Page 34 of Risking it All

“I’m keeping the mortgage paid, though,” Marsh said. “Food on the table. We even had chicken last night for dinner.” Lyra, Camila, and I lived on a steady diet of rice, beans, and peanut butter, so I understood meat was a big deal.

“I bought Mom a pack of grapes and you should have seen her face,” Marsh continued. “It was the first time I’d seen her smile since she started this round of chemo.”

Marsh’s mom had done good on her own as a single mom after his dad died in a car accident when Marsh was a toddler. Things were tight, but they made it. When she received the breast cancer diagnosis and the chemo kept her from working, that was when shit hit the fan financially and Marsh began working for Eric. “How is your mom?”

He shrugged. “You know her. She smiles and says she’s fine.”

But the hollowness in his eyes told me things weren’t going well. “She misses you. You should come by and see her.”

“You sure?” I’d been staying away because her immune system was so jacked.

“She’ll come out onto the porch. Keep your distance, but she’s tired of being isolated.”

“I’ll come by this week.”

“That’ll make her month.”

“Hey!” Macie said behind me, and her beautiful voice created all sorts of chaos in my chest. Made me feel like I had no weights on my shoulders.

“Hey,” I said back and took advantage of our plan to wrap an arm around her shoulder again. She beamed up at me like she was the sun, and I couldn’t understand why I gravitated so easily to her light. “I want you to meet my best friend.” I tilted my head to Marsh. “Macie, this is Marsh. Marsh, this is Macie.”

Macie turned that sunshine smile onto Marsh. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Off his game, as Marsh was typically smooth as butter with girls, Marsh blinked, then his eyes darted between me and Macie. I lowered my head as I got it—Marsh couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But he got it together enough to give her a chin nod. “S’up.”

“We’ve had some classes together.”

“Yeah. Spanish. Freshman year.” He gave me that sly tilt of his head informing me he was about to bust my balls. Fuck. Me. “Relic was in there, too.”

Macie’s gaze whipped in my direction. “Really?”

“Really,” Marsh repeated. “Relic noticed you the moment you first walked in the door.”

“And this is where Marsh says goodnight,” I interjected.

Marsh barked a short laugh, and I guided Macie from him. She complied, but turned her head to look at him from over her shoulder. “Are you suggesting he had a crush on me?”

“He crashed so hard we had to send in paramedics,” Marsh called out. Macie gasped with delight, and I flipped Marsh off. Marsh laughed harder than I’d heard for a while, and it was good for my soul, no matter how much I wanted to punch him in the face.

I took Macie’s hand and led her away from everyone else and into the shadows, to the area where the flames of the fire pit barely highlighted our surroundings. I sat on a lone patio chair and gently pulled on her hand, indicating she should sit on my lap. She hesitated as she studied me. “I’ve never sat on a guy’s lap before.”

Not a big deal and I began to stand. “We can find someplace else to hang.”

“No.” She motioned for me to sit. “This is fine. It’s…new to me.”

I paused in this awkward half-standing, half-sitting pose. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

I returned to my seat and Macie sat on my thighs, perched mainly on my knees. I had to temper my smile as I asked, “You sure you’re okay with this. It’s not a big deal to move.”

“I’m perfectly perfect.”

The smile won regardless of the fight. Macie straightened with that flash temper of hers. “You’re laughing at me.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

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