and dragging his wheelchair closer so that he could transition himself over. With one last look at the beautiful woman sleeping in his bed, he headed to the bathroom, unable to stop smiling as he grabbed a quick shower. When he was finished, he pulled on a clean pair of shorts and headed back into the bedroom, only to sigh when the doorbell echoed throughout the house.
After sending one last look at the bed to make sure that Sloane was still asleep, he made his way down the long hallway to the front door and
“I never liked Amy,” Melissa announced with a heavy sigh as she dropped a large paper bag from his favorite bakery on his lap and headed inside.
“What are you doing here?” Chase asked, following her.
“Came to check out the new house,” she murmured absently as she made her way down the hallway, checking out rooms as she went only to add, “Also, I hated your old house.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” he couldn’t help but wonder as he followed her into the kitchen.
“It was long overdue,” his sister said, shrugging it off as she made her way to the refrigerator and helped herself to the orange juice.
“You don’t think this is something that you could have mentioned before I proposed to her?” Chase asked as he tossed the bag on the kitchen table and made his way to the cabinet so that he could grab two glasses.
Melissa seemed to think that over before she shook her head with a thoughtfully mumbled, “No.”
“And why’s that?” he asked, placing the glasses on the table.
“Because you would have hated me,” she said with a shrug as she reached for a glass, making him frown as he said, “I could never hate you, Melissa.”
Over the past year, he’d done his best to push her away, but he’d never hated her. He’d hated the fact that she had to see him like this. He didn’t want her to see a cripple when she looked at him and he…Christ, he didn’t want to be reminded of just how fucked up his life had become.
With a thoughtful look, she poured a glass of juice and placed it in front of him as she said, “Then this is probably the best time to tell you that I slapped her.”
“What?” Chase asked, frowning as he watched his sister nod.
“Okay, so it was more like a punch, but she had it coming,” his sister said with a heartfelt sigh that had his lips twitching.
“When was this exactly?” Chase asked, reaching for the bag.
“Right after the doctor told us that you would probably have to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair and she decided to throw a fit letting everyone know that she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with a cripple,” Melissa said, shrugging it off as she stole the bag from him and helped herself to a large coffee roll.
“What a bitch,” he said, shaking his head in disgust as he watched his sister grab a glass of juice off the table and head outside.
“That’s what I thought,” she said, sitting down at the patio table that Sloane had talked the previous owners into leaving behind. Placing his glass carefully between his legs, he dropped the bag of baked goods on his lap and joined her.
“She was a spoiled brat,” Melissa said conversationally as she looked around, taking in the large backyard.
“I’m beginning to see that,” he said, wondering why he hadn’t been able to see it before.
Probably because he didn’t want to see it, Chase thought as he watched his sister glance toward his room and
Oh, shit…
“You’re not firing her,” he said firmly, shifting his attention from Sloane sleeping soundly in his bed to glare at his sister.
Lips twitching, Melissa said, “Can’t fire someone that already quit.”
Chapter 28
“You took a leave of absence,” came the softly murmured words that drew Sloane’s attention to find Chase transitioning himself to the built-in stone bench behind her.
“I did,” she admitted, adjusting the showerhead so that the hot water reached him as she moved to stand between his legs. She’d been wondering how long it was going to be before he found out. To be honest, she was surprised that it had taken this long. She’d figured the agency would call his sister and double-check that they didn’t need anyone to take her place as soon as she put in her request.
“And why would you do that?” Chase asked, reaching over and