“You won’t have to write a note, doctor. This is my boss right here.”

“Ah. Well, Lorelei is to be off the rest of the week.”

“I wouldn’t let her back anyway until she was one hundred percent better.”

“I’ll go get your discharge papers ready.”

When he walked out of the room, I did a little wiggle in my bed. “I can’t believe I get to go home.”

“It’s a good thing I stayed here with you today.”

“I can’t wait to be at home with Hope. I miss her so much.”

“She misses you too.”

An hour later, I was discharged from the hospital. The first thing I did was change into my warm two-piece cotton pajamas and curled up in a blanket on the couch.

“Can I make you anything? Coffee? Tea? Do you even drink tea?” Jack asked.

“I do drink tea and I would love some chamomile. The tea bags are in the cabinet above the stove.”

“Have you heard from your parents?” he asked as he reached up and took down the box of tea.

“My mom sent me a text message saying they’re having a blast, but they miss me and Hope. I didn’t text her back because of the charges and because I didn’t want them to worry.”

“Good idea. What about Stella?”

“I was going to tell her about my illness yesterday, but she sent me a text message saying that Sebastian’s father passed away and they had so much funeral planning to do that she’d talk to me when she got the chance.”

Snuggled up on the couch, I watched as Jack stood in my kitchen and put the tea kettle on the stove. The fact that he took care of Hope, read to her at night, went to her spelling bee so someone would be there for her, overwhelmed me. This wasn’t the man I worked for. This wasn’t the man that I slept with and then was told that it was a mistake and to forget about it and move on. He was different on so many levels that it sort of worried me.

“Here’s your tea.” Jack smiled as he handed me the cup. “Are you hungry?”

“No. Not really.”

He walked back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and then looked inside the cabinets.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You don’t have any food. When was the last time you went shopping?”

“I was going to go this past weekend, but then I felt so lousy that I didn’t have a chance.”

“Then I guess a trip back to the grocery store is in order. After I pick up Hope from school, we’ll go and bring some groceries back.”

“You don’t have to do that, Jack. You’ve done enough already.”

“You need food, Lorelei. Especially for Hope. It’s not a big deal. Why don’t you make me a list of the things you want?”

“Fine. There’s paper and a pen in the drawer over there.”  I pointed.

He walked over to the table and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and handed it to me. As soon as I wrote down a few things, I handed it back to him.

“That should be good. Let Hope pick out a few things she wants. Can you hand me my purse please? I’ll give you some money.”

He put his hand up. “You aren’t giving me money. I can buy your groceries.”

“No, Jack.”

“End of discussion, Lorelei. Now I’m going to go and collect Hope’s things from my place so when I pick her up, we can just go to the store and head back here. Do you need anything before I leave?”

“No. I’ve got my tea, so I’m good.” I gave a small smile.

As soon as he left, I got up and grabbed my sketchbook to finish working on the two-piece outfit I had started in the hospital. Suddenly, the door opened and Jack walked back inside.

“Did you forget something?” I asked.

“No. I want to run an idea by you.”

“Okay.”

“I think you should pack a bag and come stay at my penthouse. At least until Sunday.”

“Why?” I frowned.

“Because you can’t take Hope to and from school. She’s going to need help in the mornings, especially with breakfast and at night with dinner. You’re still recovering, so it would just be easier to stay at my place. That way, I can still take her to school in the morning and pick her up. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be covered, so you wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

I sighed. As much as it all made sense, I wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t know, Jack. This is our home and I’m comfortable here.”

“And you’ll be comfortable at my house. I’ll make sure of it. Things would just be easier. Plus I have a lot of food.” He smiled.

“Do you have any tea?” I narrowed my eye at him.

He walked to the kitchen and grabbed the three boxes I had sitting in the cabinet.

“I do now.” He winked.

The fact of the matter was I really didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t get Hope to school in the mornings and I couldn’t pick her up. With Stella and my parents being out of town, Jack was my only option at the moment and he knew it.

“Fine. I’ll go pack a bag.”

“Do you need any help?” he asked.

“No. I can do it myself.” I got up from the couch and stumbled to the bedroom.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Jack

When we reached my penthouse, I showed Lorelei to the other guest room upstairs.

“Here’s your room.” I set her bag down on the bed. “Hope’s is right across the hall. Make yourself comfortable.”

“Thanks, Jack.” She gave me a small smile.

Looking at my watch, I noticed it was almost time to pick up Hope.

“Hope will be out of school soon, so I’m going to head out now.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to see her.”

“We’ll be back soon.”

I walked down to the limo and climbed in.

“Good job getting Lorelei to stay with you,” Tony spoke.

“It was the easiest way. She’s in no condition to take care of Hope on her own right now.”

I stood outside the front doors of the school and Hope walked out with a smile on her face. A smile that made me smile.

“How was school today?” I patted her head and took her backpack from her.

“Good. Are we going to visit my mom now?” she asked.

“Yes. But we’re not going to the hospital,” I replied as I slid in next to her in the back seat.

“Where are we going?” She looked up at me with her blue eyes.

“Your mom got out of the hospital today and she’s staying with us at my house until she’s fully recovered and she can take care of you on her own.”

Her eyes widened. “She’s home?”

“Yes, and she can’t wait to see you.”

“So I’ll be staying with you and her until she’s better?”

“Yes, Hope.”

She reached over and threw her arms around my neck.

“That’s the best news ever!” she exclaimed.

When we stepped out of the elevator, Hope ran into the living room and found Lorelei sitting on the couch with her sketchbook.

“Mommy!” she yelled as she ran to her and hugged her tightly.

“Hey, baby. How was school today?”

“It was good. How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling better, sweetie. I missed you so much and so did Luna.”

“I missed you too. I’m so happy you’re out of the hospital.” She climbed onto her lap.

My phone rang, and when I looked at it, I saw that Coco was calling. I excused myself and went into my office.

“Hello.”

“Hey. My trip got cut short, so I’m on the next flight out. How’s everything going?”

“Fine. Lorelei got out of the hospital today and she’s staying with me for a few days until she’s fully recovered.”

“Who are you and where’s my brother?” She laughed.

“Very funny. We need to talk tomorrow, so come straight to my office. No, in fact, come straight to my penthouse in the morning. I don’t want anyone in the office to overhear us.”

“You’re scaring me, Jack. What’s going on? Does this have anything to do with Bradley?”

“Yes. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

I walked into the living room and took a seat next to Hope and Lorelei on the couch.

“What does everyone want for dinner?”

Lorelei arched her brow at me. “Are you cooking?”