Page 159 of Blush

Always.

I want her by my side always.

As more than a BFF.

I want her for everything—as my wife, my lover, the mother of my children. I won’t have any trouble committing now. I figured it out. I figured it all out.

Mandy, why did it take this? Why did it take this to realize what I have?

“When will she come back?” I ask, this time opening my eyes, turning my head, and meeting my mother’s gaze.

“I don’t know. She didn’t say.”

“I’ll call her later.”

“You will get your rest,” Mom says in herI’m your mother and I know what’s bestvoice.

“I need to talk to Mandy.”

“You can talk to her tomorrow, once you’ve been released. I’ll make sure she comes over.”

“All right. Thanks, Mom.”

I surrender to the fatigue, close my eyes, and fall into slumber.

Chapter Fifty-Five

Amanda

I wake up the next morning, ready to get back to the hospital to see Jack, but his mother calls and tells me they’re bringing him home later in the afternoon. I’m so happy he’s okay. I can deal with the fact that we’ll never be anything more than friends.

After getting some work done and taking Roger on his walk, I decide to take the rest of the day off. I head to Jackson’s with supplies.

I let myself in using his code and walk into his apartment. He has a wonderful kitchen plus a living room, dining room, and two bedrooms. Much nicer than my tiny little one bedroom.

I don’t come here often. He always picks me up, takes me home. He spends more time at my place than I spend at his, which makes no sense, since he has a lot more room, but whatever.

I find a vase in one of his cupboards and arrange the flowers I picked up from a vendor on the street. I throw some cinnamon bark in a pot, bring it to a boil on the stove, and set it to warm.

Then I get to work on my mom’s special chicken soup.

I boil the chicken I picked up at the butcher, add chopped onions, chopped celery, and chopped carrots, along with thyme, sage, and garlic, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer. The scent of the simmering broth merges with the cinnamon, and Jack’s apartment smells like Christmas.

After the broth has been simmering an hour, I remove the chicken, skim off the fat, and let the meat cool until I can shred it with my fingers without burning them.

I taste the broth, add salt and white pepper until I’m satisfied, and add the shredded chicken and the noodles. Jack should be home any minute, and the soup will be ready for him.

I sit down on his sofa, fire up my laptop to do a little more work, when I hear the door clicking.

First to walk in is Noreen. She gasps when she sees me.

“Mandy, you scared me for a moment. What are you doing here?”

“I came over to make sure things were nice for Jack when he got home.” I nod to the flowers. “I’ve got homemade chicken soup all ready for him.”

“Oh, goodness. You needn’t have bothered. I was going to go to the deli and get some chicken soup.”

I smile. “Now you won’t have to.”