My Sweetheart

That night, Kathy saw Joseph bring a bag in, and reach for it curiously. “What did you bring me?”

“Formal attire.” At her baffled look, he elaborated, “You can leave the hospital tomorrow. That night you’ll accompany me to a banquet, hmm?”

“What banquet?”

“For Mathew’s new company.”

Kathy furrowed her brow and blurted out, “You’re not going to sabotage him, are you?”

Joseph laughed. “Do you want to see me ruin things so badly?”

Kathy bit her lip. She knew Joseph better than anybody. She knew that beneath his urbane exterior lurked anger and violence. But she liked him so much. “Of course I do,” she nodded, though she was only kidding.

“Tomorrow I can leave the hospital,” she went on, “and soon my break will be over. I’ll miss it,” she admitted as she unwrapped her gown. Here she ate well, lived well, slept well. It was first-class treatment. If not for a few things, she’d consider it the finest living indeed.

He smirked. “What, you want to stay sick here?”

Immediately she shook her head. “No, no. I want to get better soon.” She still had many things she needed to do—she couldn’t fritter away all her time in the hospital. “I’ll go try on my clothes,” she said, getting out of bed to go to the restroom.

But Joseph stopped her, shutting the door and the curtains. “Try them on here.”

Kathy stared. To get dressed where he could see… to have him watch… It was unacceptable. She didn’t listen to him, hurried to the bathroom—but slipped in her haste, nearly fell. Joseph caught her up against him, murmuring against her hair, “Kathy, if you don’t stop this, when you get out the hospital I’ll take you home and not let you leave.”

to crouch down and help her fix her shoe. “Get dressed here. If you don’t want me to look, I won’t look.” That said, he went to the balcony, closed

him, couldn’t help but smile. The dress fit just right—it was pale pink, and showed off her shoulders and her slim waist. When Joseph turned around, he was struck dumb, his eyes glowing. “Does

his arms around her slender waist and nudging her onto the balcony. His eyes full of lust,

had no mirror, she’d no idea what she looked like. She made to reply, but he didn’t give her the chance, instead kissing her hungrily, to the point she

back, but it moved up slowly. Everywhere he touched was electric; everywhere he touched, she went soft and weak. But when he released her,

in his

She ran to the bed, pouting, “I’m still in the hospital, I’m still a patient, how can you bully

his lips. “I’ve not even

Kathy flushed…

…

Joseph had finished examining her, yet she was still in his office. She’d refused

go,” Zofia prompted when her friend spaced

the car and stuck her tongue out at the hospital disappearing in the rearview mirror. Only when it

Joseph?” Zofia

But Kathy didn’t mean

a cold war again,” Zofia noted. Otherwise it should have

could sense that Joseph was treating her more coldly now. It wasn’t like how close they’d been when they’d first gotten together. Now it was like they’d

to the Booth house? I thought you

“I turned him down.”

“What? Why?”