Page 95 of Years in the Making

I can’t hold in the laugh as I picture Izzy cursing silently at her phone. She’s such a perfectionist that I know this will be driving her mad.

Marley

Maybe you’re just dumb like the rest of us!

Izzy

*Hates

And never.

There’s a soft knock at the door just before it swings open revealing a shirtless Teddy. Probably because I’ve got his shirt on. He leans against the frame and takes me in from head to toe, a slow smile curling up the edges of his lips. I expect him to say something, but he remains silent as he watches me put my phone down and remove the toothbrush from my mouth.

“Do you need something, Teddy?”

He shakes his head, that damn smile shifting as his jawslides left then right. “Just wanted to let you know that coffee is ready.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” He nods and turns to leave but catches himself on the door, spinning back around. “Oh, and Midge was wondering how the bed held up.” My mouth drops open, and he turns and walks back down the steps, laughing.

Goddammit it, past Nellie.

THIRTY-SEVEN

TEDDY

Zoe

MRI came back clean!

I stare at the message and feel my shoulders relax.

That’s great! Thanks for letting me know.

Have you been having any headaches up there?

Not really.

What the hell does not really mean? You have but not many?

A couple but nothing too intense. Nothing to worry about.

Maybe make an appointment with Dr. Tascioni just to be safe.

Zo, I’m fine. Stop stressing. You know it’s notgood for you!

I hate that she worries about us like this. One of the things the doctor was pretty clear about was not letting stress get to her. She seems unbothered by her diagnosis though and is constantly worried about me and Will. We’ve had scans done, and we both have no signs of anything wrong. The machine is in a duffle in the truck, and I’m trying to decide whether or not to go do a reading so I can show her when Nellie saunters back into the bunkie.

She’s wearing one of my T-shirts, and I have to bite my lip to keep the moan from escaping. It hits mid-thigh, and I can’t stop myself from running my hands under it to trace the edges of the bathing suit she must have just put on.

Nellie’s not looking at me like she’s about to beg for more, though. “Everything okay?” Her forehead creases with concern.

“Yeah.” I smile up at her. “Why?”

“I don’t know, you looked worried when I came in.” She looks down to where my phone sits in time to see another notification from Zoe pop up, this time a call. “I’ll be at the lake. Take your time.” She bends and kisses me in a way that leaves me wanting more when it ends too quickly.

“Zoe?” I answer, watching Nellie quickly grab her bag and Kevin’s vest. She gives me a quick wave before disappearing out the door.

I realize that Zoe has been talking but I didn’t hear anything. “Sorry Zo, lost you, what did you say?” I lie.

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