Page 56 of Take My Love

“Once I feel human again, I’ll call her. She mentioned her brother in her last text, but I have no memory of meetin’ him or what he looks like.”

“Really?” He leans against the vanity, crossing his arms with an amused grin on his face.

His T-shirt stretches across his biceps and my gaze focuses on his tattoos. They remind me of the one on his chest that mirrors mine and it sends a weird sensation through me.

“Should I describe him for you?”

“Sure, maybe it’ll spark my memory.”

“He’s about five-five to five-six. Stocky. Red hair. Long beard. Beer belly. Great smile.”

I bark out a laugh because he’s full of shit. “That’s quite the image.”

“Seems nice though, so I wouldn’t write him off.”

“C’mon, tell me for real.”

“Fine,” he drawls dramatically. “He’s a fireman, so he’s built as shit. Dark hair, trimmed, but no facial hair. An inch or two shorter than me.”

“On a scale of one to ten…” I taunt, knowing he’ll hate this. “What would you rate him?”

“Seriously?” He grunts, uncrossing his arms.

“Yes, help me. I can’t bring an ugly date as a plus-one.”

“If Ihaveto rate him, then…a seven.”

“Okay, I can work with that.” I lean back further to keep the mask from sliding. “What would you rate Jamie?”

“Based on her looks alone, an eight. But her personality and our connection matter to me more, so until I get to know her on a deeper level, I can’t determine our compatibility.”

“From what I remember, she has a great personality. Very fun.”

“Yeah, well…I need more than being fun. Anyone can be when they’re tipsy.”

He has a point.

“Are you gonna ask her out on a date before the weddin’?”

“She wants us to double date with you and Jackson first. I assume it’s so she’s not alone with someone she just met.”

“That makes sense. Wait.”Speaking of date.Something he told me yesterday hits me. “Didn’t you have plans with Michelle today?”

“Yeah, but once I realized your condition, I told her we had to reschedule.” He shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. I should’ve said somethin’ earlier. You could’ve gone.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I would’ve worried about you anyway, so I would’ve been lousy company. She mentioned her buildin’ has an apartment for rent, so I’m gonna look into that and see if it’s still available.”

My heart drops a little because I’m getting used to him being here even if it’s only been a week. It’s nice not being alone all the time.

“You don’t gotta worry about me, ya know? I can handle myself.”

I don’t want to be the reason he doesn’t go out, especially knowing how his ex treated him. It’s bad enough he’s taking care of me like a sick child. When my younger siblings would get theflu, I always helped Mom and made sure they had everything they needed so she could still work and take care of everyone else. When I’d inevitably catch whatever they had, I toughed it out so no one worried about me.

“Yeah, so you’ve been sayin’…” he murmurs, shifting his gaze to the floor. “But I worry about my friends when they’re sick, so it’s best I stayed home.”

I’m starting to understand why he and Warren have been best friends for so long. While Warren dealt with Maisie leaving, Silas was always there for him. Loyal to a fault and never gave up on him or made him feel bad for sulking. When Warren started building his A-frame cabin house for Maisie, Silas helped him during the evenings and weekends until it was done. Although he never knew if his wife would return, Warren didn’t give up on making their dream house a reality.