Nash takes a step forward and grabs my elbows. His warm hands are perilously close to body parts I’m trying to hide.
And he smiles.
A big, fat, giant, radiant beam.
I swear I see the hall light reflecting in his white teeth. Both of his dimples are showing, and I’m reminded that he truly is the most attractive man I’ve ever met.
“You’rea miracle drug, Magnolia!”
Abandoning my post of covering cold body parts, I reach up and grasp both sides of his face. His cheeks are rough with stubble, and I barely win against the urge to rub my thumb back and forth against his skin.
“I know a wonderful grief counselor, okay? And I know you don’t know me that well, but I’ll be happy to listen to you at any time. Okay? Nash? Nash? Okay, Nash?”
But he doesn’t respond. He just wraps his arms around me. He’s rock solid, his strong arms feel like steel bands wrapping around me.
“Stop laughing. You’ll wake the neighbors.”
I yelp as he lifts me in his arms and spins me around, and all the while, his booming laughter is bouncing off the paper-thin walls.
“He’s going to be okay! He pulled through the night, and the doctor says he’s never seen anything like it. Grandpa’s numbers are back to normal. Even though he’s weak, if he keeps improving at this rate, he’ll make a full recovery.”
“That’s wonderful!” I release his face and hug him back. No wonder he’s so giddy. Alexander is going to be all right.
I sigh with relief and melt into his hold.
And that’s when I realize Nash is still holding me off the ground. “You know what he did? He woke up in the early hours of the morning and told me he was too youngto die without going to my wedding. He thought you were wonderful and wants you to come to eat breakfast with him this morning.”
I push back against his chest, slipping out of his hold. “Wait one second! I’ll run and get dressed, then we can go!”
CHAPTER 10
Magnolia
I didn’t thinkanything of it until now, as we stand in the hallway of his grandfather’s house. The emotions of everything has carried me through—right up until I remember one important detail.
“Wait a minute. I’m not your fiancée. I could be your friendly neighborhood drug dealer for all you know! You might sell body parts for a living for allIknow! I shouldn’t be here.”
Why am I standing in a stranger’s house pretending to be engaged?
Nash sighs. “Please. I just want to make sure he gets better. And you’ve given him a reason to live. Please. I’ll pay you. I’ll make it worth your time.”
“You’re sure he needs me? What if I’m more of a stressor? A one-hit wonder? What if he only liked me yesterday but today I send him into cardiac arrest?” There are so many things that could go wrong with this lie.
“He’s going to love you just as much today as he did yesterday,” Nash assures me with a small smile.
“When will you tell him the truth?”
“I haven’t written my five-year plan yet, but I’ll get to that,” he says in exasperation. “Please. I’m sure we’ll beable to tell him the truth tomorrow, after he’s had a little more time to gain his strength.”
“You’re right. Of course I’ll help. I want him to get better too.”
He’s a man, desperate to help his grandfather. If I were home, I’d be eating my way through that box of cinnamon rolls. It’s better that I’m here. In a stranger’s house. Pretending to be engaged to a man I only met this week, right?
“Let’s go.”
I pull back my shoulders and head for the stairs. If there was anything I said or did yesterday to help improve his health…I only hope I can do the same today.
The man lying in the bed isn’t the same man from yesterday morning. I mean, technically, he is, but he isn’t.
