“Stop!”
He froze halfway to the counter, where there was a pizza box from his favorite Greek place. He turned his head slightly. “Sorry. I’m being too much.”
“You’re being kind of a dipshit,” I said, breathless with the effort it took to stay upright. I gripped the counter and leaned against it. “It’s not like that. He’s just…nice. And I haven’t had a friend in a long time.”
Nash scoffed. “You came here to an entire house full of friends.”
“Yeah. Creek’s friends.Yourfriends. And I love the guys, but they’re not, you know, mine.”
His face fell. “They love you too. They genuinely care about you, and not just because you’re Creek’s brother.”
I had a feeling he wasn’t necessarily talking about all of them. “I get that. But it’s different with Dax. This is kind of lonely, you know? I know I need to tell Creek, and I will the moment I have some stability. But having someone who is only my friend feels like…like there’s a weight off.”
Nash softened and walked over, setting his arms around my waist to give me the support I hadn’t realized I needed. God, it was too easy to lean into him. Too easy to breathe in his scent and feel like I was home.
“I told him a little bit about what I have going on,” I said.
Nash squeezed me a little harder. “Yeah?”
“He said that I should take help where it’s offered,” I added quietly. “That there’s no shame in it.”
“There isn’t.” His tone was kind but fierce. “There should never be shame in that.”
I took a breath, then leaned back. “I know. So…we should talk.”
He looked cautiously optimistic, which was fair. I was going to give him my answer, and really, it was the only answer there was. It helped that Nash made this whole thing easy. Being married to him would not be a chore.
The only thing that scared me was how much strength it would take to not fall in love with him. To take what he was offering without expecting more.
“Let me fix us plates. You go sit back down,” he said. “On the couch.”
The fact that he was willing to deviate from his no-eating-on-the-couch rule spoke volumes. “I’ve been sitting all day.”
He raised a brow at me. “The way you’re hugging that counter tells me you need to sit a spell longer.”
Damn him for being right. I groaned but turned and started back for the living room. My legs were shaky. The medication was wearing off, and I didn’t feel like taking more and going full zombie for the rest of the night. I wanted my head to be as clear as possible for this talk.
It took a Herculean effort to get back to the couch, and when I sat, it felt like my whole body sighed in relief. My legs were trembling slightly and my left hand had turned into a claw I couldn’t straighten.
Fuck, I hated this. I tucked it under my armpit and took the plate Nash brought over with the right one. He gave me a look that told me he knew what was happening, but he didn’t call me on it. Instead, he sat beside me and set a plate of hummus and pita on the coffee table next to his pizza.
“So,” he said.
I held up a finger, then took a massive bite. Sleeping had prevented me from eating, so I was starving, and I savored the perfect spices and the hint of tomato sauce as I took half the piece down. I felt a little better as the food hit my gut, and I was able to take a long, slow breath before I began.
“I don’t want to drag this out,” I said, “so my answer is yes.”
“Yes,” he repeated, softly and unbelieving.
“Yes. I will marry you.”
The tips of his ears instantly turned bright red, and he took a moment before he spoke again. “Okay, yeah. Yes. We can… That’s great, Forest.”
“Is it?”
He met my gaze and reached over, taking my chin in his hand. “Yes. It’s great. I wish I could do more than put a ring on your finger, but?—”
“Oh. Are we…are we wearing rings?”
