The Academic Bride by Lucy McConnell

Author:Lucy McConnell [McConnell, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary, romance
Goodreads: 25121504
Publisher: Pepin Publishing
Published: 2015-03-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Mia gripped the steering wheel as she turned the corner of Main Street and Center. The doctor had taken his sweet time making rounds and it was already eight-thirty.

Ryder was given the all-clear to come home—go home. Go to his home.

Just because she’d walked his dog, and mopped his kitchen, and picked up his front room, and sorted through his clothing to find the pair of plaid pajama bottoms and T-shirt that looked oh so good on him right now, didn’t mean she lived there. Nor was she going to live there in the near future. Or the far future, for that matter.

Ryder hadn’t mentioned a wedding or an engagement all morning, yet he’d seemed awfully comfortable with her around, as if they were engaged. As if her taking him home was the most natural thing in the world. As if leaving the hospital wasn’t the first time he’d held her hand in public or looked at her like he was the luckiest guy in the world. Like he told her every day that she was beautiful. Like they’d relied on each other like this before.

It was wonderful.

And crazy.

And crazy wonderful.

Mia had no idea life could be like this. She’d tended her dad before he passed away, but she was young and had always had him around. After years of being alone in the world, having someone to care about was energizing and exciting and in some ways, right. Which was why she’d put off having the are you mentally capable of understanding that I am not your fiancée chat. Plus, after being in his home, being his emergency contact, and having shared a kiss, albeit a short one, she kind of felt like she had been through a lot with Ryder and taking him home was the next logical step.

Which wasn’t logical at all, but there you go.

She glanced at the clock again. She’d passed the point of being late for work and had crossed over into the “I have the stomach flu and I’m going to need a half day” excuse. She pressed on the gas.

Next to her, Ryder leaned the seat back and closed his eyes.

Mia didn’t like the green tint to his pallor. “You doing okay? The leg holding up? Did they give you enough pain meds to get through the day?”

“It’s not the leg, it’s the stomach.”

“Do you always get carsick?” Mia reached behind her and dumped the contents of her lunch sack on the back seat. She handed him the empty bag—just in case.

“Nope, this is a new experience.”

“Maybe it’s the meds. Or the hospital food. You did eat those eggs—they were kind of runny.”

Ryder groaned. “Maybe. ’Kay, don’t talk about food anymore.”

“’Kay.” She careened around another corner. Realizing her speed wasn’t helping Ryder, she slowed down and loosened her grip on the wheel. “Sorry.”

Ryder’s hand went to his eyes and his chest rose and fell in measured breaths. The poor guy was miserable.

Mia tapped her fingers against her leg. She glanced at him a couple times while keeping an eye on traffic.

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