time away from work as well as the excuse for not seeing a therapist. Something Mama Kerri urged me to do regularly.
“Fine, I guess. Though I left work early today and went at Jonah’s urging. The therapist thinks that seeing you and my family happy and doing well will help, but mostly she feels like it’s time alone that will ultimately fix the problem.”
“Makes sense.”
“You said you had a good day doing the shoot. Blessing told me you had one of your moments when you were with the clients before Jonah and Ryan showed up yesterday. Is it better in private at the photographer’s home?”
“Actually, yeah, but if I’m being honest, I had a moment there too.”
Her voice rose a little in surprise. “You did?”
“I’m not made of stone.” I used the analogy Killian had shared with me earlier.
She smiled. “You always seem like you’re just fine. So strong. I feel like a loser compared to you. I wasn’t hurt the way you were, and I still have to crawl into bed with you to make sure you’re breathing and alive. Check in on you all the time. It’s stupid but I can’t help it.”
I petted her hair some more. “I like that you worry about me. Check on me. Makes me feel more normal when everything still feels so out of whack.”
“It really does. And it’s like, just when things were starting to feel as though they were going well, and we’re trying to move on, we’re thrown right back into it all again.”
“I know. But you trust Jonah, right?”
“With my life.”
“And he loves you more than anything in the world. And he knows your family is all you care about. He’s going to do everything in his power to keep me and everyone else safe. You have to have faith he will do as he’s been trained.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She yawned. “Tell me about the photographer. Blessing says he’s totally into you and your type. Anything happen today?” I smiled wide and her eyes got bigger and she nudged me. “Tell me! Brat!”
I reached for her hand and held it with my own. “He’s ridiculously gorgeous. I’m talking off the charts, the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
“Whoa, that’s huge since you take pictures with models.”
I nodded. “He has thick, long hair that falls past his shoulders. It’s a light brown-blond tone. He’s got a beard and mustache combo thing that gives him that gruff, manly edge.”
“Oh, you’ve always dug guys with facial hair.”
“Totally,” I breathed. “He’s taller than me which is awesome.”
“Because you’re an Amazon at five foot eleven.”
“True.”
“What else?” She giggled.
“His body is cut. Like, full six-pack.”
“Jonah has a washboard stomach, and I’m telling you, girl, the amount of time I spend running my fingers along it…” She sighed dreamily.
I snorted.
“Wait, how did you see his stomach? Hmmm?” she asked as light bulbs obviously flared in her brain.
“Like I said, I had one of my moments. He helped me through it and then shared some of his own horror stories. He used to be a soldier but more than that, he was a photojournalist capturing battles and traveling with the Army as they fought oversees. He saw a lot of people die, many who were friends.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful.” Simone squeezed my hand.
“It is. He got hurt. IED. He survived but he has a lot of scars, all over his back. I think he showed me because he didn’t want me to feel alone or ugly because of my scars, ya know?”
“Wow. I mean I hate to say that’s amazing because it was probably terrifying what he went through, and the losses he sustained immeasurable, but the fact that you have that in common, it’s a pretty powerful and an unusual connection. Is there any chemistry there? I mean, romantically?” she asked, hope coating her tone.
I grinned. “Definitely. He’s already told me he wants to date me but of course now that’s a bit hard when I’m trying to keep a low profile and have a bodyguard watching me at all times.”
She shrugged. “Still, it can be done, as you know from my experience.”
“True.” I chuckled. “And we did have some sexy photo sessions. At one point I felt…” I shook my head. “No, it’s stupid.”
She prodded me and lowered her voice to an even deeper whisper. “Tell me. I’m dying to know now.”
I took a deep, fortifying breath. “Okay. But I swear if you tell anyone else about this part, I’m going