Love Him Desperate (On the Market #5) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,96

for Parker’s brand of care that morning.

Tucking his hat over his head, he glanced up at the fat clouds, heavy and dark with snow, and he grabbed his scarf for good measure as he stepped out and locked up. The walk to the station door was only a few feet, but it felt like a hundred miles, and he took several breaths before moving inside.

Ronan was there, seated in his wheelchair at the coffee station, and he looked over his shoulder at Dmitri for just a few seconds too long. After a beat, he cleared his throat and offered out a mug, but Dmitri shook his head. In spite of his broken sleep in Raphael’s bed, he was too jittery and anxious, and he had only been able to stomach herbal tea that morning.

“Levi does this thing where he over-compensates with food. I think deep down, he is his bubbe,” Ronan said with a half grin as he indicated a spread of baked goods on the flyer counter. “Bette used to do that when we were kids. When Fitz finally got let out of the hospital, the school cafeteria smelled like one giant rugelach for months.”

Dmitri let himself smile as he walked over and peered down at the array of pastries—most of them unfamiliar, but some old favorites. “I take it everyone knows?”

Ronan sighed. “You know how this place is, but it’ll blow over in a bit.”

Dmitri wasn’t so sure, but he had to admit it was nice being on the better side of the gossip. He’d never entirely been a villain, but even the careful suspicion was a weight he hadn’t wanted to bear. This was just as heavy, but it wasn’t as suffocating.

“Are you hungry?”

Dmitri shook his head, then started the kettle just for something to do. “Um. You have work for me, right?”

“I have several things that need to get done. About a thousand forms to file, but if you’d rather be outside, the fire pit…”

“No,” Dmitri said without thinking, and the sharpness of his voice startled him. He cleared his throat and looked away so Ronan wouldn’t see the heat in his cheeks. “Sorry. Um, paperwork is fine.”

“I won’t ask you to tell me details,” Ronan said after a moment of silence. He put his tumbler between his legs, then wheeled himself back to his desk. “That’s none of my business, but if he did something to you that the cops should know about…”

“He didn’t,” Dmitri said flatly.

Ronan winced. “I didn’t mean to imply that the other night wasn’t bad enough.”

“No, that’s not what I thought.” Dmitri filled a paper cup with the hot water, then dropped a lemon inside and snagged a honey stick Collin had sent over from his latest harvest. The leather on his desk chair was cold under him, but he liked the distraction as he fired up his computer. “Honestly, I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts right now. It’s just a lot, but…” He bit his lip, then he let himself smile a bit. “Things aren’t all bad.”

“Raphael?” Ronan asked.

Dmitri rolled his eyes and couldn’t stop his smile. “It feels weird to be so upset and so happy all at the same time.”

At that, Ronan laughed, and he sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Did I ever tell you about the morning I got engaged?”

Dmitri sipped the sweet lemon water and glanced over the rim of his cup at Ronan, shaking his head. “No,” he said after he swallowed. “I think everyone assumes you two were just like, born married.”

“It feels like it some days,” Ronan said with a sigh, a smile still tugging at his mouth. “We didn’t talk for a long time. Too long. But I got my head out of my ass eventually, and I showed up at Parker’s one night. He was living in Denver at the time, working at the hospital there for his residency. He probably should have thrown me out, but he let me spend the night. The next morning, he said he’d take me back for good if I married him.”

Dmitri’s eyebrows rose. “I mean, that sounds like him.”

Ronan snorted another laugh. “He was dead serious about it too, and I knew that nothing in the world would make me happier.”

“So, you just hopped up and ran to the chapel?” Dmitri asked.

At that, Ronan’s eyes darkened. “We tried. Well, I tried. Literally, but I couldn’t get up. My legs were totally paralyzed, so instead of getting married, he