Page 77 of Pitcher Perfect

I stayed on the floor with my eyes closed while I told them what I was making and where I was at with everything. Dom asked great questions, and I heard the familiar scratch of a pen on Austin’s notebook. Each word felt like a hard-fought victory to get out. The migraine was coming in fast. My pulse thundered behind my eyes.

“Right. I’ve got it. Get some rest, man.”

“Here.” Austin handed me a pair of sunglasses. “I’ll drive you home.”

How did I get so lucky with him?He stayed by my side as I walked slowly to his car.

“Give me your keys so we can use your food truck tonight. Here, I’ll help you into Dom’s car.”

We drove in silence, and I kept my eyes closed. When we reached my apartment complex, Austin unlocked my door and walked straight to my room.

By the time I ambled through the bedroom doorway, Austin had already managed to hang something over the closed blinds to make the room blessedly dark, and he’d pulled the covers back.

“Sit,” he directed softly then carefully undressed me. “Lie back. There you go.” He tucked the blanket around me. “Too warm?”

“No. S’good.” I felt exhausted to the bone.

“Is it okay if I call your doctor’s office right now to get a prescription going? I can pick it up whenever it’s ready today or tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I gave him the information he needed.

In quick order, Austin had called in the prescription to the local pharmacy, gotten me a glass of water, and plugged in my phone to charge.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? I know you’re going to worry, but try not to. We’ve got this. Just feel better.” He gently rubbed my shin. “I’ll check on you later.”

“You’re amazing,” I mumbled, eyes squeezed tight to fight the pain.

I felt the light press of his lips to my shoulder before hearing the door close a minute later. I lost myself to the pain after that.

CHAPTER24

AUSTIN

“This is fucking exhausting.How does Caleb do this every day?” I swiped my flannel-clad forearm across my forehead and leaned against the counter.

Dom chuckled. “I’m sure he’d say the same to you about lugging around all that grain.”

I laughed. “True.”

I surveyed the platters and containers covering nearly every surface—and the mess—god, the mess. When I watched Caleb cook, he was great about cleaning as he went.Dom and me? Not so much.It looked like Gordon Ramsey had seen one kitchen nightmare too many and gone ballistic.

After washing my hands, I checked my phone—not that I expected Caleb to feel well enough to check in, but I was worried. Though I’d never had to deal with migraines, I’d seen Ty’s mom holed up in bed for hours. Sometimes she was down for two days if she didn’t get medication in her early enough. Whatever Caleb needed, I would be there. I reached into the fridge, grabbing a couple of containers to load into the food truck, when I realized the truth of my words. I really would do whatever Caleb needed.

“Everything okay? Did we forget something?”

“Huh?”

Dom jerked his chin toward the open fridge as he dried his hands. “We got it all?”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Just wondering if Caleb is okay.”

I was met with silence, so I risked a glance at Dom after pulling out two containers and placing them on the counter. “What?”

He studied me with his annoyingly shrewd eyes. “You really care about him.”

“He’s my friend. Our friend.” My deflection was as flat as a bottle of beer left open overnight.

“Caleb is more than your friend.” He grew quiet for a moment, which was common for Dom when he needed to gather his thoughts. It usually meant he was about to say something profound or profoundly annoying. “I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”

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