Heath felt like his heart would burst in his chest. Seeing Jubilee in that car, so close to death, and then so pale and fragile in her hospital bed, had made him realize how much she meant to him. The mere thought of losing her had been like an arrow to the chest.
He struggled against wanting to wrap her up in wool and never letting her go anywhere without him. He knew she’d only hate him if he coddled her like her family always had. She’d resent him for it, and he wouldn’t have their love dissolve into something so bitter.
Smoothing the hair from her forehead, careful of her stitches, he said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. I’m tough.” She smiled. “I beat cancer twice and now a car accident. I’m invincible.”
He wanted to shout that she wasn’t, that she was human and vulnerabl
