Page 101 of Stay With Me

“Sammie, I, uh,” he began, speaking softly. “I’m so happy you… I mean, I’m really grateful for you sticking around and helping me all this time. I know you didn’t sign up for this, and I know you could easily find someone else to spend your time with so the fact that you’ve been here every day. It’s just… It means a lot.”

She hadn’t expected him to say something like that. And she certainly didn’t expect how emotional it made her. She swallowed a couple of times as she shook her head against his chest.

“I wouldn’t want to spend time with anyone else.” She winced. A little too honest for her comfort, but she decided it was okay. Maybe if he knew how she felt, it would be a good start.

She turned her chin to look him in the eyes, and she was surprised to see he looked as emotional as she felt. “And I couldn’t imagine not being here after everything we’ve been through.”

His eyebrows lifted. “After everything we’ve been through? What have we been through?”

She decided he was teasing her so she laughed and playfully shook his shoulder. “Our death-defying camping trip, silly.”

His eyebrows dropped. “Oh. Yeah.”

She laughed again. “Are your pain meds kicking in?”

He chuckled lightly. “Probably. I can’t wait to be off those too.”

She gave him a small smile. “Next week.”

“Yup.”

He paused as he ran a thumb up and down the side of her face. “Do you think you’ll still want to like, hang out? I mean when I’m not stuck in bed all the time anymore.”

Her small smile morphed into a wide grin.

Now thathasto be a good sign.

“Yeah,” she said with a little nod. “I’d love to still hang out. If you want me to.”

“I do,” he whispered, then cleared his throat. “If you do.”

She leaned forward to press her forehead against his, feeling overwhelmingly smitten all of a sudden. “I do,” she whispered back, and couldn’t help tilting her chin and brushing her lips against his.

“You do?”

“I do.”

She wondered if pain meds could be transferred from person to person by kissing, because she suddenly felt quite drugged on the sensation of the connection of their mouths. She got totally lost for a while, but abruptly came back to earth at the sound of a knock at the door.

She tousled his hair one more time before sitting back up, scooting back to the opposite end of the bed, and waved at James, who carried in a few bags of burgers and fries.

And even though her attempt atthetalk hadn’t quite yielded the results she’d hoped for, she couldn’t help feeling good about the potential of everything. She’d try again later. Things were about to get back to normal. And then she’d be more direct.

But then again, maybe she wouldn’t have to.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nick

“Well,” Sammie said, popping one last french fry into her mouth. “I’m going to head home so you can rest.”

Nick managed not to pout. It was always the worst part of his day. He usually considered telling her that he’d be much better rested if she could somehow stay with him all the time, but always reminded himself that she did have a life of her own. After all, she wasn’t his wife. He had to keep reminding himself of that too.

She wasn’t even technically his girlfriend, as much as he wanted her to be. That technicality hinged on him having an important conversation with her that he was still too chicken to bring up.

On top of all that,he couldn’t even have decent alone time with her. Alone time that was not only necessary for him to have the important conversation, but also because he simply needed her in every way a man needs the woman he loves. And clearly that couldn’t happen until his current situation changed. He was literally counting the seconds until this thoroughly annoying phase of his life was over; living in his parents’ house as if he’d traveled back in time to high school. And not only living there, but spending the vast majority of his time propped up in bed like an old man on hospice. Like he imagined he’d probably be right now if his dream had been reality and he’d actually lost Sammie.

But he hadn’t lost her. This was still the beginning. Or it could be the beginning, but that depended on him having the very important conversation, and subsequently on her response to it.