Limelight Love Story

9. Pain Management

Tim thanked Dr. Stevens from his seat on the couch as Lucy walked her out of their house. Once they were alone, he sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

Lucy noticed his reaction and said, "Don't give up already, mister. The doctor said she could guarantee that you'll get back on the ice, and I believe her."

"I can't afford to think like that. There's a chance..."

She cut him off with a hand on her hip, "No, I'm not gonna let you have doubts. We're getting you into playing shape in six weeks like Dr. Stevens said. You'll stick to your physical therapy and the daily exercises, and I won't let you push yourself too hard and risk making that ankle sprain worse. I'm calling Tamara. We have to come up with how to apologize to my fans and reschedule the next six weeks of tour dates."

"Hang on, I don't even like the fact that you canceled this weekend's performances. I can't let you cancel the next six weeks of your tour."

"Let me? Do you think I'm the kind of wife that's some quiet, obedient woman that only does what her husband lets her do?"

"Of course not," he was horrified at the thought. "I-I...I'm sorry, Lucy. I just know how much you love your tour, and I don't want you to have to miss out on that and let down thousands of fans because of my ankle."

"It's time to ice your ankle. We have a strict schedule to keep," she noted as she checked her watch. Lucy walked over to the kitchen to take an ice pack out of the refrigerator. She went to him on the couch and gingerly placed the pack on his ankle. "Listen, unless we come up with something to do on the weekends while I'm touring so your recovery doesn't suffer, then I'm canceling. I love my tour. I love my fans. I'm just more worried about you, okay? You're my top priority whether you like it or not. So, stop trying to give me an out and act like I'm going to stop choosing you over anything else. It's not going to happen no matter how you push. I'll have Tamara come over, so you can be part of the conversation about what to do, alright?"

"But, I don't know anything about tours."

She smiled. "You don't have to know anything about tours. You're my husband. We make decisions together. That's how it works."

"Okay," he agreed.

"I'll text Tamara. Can I get anything else for you?"

He tapped the spot next to him. "You haven't sat down for a single second all morning trying to take care of me. Can you just sit with me for a minute?"

"Sure," she sighed and sat down.

Tim frowned. "That's not really sitting with me. You're practically on the other side of the couch. Come over here."

Lucy glanced down at how there was only a few inches between their thighs. "How much closer do you want me to get?" She shimmied closer to have her whole side pressed against his, and he still looked unhappy. "What? You want me on your lap or something?"

He thought that sounded like a great idea and grabbed her by her lower thighs to drag her into his lap. "That's better."

"This isn't very platonic," she noted even as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Well, this is helping with my ankle."

She pursed her lips. "How's that?"

He ran his hand down her back then settled on her hip. "You make me feel better."

The softness in his eyes made her melt, so Lucy leaned into him a little more. "I do want you to feel better." She put a hand on his heart and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I feel better already," he murmured as he looked down at how comfortable she looked in his arms and how perfectly she fit with him. Tim turned on the TV, but he was not really paying attention to the cooking show that was playing. He was perfectly content watching her. At some point, the doorbell rang, which interrupted his peaceful afternoon, and he huffed.