“When I know something. He’ll freak out and mother me to death, and I don’t think I can handle that right now. I need to figure this out before he knows, so I have answers when he asks me ten thousand questions.”
Nash looked at me sideways, but eventually he sighed and leaned over, resting against me once more. It made me think of the other night when we’d done this. When sleep had settled in, and I’d stopped being so afraid for that little while.
I’d woken up alone on the couch the next morning, but there’d been breakfast on the counter and a note from Nash letting me know he’d gone out to the store. The space beside me had been cold, but the echo of him still so comforting.
I wanted that again. But I wouldn’t ask for it.
He wasn’t mine.
This wasn’t a thing.
He was just…being nice.
“I should get to bed,” I told him. I wasn’t going to torture myself with the fantasy of him any longer.
For a moment, I swore I saw disappointment flash across his face, then he nodded and sat up. “Need help up?”
“I think I can manage.” I stood and started away, but he caught my hand by the tips of my fingers with his own. Looking back at him, there was something in his eyes I couldn’t read.
“Tomorrow, we’ll start moving your stuff.”
“My…stuff?”Oh god, was he kicking me out?
“We’re swapping rooms so you can be down here,” he said.
My eyes widened. “Nash! This is your house. I’m not putting you out just because?—”
“Sorry, no. You’ve got shit going on.” He pointed to my legs, which were a bit wobbly, if I was willing to be honest. “I’m not going to be responsible for you breaking your neck on the stairs, okay? I couldn’t live with myself.”
I could tell he wasn’t going to be moved by anything I said, so instead of arguing, I shrugged and gently pulled away from him. “If you insist.”
He stood and looked down at me, directly into my eyes. “I do. Goodnight, Forest. Sweet dreams.”
My mouth felt so dry. God, I wanted to kiss him. I swallowed the words back and nodded. “Goodnight, Nash.”
And as the distance between us grew, it took all my effort to fight the urge to run back and collapse in his arms.
CHAPTER FIVE
NASH
I had to fight the urge to tap my foot as I sat in the waiting room of the neurologist’s office. My years in the Army had certainly taught me patience, and restlessness wasn’t something I usually struggled with, but right now, Forest was getting his diagnosis, and I was…worried.
Strike that. I was terrified.
Never one to assume the worst, I now had the hardest time ignoring all the doom scenarios playing through my head.The doctor doesn’t think it’s terminal, Forest had said. Those words had been a relief and a six-word horror story in themselves.
Google had brought me nothing but worst-case scenarios, but I hadn’t been able to stop myself from reading through all of them, wanting to be prepared. But good god in heaven, there were so many horrific possibilities, and after a few minutes, I’d forced myself to stop reading.
“Nash Brockway?”
My head jerked up. Why was the nurse or assistant or whatever she was calling me? “Yes?”
She walked over, and I rose to my feet. “You’re here with Forest Middleton, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am. Is he okay?”
Her gaze softened. “He has requested your presence.”
