As I carried our plates back to the table, I caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of my eye. My heart seized. It was Dayton, with Tameron at his side. What were they doing here? Dayton had said he couldn’t make it.
Panic clawed up my throat as they spotted me and started heading our way, brows furrowed in confusion as they noticed Forest. This wasn’t how I wanted them to find out. I needed more time to explain, to make them understand why I’d kept this secret.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. “I thought you had a family thing.”
Dayton shrugged. “It got canceled last minute ’cause my dad got food poisoning. Tam convinced me we should swing by and surprise you. But it looks like you’re the one with the surprise.” His eyes shifted meaningfully to Forest.
I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry as a bone. This was it, the moment of truth I’d been dreading. There was no more putting it off or hiding. I had to come clean to Dayton and Tameron, and pray they would understand. “Dayton, Tam… There’s something I need to tell you,” I said. I set the plates down on the table and turned to face them fully, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Forest and I are… We’re married.”
Dayton’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. Beside him, Tameron blinked rapidly, his hands coming up to sign a question. ‘Married? When? How?’
I held up my hands in a placating gesture. “I know this is a shock. Believe me, I wanted to tell you both in person when we had time to really talk it through. I never meant for you to find out like this.”
Dayton seemed to recover his power of speech. “What the hell, Nash? You got married and didn’t tell us? Didn’t tell me?” The hurt in his voice cut me like a knife.
Shame curdled in my gut. He was right. I should have told him long before now. “I’m sorry, D. It’s complicated.”
Tameron’s gaze flicked between Forest and me, his brow furrowed in thought. “Tell us the truth because this is not what it seems.”
“It’s a long story,” I began lamely. “We didn’t tell anyone because…because…”
I floundered, my carefully constructed explanations deserting me under the weight of Dayton’s incredulous stare. Forest reached out and placed his hand over mine, offering silent support even as I felt him tremble.
“He did it for me,” Forest said quietly. “To get me on his health insurance. I’m…” He swallowed. “I’m sick. I’ve been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, and just getting the diagnosis cost me a fortune. The bills will keep coming for a while and…”
“He needed health insurance.” I took over again. “Because he was let go from his job.”
Dayton’s face went through a complicated series of emotions before settling on confusion as he turned to Forest. “What do you mean, let go? I thought you were teaching?”
Forest nodded. “I was. But they decided not to renew my contract for the fall semester, claiming low enrollment. Which meant no more health insurance through the university.”
Tameron put a hand on Forest’s shoulder. “And this disorder, it’s serious? You need ongoing treatment?”
Forest’s grip on my hand tightened. “It affects my muscles and nervous system. I have seizures, trouble with balance and coordination, chronic pain, and fatigue. Physical therapy helps, but it’s expensive.”
Understanding dawned in Dayton’s eyes, followed quickly by sympathy. “So you married him to get him on your insurance plan at work.”
“I know it’s not exactly legal,” I admitted, my face heating. “But I couldn’t just stand by and watch him suffer, not when I had the means to help. You know me, D. I had to do something.”
Dayton sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Yeah, I know you. Always trying to save the world, one person at a time.”
He was right. I did have a bit of a savior complex, always needing to swoop in and fix things for the people I cared about.
Tameron looked between us, his expression thoughtful. “So this marriage…it’s not a love match?”
I grimaced. “It’s…”
Complicated. So very complicated. Because while we might have gotten married for practical reasons, my feelings for Forest were far from practical. They were deep and real and terrifying in their intensity. But I couldn’t lay that on Forest, not now. Not when he was already dealing with so much.
“It’s a marriage of convenience,” Forest said. “Nash offered to help me, and I accepted. We’re friends and roommates, that’s all.”
The words stung, even though they were the truth. Or at least, the truth as Forest saw it. Because while he might see me as just a friend, my heart knew differently.
“And Creek doesn’t know,” Tameron said, voicing it as a statement, not a question.
And there it was, the elephant in the room.
“That’s on me,” Forest said quickly. “Nash wanted to tell him, tell all of you, but I asked him to keep it to ourselves for a little while. Creek is…” He threw up his hands. “You know what he’s like, Tameron. He’s overprotective and would’ve swooped in to rescue me, smothering me in the process.”
