He Picked the Wrong Wife to Sacrifice for His Sister novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Sit Down

Quinn's POV

I got to her kitchen at eight on Friday morning, and she was already on her feet.

Lena stood at the stove in a robe, with the baby in the crook of one arm and a spatula in her other hand.

She was cooking me eggs. She had a clean plate out and a cup of coffee going, and she had mopped the floor.

Her eyes were gray underneath. She'd had two hours of sleep, and she was moving as fast as she could to cover it.

"Sit anywhere," she said. "The eggs are almost done. I washed the chair cushions. Do you want toast? I can make toast."

"Lena."

"I can do toast and hold her. I've been doing both all week."

I watched her pick up the dishrag and wipe a spotless counter.

I knew exactly what she was doing, because I'd watched my father do it for ten years.

Every kindness, paid off ahead of time. Every favor, repaid before it was asked.

She was paying me for the ramp, and for the kiss, and for the two days in the lawyer's office, in advance.

I rolled up behind her and took the spatula out of her hand.

"Quinn, don't..."

"Sit down."

"I'm fine."

"I know you are. Sit down anyway."

She turned and looked at me with the baby against her shoulder.

"I don't need you to fix this," I said. "I'm not here to be fed. If I wanted eggs, I'd make my own with the one hand."

"It's just breakfast."

"It's a payment. I know the look."

Her face went very still.

"I want you to sit down," I said, more quietly, "because you're tired and you gave birth nine days ago. That's all of it. You don't owe me eggs. You don't owe me one thing."

"Nobody's ever said that to me and meant it."

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