That could be fun later in the weekend.”
She felt a hot shiver go through her. “I wouldn’t say no.”
Something flickered in his eyes as his smile grew. “Yeah. That’s something I really like about you.”
She smiled. “Okay, so if there’s no sex tonight and I’m going into work in the morning before we leave, you don’t have to stay.”
“Yes, I do. In case you get sick in the night or need something.”
He said it firmly, and she felt her head nodding. “Okay.”
It wasn’t needy of her to want him to stay. She just… wanted him to stay. She liked him, and she was kind of hoping this might turn into more than just a favor—and a little insurance fraud—between friends. She wasn’t going to lie about wanting it to be more. If it didn’t turn into more, fine. They were going in eyes-wide-open. She wasn’t going to trick him or manipulate him. But could she show him what a real relationship with her would be like and hope that he liked it? Why not?
They were going to be married. Might as well give it a fair shot. She couldn’t, in good conscience, stand up in front of her family and friends in a church and take wedding vows that she knew might not stick, but once she was bound to Grant legally, even if he saw it as temporary, she could definitely try to make the marriage real and enjoyable for the time they had. She knew a lot about happy marriages. Maybe not from her own experience, but she’d been around two, observing them daily, up close, her whole life.
Of course, she needed to get past the puking and stabbing pain and then the bloody bandages and possible post-op puking part of all of this first. She really needed to look some things up about gall bladder surgery. Still, it was probably the least sexy thing she’d ever done with a member of the opposite sex.
“Okay,” Grant repeated. “Great.” He seemed relieved she wasn’t arguing.
He stretched to his feet and toed off his shoes as he started to undo his jeans.
She blew out a breath. She’d really love to stay and watch him undress. “You’re going to strip right in front of me and then tell me we can’t have sex?” she asked, watching his long, thick fingers undo the buttons and zipper.
He paused. “I… yeah, I guess that’s what I was doing.”
“You could sleep in the guest bedroom,” she suggested.
“I’m not doing that.”
She looked up at him, just then aware that her gaze had still been on the fly of his jeans. “Why not?”
“You’re going to be my wife. I’m sleeping in your bed.”
Dammit. It wasn’t really real but when he said “my wife” her heart flipped over. “Even when I’m sick?”
“Maybe especially when you’re sick.”
See? That was romantic. She didn’t care what anyone said.
She took a deep breath. “And the sex thing tonight? Definitely off the table?”
“As much as I’d love to,” he said. “I think it’s best. It would really bother me for you to have pain in the middle of it.”
She believed him. If nothing else, she already knew that Grant was very bothered by her pain. That was also romantic. “Okay. Then I’m going to go brush my teeth while you undress. You be under the covers when I get back.” She pointed at the bed.
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled and stepped around him.
“Hey, Jocelyn?”
“Yeah?” She looked back. She was stunned by how much she liked seeing him undressing next to her bed. It was a physical reaction from her attraction to him, for sure, but there was something softer too. A comfort in having him there and just a feeling of rightness.
“Could you put your pajamas on while you’re in there? I see what you mean about the stripping in front of each other.”
She grinned. “Well, I should maybe torture you a little since this is your rule.”
She loved the idea that she even could torture him. That his attraction to her was strong enough that watching her undress would have been tempting too.
“But,” she went on, “yes, I can do that.”
He blew out a breath. “Thank you.”
She put a hand on her hip. “You really thought I’d make you watch me undress?”
“You’re… sassier than I expected,” he told her. “The torture things seems like something you might do.”
Josie lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sassy?”
“You have some definite sass in you,” he said with a nod. And a tiny frown.
She liked that. She was