Page 75

“What are you doing here?” I say into her neck, my words muffled and emotional.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” my mom says, and I assume she leaves the room but I’m so consumed with the fact that Gabby is here that I’m not really sure.

“I came to see you,” she says, and her voice trembles.

I pull back, and I stare down at her a beat. It’s in that moment I wonder how the fuck I could have ever questioned it.

God, I love her.

She’s here.

She came for me.

She will always come for me—and I don’t just mean that in the sexual way, though I’m not currently opposed to that particular notion.

My mouth crashes down to hers as I hold her in my arms. A feeling like I’m home even though I don’t currently have a home washes over me. Whatever it takes, whatever I have to give up, whatever notions I had about the future once upon a time…they all melt away as I hold her in my arms, as my lips move over hers, as the love I feel for her seems to come at me from every angle imaginable.

We have to find a way to make this work.

End of story.

We’ll compromise, and we’ll fight and argue, but I can’t retreat from her when things get tough. Just holding her in this moment is enough to make me very well aware of that.

This is it. She is it for me, whatever that means.

“God, I love you,” I say against her lips, and she pulls back but only to bury her face against my chest and squeeze her arms more tightly around me.

“I love you, too. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”

“You’re here now,” I say, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. “And somehow it’s everything I didn’t know I needed.”

We cling to one another for a few more beats, and I hear my mom talking to someone in the other room. I assume it’s either her phone or the television since we’re home alone, and I grab Gabby’s hand and drag her with me toward the kitchen, dropping the suitcase by the stairs to take up the next time I go.

“We’ll be right there,” my mom says as she ends the call. She glances over at us and blows out a breath. “I guess he got an infection from the catheter and he’s on an IV with meds now. Marissa isn’t handling it well but he’s doing okay.”

I nod. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”

“I’m so sorry this is how we’re meeting,” my mom says to Gabby. “I’m Cheryl. You can call me Cheryl or Mom, whatever makes you feel more comfortable.”

“Thank you. It’s lovely to meet you in person, but I wish it was under better circumstances,” Gabby says.

“So do I, honey. But the fact that you showed up for my baby boy is everything I need.” She gives Gabby another squeeze. “Gosh, you’re pretty. I mean, Cooper talks all the time about how gorgeous you are, so I should have believed him. And he also talks about how smart you are, how funny…”

“Mom, we need to go,” I say, my face heating with embarrassment as my mom gives away all my secrets. “And remember, her dad can’t find out about us, so this is all sort of top secret.” With those words, I turn to Gabby. “How are you going to explain to him that you’re here?”

She winks at me. “I’ll tell you in the car on the way to the hospital.”

I drag her suitcase upstairs and grab my shoes, and then I quietly head back down. I pause in the stairwell as I listen to my mom and Gabby talk.

“He’s a different man since you came into his life, honey. Thank you for being so good to him.”

“Thank you for raising such a good man. He tells me all the time how important you are in his life, and I love that you two have such a close relationship.”

My chest warms listening to the two of them.

I think I’ve got my mother’s stamp of approval.

I blow out a soft breath then continue my trek toward them. “Ready?” I ask.

As we make our way toward the hospital, Gabby says, “My dad called me last night, probably right after he got off the phone with you. He said he thought you needed a friend, and since he was tied up in meetings, he asked if I could fly out to see you since I’m your shadow anyway.”

“He did?” I ask, surprise clear in my tone.

Maybe Troy wouldn’t be so opposed to the idea of the two of us—not if he’s pushing her on me when he thinks this is my time of need.

“Yeah. He said he’s seen how close we’ve been getting, and he can tell I’m like a little sister to you.”

I wrinkle my nose as I look at her in the rearview. She’s in the backseat, and my mom is up front in the passenger seat. “He said that?”

She giggles. “Yeah, and then he said something about how he’s like an older brother to you if it was a really messed up family.”

I laugh, and my mom does, too.

“Gosh, he really has no idea about the two of you, does he?” my mom asks.

I shake my head. “He’s caught up in a lot of his own stuff right now, so we’ve been flying under the radar I guess. And I move into my new place soon, so even less chance of him finding out.”

“But you can’t hide this forever. Can you?” she asks.

“Neither of us wants to hide it forever , but it’s still in the early stages. There’s no harm in keeping it between us as it develops and grows,” I say. I glance back at her, and her eyes meet mine in the mirror. I spot a little relief in hers at my words, as if she understands my meaning that we’re still on track to develop and grow even though we haven’t had a chance to talk about it yet.

We will.

She’s here now.

We’ve got all the time in the world.

We arrive at the hospital, and we head to Connor’s new room on the telemetry floor. An IV is shoved into his arm, and he rolls his eyes as he looks over at us when we walk in, my mother first, then me, and Gabby at the back of the pack.

“Well who do we have here?” he asks as his eyes fall down onto our connected hands.

She waves. “I’m Gabby.”

“She’s my…” I turn to look at her, and she glances a little nervously at me as she waits for me to finish that sentence. “She’s my girl.” I lean down and press a kiss to her lips, and Marissa cheers as Connor makes some whooping noise. “But we’re keeping it quiet. We can’t let her dad find out.”

“Why not?” Marissa asks.

“My dad is Troy Bodine,” Gabby announces, and Marissa gasps while Connor’s jaw drops.

“Whoa,” Marissa says.

“Yeah. It’s complicated,” I say. I lean down and rest my forehead to hers for a beat. “But when it’s this right, we’ll sort the complications later.”

“Oh my God,” Marissa says, clapping her hands together. She rushes over to wrap me in a hug. “I’m so frickin’ happy for you.”

“Me too, man. Well, as happy as a guy can be with a catheter shoved up his dick,” Connor says.

“Not the first time you’ve had a dick infection, is it?” I ask Connor, who balks at my joke while my mother tsks me.

Marissa hugs Gabby next. “Thanks for being here for my brother-in-law. I’ve known the kid a long time, and he seems much calmer with you here already,” Marissa says. She turns toward me. “Back to your old jokester self.”

“I’m not a jokester. I just call it like I see it,” I say, and Connor laughs while my mom continues to pretend like she isn’t listening to any of this.

“You’re one to talk. You’ve been with like thirty-five times as many girls as me,” Connor says.

Gabby wrinkles her nose. “Too much information,” she says, holding her hands over her ears.

“Connor’s been with one,” Marissa says, leaning in and touching her chest to indicate herself. “And I bet Coop’s been with more than thirty-five.”

I glare at Marissa, and I slide my arm around Gabby’s shoulders as I pull her closer to me. “Numbers don’t matter. All that matters is you top my list.”

She eyes me skeptically, obviously able to tell I’m simply trying to divert the attention from the underlying accusation in my sister-in-law’s words. She gives me a look that tells me we’re probably going to have an uncomfortable conversation later.

Which is fine.

I’ll have any uncomfortable conversation in the world with her. I’m just happy she’s here.

Even if I don’t really want to get into the specifics of my number.

Age is just a number, right? So maybe the exact number of sexual partners I’ve had is just a number, too.

I went through a phase or two. I’m over it now.

I know what I want, and I squeeze her to my side again. She’s right here with me, and I’m not letting that change any time soon.