earlier.” He raised a hand. “I know you said you were fine with simply having your other car fixed, since there wasn’t a lot of damage. But you’ve been having nightmares since the crash. I’d rather you were driving something that doesn’t feature in those nightmares.”

I swallowed hard. “I appreciate that. I do. But this car is a brand newie.” Shiny and stylish and expensive. “It had to have cost—”

“Don’t make a deal out of the cost. We’re married. What’s mine is yours. And if you need something, I’m going to make sure you have it—end of conversation.”

He was making my chest feel all tight and warm again. “Then than—”

“Don’t,” he said, cutting me off as he slipped a hand into his pocket. A hand that then dangled a set of keys in front of me. “You’ll need these.”

I closed my hand around them and gently took them from him, pleased to see there was a fob attached.

His gaze searched mine. “Will you be okay driving? If you’d rather wait a few days, I can chauffeur you around.”

I felt my brows inch up. “Like I’m Miss Daisy? No, thanks. I’m good, I promise.”

“If that changes, if at any point you panic or feel uncomfortable, call me.”

I weakly saluted him. “Will do.”

His eyes burned into mine, unconvinced. “Promise me, Addison.”

God, the asshole needed to stop making me feel all gooey. “I swear I’ll call you if I get anxious.”

He gave a short nod of satisfaction.

I was about to head over to my brand-new baby and check her out, but something in his expression made me frown. “What is it?”

He poked his tongue into the inside of his cheek. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

My stomach winding tight, I allowed him to lead me back into the villa. God, what now?

He closed the door before he finally explained, “Thaddeus has been found.”

Instantly, my insides unclenched and my mood once again became bright. “And you’ll be having a chat with him soon, I take it.”

“Yes. It’s important I impress upon him that he needs to change his ways.”

“Let’s hope he listens this time.” Because if there was a next time, the scenario could be far worse.

“I won’t be leaving his side until I’m positive he’s heard me.”

Given what I suspected Thaddeus had coming … “I almost feel sorry for him.” Almost.

Dax eyed me carefully. “You’re not going to ask me to show him mercy, are you?”

I almost blurted out a ha. “No. Do what you feel you need to do. Just be careful. I don’t want you to become a resident of Redwater prison, and orange really isn’t your color. I swear, I’ll be so mad if you get arrested you’ll be lucky if I visit you even once.”

He stared at me a long moment, his gaze intent as that of any jungle cat, emotions working behind his eyes that I couldn’t quite distinguish. He very slowly dipped his head and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead.

I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to communicate. Gratitude? Affection? Both? Nothing?

Taking my hand, he breezed his thumb over my rings.

I licked my lips. “Okay, maybe I would visit you in prison.”

His mouth winged up. “It won’t come to that. But I do appreciate the sentiment.”