Chapter 18
Jayden noticed the silence behind him and turned to find Arianna trying to stifle a smile.
“What’s so funny? I’m being completely serious here.”
She coughed lightly, biting back her laughter. “I just didn’t want to bug you while you were working.”
She followed him into the living room, watching as he methodically assembled the cat tree and arranged the litter box with the focused precision of someone who’d spent years in surgery.
“Look at you being all patient and detail–oriented,” she said, genuinely impressed. “You’re gonna make such a good… boyfriend.”
Jayden’s hands froze on the cat bed he was fluffing, his ears turning red at the tips.
“Hate to break it to you, but this boyfriend is already spoken for,” he said, not trusting himself to look at
her.
When he didn’t hear her usual quick comeback, something cold twisted in his stomach. He glanced over
his shoulder.
Arianna was crouched on the floor, her face drained of all color, one hand pressed to her chest as she fought for breath.
Pure terror slammed into him like a freight train.
“Fuck–Arianna!” He was beside her before he’d even processed moving, his hands shaking as he pulled her against him and fumbled for the emergency medication stashed under the coffee table. “Come on, baby, stay with me. Take this.”
His heart was hammering so hard he could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in his ears. This was his worst nightmare–watching her slip away right in front of him, being helpless to stop it.
The minutes crawled by like hours until her breathing finally evened out and some color crept back into
her cheeks.
Only then did Jayden remember how to breathe.
“This is exactly why I told you to take it easy,” he said, his voice coming out harsher than he meant it to. Fear always made him angry–it was easier than admitting how fucking terrified he was. “I told you your heart couldn’t handle the stress, and you just ignored me.”
Arianna managed a weak smile, still leaning against him. “I’m okay now. I promise I’ll listen next time.”
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Chapter 18
But Jayden was genuinely pissed off–not just at her, but at this whole goddamn situation. The past few days had been so perfect, so blissfully normal, that he’d almost let himself forget how fragile she was. How easily she could just… stop breathing and never start again.
Seeing her collapse like that had ripped open every wound from the past ten years, every nightmare about losing her that had kept him awake in medical school.
When he stayed quiet, his jaw clenched tight with barely controlled emotion, Arianna looked around desperately for a way to break the tension.
Her eyes landed on Orange, who was cautiously investigating his new cat tree.
“Orange!” she called, scooping up the confused kitten and holding him out toward Jayden like some kind of furry peace treaty. “Quick, help me apologize to the scary man!”
Orange, who had absolutely no clue what was happening, just wiggled in her grip and let out a tiny,
bewildered mew.
The sight of her trying to use a kitten as her lawyer was so completely ridiculous that Jayden felt his anger crack and crumble.
“You’re unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head as he gently rescued Orange from her hands. The kitten
immediately curled up against his chest, apparently deciding Jayden was safe. “Fine. You’re forgiven. But
only because you have excellent legal representation.”
Before he could launch into another lecture about taking care of herself, Arianna held up her right hand
like she was in court.
“I solemnly swear on Orange’s tiny little life that I will not lift anything heavier than a coffee mug ever again!”
“You better fucking mean that,” he muttered, but his voice had gone soft and fond instead of sharp.
By evening, they’d finished setting up all of Orange’s supplies. The kitten had wolfed down his dinner and
promptly passed out in his new bed, tiny paws twitching as he dreamed.
While Jayden cooked, Arianna planted herself on the floor next to Orange’s sleeping form, alternating between adjusting his miniature blanket and gently stroking his orange fur.
“He’s not going anywhere, you know,” Jayden said from the kitchen, watching her with barely concealed amusement. “You don’t have to keep vigil.”
Arianna looked up with eyes so full of pure joy it made his chest tight. “But look at those little toe beans! And his tiny ears! How is something this perfect even real?”
“Very cute,” Jayden agreed, but he wasn’t looking at the cat. He was watching the way Arianna’s whole
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Chapter 18
face transformed when she was happy–like someone had lit her up from the inside.
She caught him staring and her cheeks went pink, but she didn’t look away.
After dinner, Jayden was at the sink washing dishes when he felt arms slip around his waist from behind.
His hands stilled on the plate he was scrubbing, his heart doing something complicated in his chest.
“Since when are you the touchy–feely type?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady even though every nerve in his body had just caught fire.
He felt her tense slightly behind him, like she was second–guessing herself.
“We were just friends before,” she said quietly, her voice muffled against his back. “Best friends, but still just friends.”
Jayden set down the dish and pulled off his rubber gloves, his pulse racing. He turned in her arms so he was facing her, his hands settling on her waist like they belonged there.
His voice dropped to something rough and intimate. “So what are we now?”
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