“I don’t need to get in to bathe you,” I told her, and opened the shower curtain. “Take off your clothes, Jess. Let me do this.”

She slipped my coat off her shoulders and hung it on the door. “Why?” she asked as she went to a button on her shirt.

“Why am I going to bathe you?” I asked her, reaching for her shirt and unbuttoning it and slipping it off her.

She nodded and let me take over the job of undressing her.

“Because I’m going to make sure you know by the time I’m finished just how perfect and beautiful you are. I intend to wash all those bad memories off of you with my hands. We’re going to leave them here. We won’t be taking that with us.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and I stopped unzipping her skirt. “I love you,” she said, then grinned through her tears.

“I love you more,” I replied, and let her skirt fall to the floor. “It’s time you felt safe. I intend to make sure you feel that way every day of your life.”

Her eyes widened and I tugged her panties down. She stepped out of them, and I took her hand and walked her to the shower before turning the warm water on. “Let me know if it’s too hot,” I told her as she stepped inside.

“I like it as hot as it gets.”

I reached out and touched the smooth skin on her arm. “That would burn your skin,” I said, stroking the soft flesh.

“It washes the dirty away,” she said simply.

I reached for the soap. “I’ll wash it away. No scalding water needed,” I told her as I lathered my hands, then placed them on her shoulders and began massaging her body, slowly worshipping her with each touch.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

JESS

I opened my eyes to see my momma drinking a cup of coffee and staring down at me. She took a drink while I rubbed at my eyes and rolled back to find Jason no longer curled up against me on the sofa.

“Relax. Your white knight is outside on the phone dealing with our moving arrangements. He didn’t want to wake you.”

I sat up and looked out the small window. I could see Jason’s back as he stood there, talking on the phone. “Moving?” I asked.

“Yep. Glad we didn’t get around to unpacking most of the boxes, not that all that shit would’ve fit.”

“Where are we moving?” I asked her.

“Not sure. He’s been making all kinds of plans. I could only hear bits and pieces, but it sounds like they have the best doctors for my surgery and treatment in New York City. He’s moving you to be with me there. Then when I’m finished and have a clean bill of health, he’s making arrangements for me to have a nice gulf-front condo, and you’ll be with him.”

She had been listening to everything he said. “Not sure? Sounds like you know exactly what he’s doing,” I told her.

She shrugged. “He’s right outside the window, and he talks loud. He also isn’t a fan of this place. It makes him get all loud and angry when he mentions it.”

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to smooth it before walking to the door.

“Stop fussing with your hair. The boy is so sunk it ain’t even funny. I walked in here this morning to find him watching you sleep.”

Smiling, I opened the door and stepped outside.

Jason turned his head to me. “Yeah, I want it done today. Let me know when it’s handled. I have movers on their way now.” He didn’t say bye before ending his call and slipping the phone into his pocket and closing the distance between us. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he teased, then pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

“Good morning,” I said, wishing he would kiss me like I wasn’t about to break. He had treated me so tenderly last night, and now this. The memory of last night was one I would never forget, but that was then. I wasn’t fragile.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, but right now why don’t you go get dressed and I’ll take you and your mother to breakfast.”

Letting him handle everything was easy, but it wasn’t right. Handing all my problems over to him wasn’t what this relationship was about. “What about the movers?” I asked, not sure where to start.

“They’re coming to pack your things and move them to Jax’s place in Sea Breeze for now.”

“We can’t stay at Jax’s place,” I said, thinking about his mother showing back up again. There was a good chance my momma would scratch her eyes out.

“We’re only staying tonight. We leave for New York in the morning, and your mother’s surgery is scheduled for the next day, with the best surgeon money can buy. Her recovery and chemo will also be held there, and you’re staying in the penthouse we stayed in when we were there together. It’s reserved for Jax when he needs it. He’s already got it booked for you and your mother. When she’s ready, her things will be waiting for her in a two-bedroom gulf-front condo at the Turquoise Place. Complete with maid service.”

“Jason, you can’t.”

“I can and I’m going to. I told you I was taking care of you. Let me do that.”

“Buying my momma a condo is going a little overboard,” I said.

“I have an ulterior motive,” he said, bending his head so he could press a kiss to my neck. “If your momma is happy and secure, I can convince you to move in with me. I’ve got my own apartment in Boston and no roommates. I don’t want to leave you for entire weeks at a time, and if I have you with me, I can focus on actually passing my classes.”

This all sounded too perfect. “What happens when you get tired of me or you realize I’m not cut out for your future?”

“I’ll never get tired of you. In fact, the more I’m around you the crazier I get about you. And what future of mine are you not cut out for?”

“I wasn’t raised to be a politician’s wife like Johanna,” I said.

Jason chuckled and took a nip at my earlobe. “Thank God, because I’m not letting a politician near my woman. Can’t trust the bastards.”

I tilted my head so he had to look at me instead of kissing my ear. “I’m talking about you,” I said.

He nodded. “Oh, right. More of my mother’s talk, I assume. Well, let me assure you that I don’t intend to ever be a politician. Not interested in it and never will be.”

He didn’t want to be a politician. I wasn’t hindering his career. “Then my history as a stripper won’t hurt you in the future?” I asked, hating to point out an obvious concern.

He laughed and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “Stop worrying, Jess. The only thing that can hurt my future is if you don’t agree to move in with me, because I can’t concentrate without you near me.”

I wanted this. All of it.

“Is this for real?” I asked him.

The door to the apartment opened. “I’m starving, and he said he was gonna feed me. Go get your clothes on and deal with the fact that you got that fairy tale you wanted,” Momma said with a wink, and turned to walk back inside, then stopped and laughed before looking back at me. “Guess in the end it was Logan after all. And all this time I assumed it would be Jess who won Rory in the end. Huh. I was wrong. I’ll be damned. I need to go rewatch that last season and see where I missed it.”

When she closed the door behind her, I turned back to Jason. His frown was directed at me. “Who is Logan?”

I covered my mouth to muffle the laugh I couldn’t hold back and shook my head.

Jason’s frown wavered. He couldn’t figure out why I thought this was so funny, which only made me laugh harder.

“Logan, Jess. Who is Logan?” he repeated.

I managed to control my laughter and wiped the tears from my eyes. “He is Rory Gilmore’s wealthy boyfriend,” I managed to get out over another giggle.

“Rory who?”

“Gilmore. My mother thinks all life’s problems can be solved via Gilmore Girls,” I said, and his confused expression was still there. “You do know what Gilmore Girls is, don’t you?”

He shook his head.

“A television show. It ran for, like, seven seasons,” I explained.

Jason looked back at the apartment door Momma had walked into. “I’m so confused.”