lip, and his brow was tight.
“I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “I’ll figure something out.” I managed a smile as I draped an arm over him. “Feeling too good to bitch about health insurance and medical debt right now.”
He smiled faintly, but he obviously had something on his mind. After a moment, he covered my hand with his and looked me in the eye. “What if cost wasn’t an issue?”
I tensed. “Jase…”
“I’m not going to say let’s go elope so you can get on my insurance.” He shook his head. “If we decide to make that commitment down the line, fine. But right now…” Jase looked in my eyes. “Money is keeping you from going to a therapist. It’s keeping Dallas from getting to specialists who might be able to do more for her.” With a shrug, he softly added, “But if I can help, then let me help.”
I blinked. “But that’s… I mean, we’re talking potentially thousands of dollars. Like, tens of thousands of dollars. I can’t ask you to foot that kind of bill.”
“Why not?” He stroked my cheek. “You said yourself the hardest part about Dallas’s medical issues is that you can’t do anything to fix it. That’s… I mean, that’s the hard part for me too. Knowing you would both be happier and healthier if you could see people who can help?” He swallowed. “What kind of man would I be if I could help, and didn’t?”
“Are you… You’d really…”
“Yes,” he whispered. “Especially if money is the only thing standing between Dallas and the treatment she needs. I mean, I can’t think of anything I could spend it on that’s more important than her being able to go more than a few days without being in that kind of pain.”
I stared at him. “But that’s… I mean, MRIs alone are a few grand, and—”
“Devin. Baby.” He smiled with a hint of shyness but a whole lot of sincerity. “I’ve seen her in pain. If a doctor comes along and says he’ll help her if I give him the Aston Martin, I’ll have the pink slip in his hand by the end of the day along with a set of season tickets.”
My lips parted, and my throat was a little tight as I said, “Seriously?”
“Of course.”
“That’s… That’s amazing. You know that, right?”
“I just want to help.”
My voice wavered as I laughed softly and touched his face. “You know, for a guy who didn’t think he could pull off being a stepdad…”
Jase wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I freaked out over that, yeah, but just because I don’t know what I’m doing doesn’t mean I don’t care about her. Or about you. That’s exactly why it scared me so much. Because I do care, and I was afraid to fuck up. So then I did fuck up by leaving, and—”
“Hey.” I drew back a little, brought his hand up to my lips, and kissed his knuckles. “This is all new territory for you. I get that it scared you. Something that new, plus your anxiety—I get it.” I laughed softly, squeezing his hand. “And now you’re willing to do all this to help her, I… Fuck, Jase.”
He smiled. “Anything for you. Both of you.”
Oh my God. This man. As if I hadn’t already been overwhelmed by having Jase back in my life, now I was utterly bowled over by the idea of him helping me step up Dallas’s medical care. Access to therapy for myself sounded great, but I swore my need for therapy was almost negated just by the metaphorical door opening to neurologists and specialists who might be able to do something for my daughter.
I leaned in and wrapped my arms around him. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“I just want you happy.”
“I am,” I murmured against his lips. “And I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I’m also really glad you came back.”
“So am I.” He kissed me softly. “Thanks for the second chance.”
I just grinned and kissed him again, and we lost ourselves in holding each other.
Kissing Jase always made me dizzy, but my head was spinning even faster tonight because he was back, and because… Holy shit, he really was amazing. Nothing would be magically fixed, and even with Jase footing the bill, there wouldn’t necessarily be some magic pill that would cure Dallas’s migraines. There was no guarantee that his therapy would help him fully control the anxiety that had ruled him all his life. Our relationship wouldn’t