Page 36 of One Whopper of a Love Story

“Yeah. The tree is still up. We’d barely gotten started when Dad collapsed. Heart attack.”

“Nico!” She slammed the fridge closed and wrapped her arms around me.

This is what I’d craved today and the main reason I’d called her tonight. Holding her close soothed something inside me.

Reluctantly, I released her. “He’s alive. Overall, it looks hopeful, but there were some periods today where it was touch and go.” I led her to the sofa and tugged her into my lap. “And as you can imagine, the whole thing was extra difficult because he was poked and prodded a lot.”

Layla rubbed her hand on my shirt. “Did you pass out? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“No, I just had to walk out of the room a lot, which meant leaving my mom because my brothers didn’t arrive until later in the day.”

“But she knows, right? I’m sure she doesn’t blame you.”

“She knows, and she wasn’t upset. I just felt like I was letting her down. It’s such a stupid thing to be afraid of.”

Shaking her head, she poked me in the chest. “No, you have something that is fairly common. You wanna talk about a stupid thing to be afraid of? Fish.”

I laughed in spite of my emotional exhaustion. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Hey!” She kissed my cheek, then shifted out of my lap. “Put your head in my lap. I’ll run my fingers through your hair, but you might want to change first. You might fall asleep.”

I couldn’t think of a better way to relax. “Be right back.” After quickly changing into sweatpants and a well-worn t-shirt, I strolled back out to the couch, forming sentences in my head.

She patted the cushions. “I’m glad you called me.”

“He has a procedure tomorrow. They are hoping to put in stents to help with the blockages, so I won’t be around much. Again.” I stretched out and rested my head in her lap. With my eyes closed, I savored the feel of her fingers trailing through my short hair. “I thought about you a lot today. One of the reasons was because the whole needle thing had me pondering Pavlov’s dog. Think it’s possible to train my brain to want a kiss from you every time I see a needle?”

“I am fully on board for helping with that experiment.” She leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Just say when. Although you’ll have to be careful when you get a flu shot after that training. You know, if I’m not there.”

“Good point.” I pulled her hand to my lips for a quick kiss, then let her go back to working her magic fingers. “Mostly I missed you just because. When they loaded my dad into the back of an ambulance, I wanted you there to tell me it was going to be okay. When I sat beside his bed, I wished you were there to hold my hand. When I left the hospital, I drove straight to your apartment.”

Her fingers continued their therapeutic dance.

“I am way outside my—I can’t even say comfort zone because with you, I’m perfectly comfortable—but I’ve never been in a relationship like this. I keep thinking you’ll disappear like cotton candy left out in the rain or that you’ll realize you can do so much better.” I was too tired to filter my thoughts, and that last one earned me a swat. But it didn’t make it any less true.

“Or maybe quirky you deserves quirky me. Do you want me to go to the hospital with you tomorrow? I can call Tessa and see if she’ll cover things.”

“As much as I’d love to have you there and for you to meet my family, I don’t think dad would want this to be the way you meet him. He wouldn’t want you to see him like he is right now. So, for now, I’ll say no, but if that changes, I’ll call you.”

“I’ll keep my ringer on all day.” She wiped her eyes.

“Aww, sweetheart, don’t cry.”

“These are happy tears, which makes me sound horrible because your dad is in the hospital, but I’m crying because you want me to meet them.”

Somehow, no matter what was happening, Layla could make me laugh. “I’ll allow happy tears. And I really do want you to meet them.”

“I want you to meet my family too. We’ve known each other less than a month—which doesn’t seem possible—but because I’ve talked to you every single day, I feel like I know you. The more I get to know you, the more I like you.”

“Let’s switch this up because I seriously might fall asleep, and with me like this, you don’t have any room.” I moved to the recliner end and leaned it all the way back. “You can curl up next to me like you did that night.”

“What time do you have to be in San Antonio?” She pulled the blanket over her as she stretched out.

I tangled my fingers in her brown waves, which was equally as relaxing as having her fingers in my hair. “Sixish. I’ll set an alarm for early, so I can take you home first.”

“Okay. Wake me if you need anything.”

“Oh! I almost forgot.” I leapt out of the chair, rushed to my room, and dug the frog out of the pocket of my jeans. “Here.”

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