Page 29 of Marry Your Best Friend

I get out and walk around to help her out, but she meets me at the front of the truck instead. I grab her hand and pull her with me to her house. “I’m not leaving. Can I stay here with you?”

She nods, leaning her head against me as we walk toward the house.

We walk in, and she has her head down as she walks along the hallway to her bedroom. I lock the front door, remove my boots, set them by the front door, and then follow her. She’s sitting in the chair in the corner of her bedroom, and I squat in frontof her. She leans back in the chair. “You think I can sleep here?”

I smile at her as I take off her shoes and socks. She always takes her shoes off by the door, and I’m surprised she didn’t this time. “Baby, you can sleep anywhere you want, but why would you sleep in this chair and not in your bed?”

She shrugs. “Because I worked today.”

I crease my forehead, trying to decipher what she means. “What does that have to do with it?”

She pulls at the scrubs she’s still wearing. “Because I have the filth of the hospital on me. I can’t lay down on my bed like this.”

I stand up and pull her with me. I know that more than anything else, Chrissy needs a good night’s sleep, and she’s not going to get it in this chair. It’s going to be pure fucking torture, but I don’t have a choice. If a shower is what she needs to get into her bed, then she’s going to get a shower. “Come on.”

She doesn’t even hesitate to follow me, but she does ask, “Where are we going?”

I’m trying to figure out how in the hell I’m going to do it, but for Chrissy, I can do anything. “I’m going to give you a shower.”

She does stop then. “What?”

I look at her, taking in the circles under her eyes. “I’m going to give you a shower, Chrissy.”

She doesn’t cringe, seem upset or worried. She just looks up at me. I’m not sure what to make of her lack of a response. “Unless you want me to get Haven or Cat or Luciana over here. If that would make you more comfortable, I can call one of them.”

She just shrugs. “I can shower on my own.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re dead on your feet, honey. I can do this.” I shrug my shoulders. “I mean, do you trust me?”

She rolls her eyes. “Really, Gabe? Do you even have to ask me that? I trust you more than I trust anyone.”

I nod and huff out a breath. My whole body feels like it’s electric, but for Chrissy, I will pull myself together and take care of her like she deserves. Even if it kills me.

13

CHRISSY

“I’m sorry, Gabe.”

I’ve made everything about me, and I know he’s hurting as much as I am. He and Ledger were close, and he’s going to need to grieve too. He shouldn’t have to keep it together just for me.

He puts his hands on my shoulders and squeezes me gently. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

I sniff and try not to tear up again. “You lost a brother, too. You shouldn’t have to be here taking care of me. I’m fine, Gabe. You should be out with your friends—”

He cuts me off by putting his finger over my mouth. “This is where I should be.”

I pull back and smile at him. “You should be where you want to be. You should be taking care of yourself, not having to take care of me.”

“This is where I want to be, honey.” He releases me and then walks toward my bed. “You still leave your pajamas under your pillow?”

It always amazes me the things he remembers about me. “Yeah, old habits die hard.”

He picks up my pillow, and it’s not until he pulls out my sleep shirt that I remember the shirt I slept in last night. I was mad at Gabe, but I felt guilty that our conversation ended like it did, and I wanted a way to be close to him. I’ve hoarded tons of shirts of his through the years, but I’m not sure if he knows it. Heat rises up my neck and across my cheeks. Oh my God, a hole could open up and swallow me now because this is embarrassing.

He unfolds the shirt and holds it up. “This is my old academy shirt.”

It’s a navy blue T-shirt. The fire academy’s logo is on the chest, and on the back,Grayis spelled out in big red letters. Holding it in one hand, he asks, “Is this what you are wearing to bed, honey?”

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