sitting at Grill King, Bree wondering why we’d never showed. And maybe Kody would be the one in a hospital bed.
Ugh. That just made me feel even worse.
I scrambled out of his lap and stood up with a small groan. The aching stiffness was returning to my limbs, and I peered in the mirror. Lifting my shirt, I saw what the doctor had been probing earlier. Mottled purple, black, and blue bruising colored my flesh in a thick line from hip to hip and in a diagonal from my right shoulder, between my breasts, and down to my left hip. No wonder I needed stronger painkillers.
Kody stepped up behind me, his gentle fingertips tracing the lines of my seat belt. "I almost lost you again today, babe." His whisper was rough, and his gaze met mine in the mirror, swimming with fear. Fear for me. "I thought it was bad last time, after you got stabbed. This was worse. So much freaking worse."
My smile was watery as I tried to reassure him. "It's just a bruise," I replied. "In a week, it'll be totally gone."
He shook his head. "MK, that was a well-coordinated attack. They had vans ready to intercept me, making sure I couldn't get to you. That guy had his gun pointed at your head, babe. If I'd been even a second slower—"
"But you weren't." I cut him off firmly, spinning around to face him and looping my arms around his neck, ignoring how it pulled on the bruises. "You were there exactly when I needed you, Kody. The only reason I'm standing here right now and not on a tray in the morgue? You."
Holy crap. That hadn't fully sunk in until now. I’d very nearly died today.
He started to argue, and I cut his words short with my lips against his. He held me carefully, conscious of my bruising, but he didn't pull away. He kissed me back gently, his lips pouring adoration into me until a warm glow cracked through the stifling guilt inside me.
"You kicked ass today, Kody," I whispered when we broke apart. "You saved both me and Bree. Focus on the positives. We're alive."
He gave me a small nod. "You'd be wise to do the same, babe. Focus on the positives, okay?"
I swallowed heavily, feeling like a giant hypocrite, but nodded back. We started to leave the restroom, but just as he opened the door, I tugged him back for a second.
"What's up?" he asked, a worried set to his eyes.
I bit my lip, mentally kicking my own damaged ass. "Nothing. Just..."
Holy fuck, just say it, MK. Tell him you love him!
"Nothing," I mumbled again, chickening out. "Let's go."
He gave me a quizzical look but continued out of the restroom anyway while I mentally berated myself.
Epic feelings fail.
Archer was right outside the door, leaning against the wall opposite with his huge arms folded over his chest and a scowl set in his features.
"Everything okay?" he asked when we stepped out. His gaze ran over me, scrutinizing.
"Yep," Kody replied as he brought our linked hands to his lips and kissed my fingers. "I'm going to duck out to the coffee shop around the corner, grab us all some better coffees. You guys want anything else?"
Both Archer and I shook our heads, so Kody released my hand and left me there while he headed for the exit.
"Are you okay?" Archer asked, his question more pointed and deliberate this time. Caring.
I started to tell him I'm fine, but that was a straight up lie. I shook my head instead, feeling fresh tears well up and cursing myself for being such a weepy mess. Archer just reached out, folded me into his embrace, and held me tight as I sobbed into his chest.
"Come on," he murmured in my ear, "let's get some fresh air, okay?" He kept one arm wrapped around me, and my arms stayed locked around his waist as we made our way outside and into the cool evening air. Archer took me past the parked ambulances and across to the grassy lawn facing the main entrance, where there was a park bench.
He sat down there, then pulled me gently into his lap before burying his face in my hair with a deep inhale.
"I think," he whispered in a husky voice, his lips brushing my ear, "that loving you is giving me wrinkles and gray hair."
I scoffed a laugh at that, then swallowed heavily as girly butterflies erupted in my stomach. It was a sickening