The bathroom door was still closed, so I blinked. When I opened my eyes, the words were still there.
Call Avery.
What. The. Fuck?
Chapter Fourteen
Avery
“What are you doing up so early?” Brooke stood in the doorway of the kitchen as I sat at the kitchen table with my laptop.
My right leg was bobbing like a sewing machine needle as I scanned the listings on the screen. Probably because I’d downed three cups of coffee already and was working on my fourth.
“I’m looking for an apartment. I can’t take another night with the two of you going at each other like horny dogs in heat. I love you guys, but seriously, if I knew you and Kyle would become sex gluttons, I’d have never encouraged him to take you out in the first place.”
I’d also filled out the paperwork to the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) to allow my information to be shared with Happy’s family should they ever request it. Happy didn’t need to know I hadn’t done it before she’d shown up.
The thought hadn’t occurred to me that her parents might need to know what happened to the various pieces of their daughter they’d selflessly donated to keep others alive. Maybe I was a self-centered prick, or maybe I couldn’t conceive of the amount of grief the Rose family still felt because of her death. Now that I understood it better, I knew I had to do something.
Of course, Brooke giggled. “Sorry. It was the second anniversary of our first time…”
I needed no more information, but I remembered one thing. “Wasn’t it around this time that you two went out on your first date?”
Brooke’s face turned pink, which made me laugh.
“You hooked up on your firstdate?Holy shit!”
She slapped my shoulder and went to the fridge, pulling out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon. I knew what that meant.
“You guys aren’t worn out yet?”
Again, she giggled. “I’m just making breakfast, but I’ll warn you. We’re watching movies in bed.”
I closed my laptop, grabbed my half-empty cup of coffee, and turned to her. “I’m going out. I’ll be back this afternoon. Fuck yourselves out because I don’t want to hear it.”
When I glanced around the kitchen, I saw Happy near the stove.“She’s likely going to burn down your apartment, but whatever. You need to go to the dog park. You’ve gotta talk to Holden again. I’m running out of time.”
“Please don’t burn down the apartment. I’ll be moving in a week or so. You two still need somewhere to live."
Brooke laughed. “I’m a better cook than you, Avery.”
“You wish. Two words—breakfast casserole. The three of us got food poisoning because you used raw sausage. I love you guys, but I need my own place to live. You and Kyle are loud and it reminds me that I’m not getting laid. We’ll see each other at the office, so don’t worry about me.”
“You can move in with Holden.”Happy had a great sense of humor, but I definitely wasn’t going to move in with her brother. Hell, he didn’t even want to talk to me.
I laughed. “I’m not moving in with your brother.”
After making my bed and pulling out clothes for the day, I checked my phone to see it was sunny but only in the mid-thirties. I tossed a thermal henley on the bed to wear under my sweater and headed to the bathroom.
“Why not move in with Holden? He keeps a clean and tidy home, and Ossie’s there. That sweet pooch has enough love for two. In fact, go to the dog park today, you can play with Ossie and get to know Holden better. When are you going to tell him that you got my heart?”
I turned on the shower to warm and quickly lathered my face to shave. “You’ll step out when I have to take off my pajamas, right?”
Happy giggled.“So modest. Yes, of course, I’ll step out if it bothers you. Anway, when?”
I decided to tell her anyway. “I filled out my request this morning to make my contact information available to your family. I have no idea if any of the other donors have asked, but I want to be sure I got my request logged before I begin to think about how to break the news to your brother that I have your heart. I don’t see how I’m going to get him to believe any of this.”
That was no lie. He was adamant the last time I’d seen him that he wouldn’t open his mind even a hairline crack to consider the idea his sister was able to communicate with me. Even with my request to connect with the family, I had a feeling Holden’s thoughts on the matter wouldn’t change.
