Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
I had no clue what she was talking about.
I mean, it was freakin’ awesome that he’d had hot chocolate brought to me, but…
“Oh, you look so cutely confused.” She snickered. “Have a good one.”
Then she was gone.
I waited until she disappeared before I resumed my seat, taking a sip of my hot chocolate.
It was delicious.
“Yum,” I said as I pulled it away from my lips.
“Good?”
I’d completely forgotten about him with the chocolatey goodness orgasm that was going on in my mouth right now.
“Oh,” I said as I picked it up. “That was weird.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
I picked up the cup of hot chocolate, then saw the writing on the side.
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
My breath hitched, and I looked over at the man I loved.
The man who had the power to hurt me.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 23
You deserve a partner who isn’t afraid to hurt other people’s feelings to protect yours.
-Nash to Zip
ZIP
Chemo round one
I kind of, sort of, knew what to expect with cancer treatments.
I mean, we’d gone through something similar before...
But it hadn’t been like this.
This round of chemo was much more rigorous than anything I ever expected.
Nash was curled around a bowl on the bed, his face ashen, his skin shiny with sweat, and his eyes squeezed shut as he tried not to vomit.
The poor guy was miserable.
The worst part was, he couldn’t even lift his head enough to throw up into the bowl.
We were on round three of sheets this morning, and we were on day three post-chemo.
Day two had been worse than today.
At least today, he was actually able to keep down some of his water.
Speaking of water…
I moved to the side of the bed, picked up the squeeze Gatorade bottle that was on the nightstand, and moved the bowl out of his hold.
He didn’t protest as I moved it.
Couldn’t, really.
I saw the sparkle of the ring on my hand and was reminded about how I’d gotten it.
This morning, going through his drawers to find a new change of underwear and some socks, I’d seen it sitting there right on top.
Without thought, I slid that ring onto my finger and then continued to get him dressed.
He was freezing, and the only thing that’d helped so far was the heating pad I’d asked one of my sisters to bring over.
“Water, honey,” I said as I pressed the bottle to his lips.
He opened his mouth, and I squirted the electrolyte water inside.
He grimaced. “That’s disgusting.”
I smiled. “Good.”
He opened one eye just a slit and said, “Torture your new thing?”
“It’s what gets me off,” I teased.
A small smirk lifted up the side of his mouth, then he immediately started to throw up.
I cursed and tried to catch it in time but failed.
It was not only all over me, but the bed and himself.
“Shit,” I grumbled darkly. “Dammit.”
Luckily with the last episode, Hoyt had showed up with a plethora of waterproof sheets.
We’d slipped ten of them on the bed, so it’d be easier to change everything.
“Get himself again?”
I looked up to see Kendall standing there. “Yeah. Can you help me get him in the shower?”
As much as I wanted to do this myself, it was impossible. Nash was just too big, and with him being so lethargic, he was almost impossible for me to move on my own unless I strained, which none of them wanted me to do.
He nodded, and together we got him in there onto the reclined shower stool.
I started the shower up, then started to remove what was left of his clothes.
Socks and underwear.
“Call me if you need help,” Kendall called out. “I’ll take care of the bed.”
Then he was gone, leaving me alone with a miserable looking Nash.
“Sorry,” he groaned. “I’m so sorry.”
Annoyed with everything, but mostly his constant apologizing for stuff he couldn’t control, I angrily walked into the shower and walked right up to him, standing between his splayed thighs.
Once there, I leaned forward, allowing the water to hit my fully clothed back, and rested my hands on either side of him.
He looked at me warily for a few long seconds, wondering what I would do next.
I pulled myself backward, barely restraining the urge to bonk him upside the head, and then pulled the showerhead off the wall and started to clean him.
“Stop apologizing, Nash. Or I’ll get mad,” I ordered mutinously.
The man had the nerve to be amused.
His lips twitched. “You’re not already mad?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “This isn’t funny.”
The little bit of humor on his face slid away as if it was never there. “Never said it was.”
I was soaked now.
The rain shower head that was over the top of us, paired with the way that the water splashed off the walls—oh, to have this awesome shower as a kid—I was wet from head to toe.
Placing the showerhead back to its holder, I stripped out of my wet clothes and called out loudly, “I am taking a shower with him. Don’t come in!”