Chapter 504

• Jake pushes off the wall and sits on the bedside, helping me fix his T-shirt so I can remove my uncomfortable bra from underneath. He pulls up my sheets, kissing me lightly on the forehead as though I am a simple sick child who needs mothering. He plumps the cushions for me wordlessly, guarding his emotions, his face is set in a blank expression, but his body language betrays his worried demeanor.
• “What’s the verdict, doc?” He watches the doctor as she strolls back into view. She writes something studiously on a medical pad left on the side unit and turns to look at us with a smile. He tenses, then take a long deep breath very slowly, emanating all kinds of fear. It makes me want to wrap my arms around his neck to make him feel better. He’s the boyish young version of himself right now, and I’m incapable of withstanding that side of him.
• “Emma, are you okay with discussing a diagnosis in front of Mr. Carrero?” She eyes me kindly, with a no-nonsense attitude and raised brow that tells me she intends to evict him if necessary. Jake stiffens. He either doesn’t like her question, and it’s grating on his infamous ego, most likely bristling with an attitude ready to take her on, or he’s worried that the diagnosis is something to be truly scared about.