“What time is it?”
I glance around her at the clock. “Almost seven.”
She grimaces and looks at her hand. “I guess it’s time to get up and get ready then.”
Pushing the covers off, she moves to stand, but I grab her arm. “Hey, wait a minute.”
“What?”
“I know you’re stressed, so just… come back. Lay here with me for a few more minutes.”
She stares at me for a moment, eyes growing sadder until I’m sure she’s about to cry. But then she lies back down and rolls to face me. I move closer, wrapping my arms around her.
The ways we’ve made each other come have been incredible, but they pale in comparison to this. I want more of it. The emotional connection. The snuggles. Yeah, I’m a cuddlewhore, and I make no apologies for it.
The problem is, I don’t know what Jade wants. She used orgasms as her reasoning last night, though with how her body is molded to mine now, it seems like she likes this too.
Or maybe she just needs some comfort this morning.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper.
“I know,” she says, but I can tell she doesn’t really believe it.
That’s fine. She doesn’t have to. Because I’ll be here every step of the way to make sure she’s okay.
“Kiddo,you need to take a deep breath or you’re going to give yourself a heart attack, and I guarantee you, that’s going to be worse to recover from than this surgery,” Papa Jackson says from Jade’s other side as we sit in the waiting room.
Her procedure will be done while she’s awake, and from everything I’ve read, it should be relatively quick. Recovery looks frustrating, but not terrible. I think Jade has built it up in her head to be worse than it actually will be.
“I’m scared,” she whispers.
Running my hand over her back, I wish I could relieve her stress. “I know this is scary for a lot of reasons, but it’ll be over before you know it, and we’ll be here to make sure you have everything you could possibly need. We’re going to get through this together.”
Papa Jackson gives me a nod and an approving smile.
“Jade Jackson?” a nurse calls.
“That’s me,” she squeaks.
I lean in and kiss her cheek. “You’ve got this. We’ll see you soon.”
She squeezes my hand and rises from the chair.
“Love you, sweetheart.”
She smiles weakly at her dad, then makes her way over to the nurse.
My stomach knots. I hate that she has to go in there alone. I wish I could be with her so I could distract her, make her laugh. Something. Anything.
“She’s going to be fine.”
I turn to look at her dad, who smiles at me.
“You’re almost as much of a basket case as she is. But I like seeing how much you care for my daughter.”
“Ido,” I say genuinely.
He shakes his head and laughs. “I figured that out when you offered to marry her. I’m not an idiot. It was your way of taking care of her and building something with her. Whether she admits it or not, she feels the same way for you. The way she smiled when she was texting you—before you ever met—was unlike anything else. You make her happy and bring out her joyful side. I’m glad she has you, and I’m glad you’ll be with her while she recovers. I’d do it in a heartbeat, but she’ll be happier with you.”
