Page 123 of From Best Friend to Bride
“Always.” I lowered my hand, sighed, and looked over at Deli lying on my bed. “Does she know all this?”
She nodded and took a step back, stretching her arms over her head. “I don’t think she’s accepted what it might mean, though.”
Of course, she hadn’t.
She still hadn’t accepted that Nana would die one day, no matter what’d happened over the last two months.
Well, denial was a stage of grief.
I knew that all too well.
“Fred?” Deli murmured sleepily from the bed.
“Go,” Mum whispered, patting my arm again. “She needs you.”
I nodded and closed the door behind me, finally taking off my shoes. “I’m here.”
“Mm.” Deli rubbed her eyes and peered over at me, blinking several times harshly. “Are we home?”
“Yeah. I put you in my bed for now. Do you want me to go and sleep in the other room?”
She lay back down and threw her arm out lazily in my direction. “No.”
“You want me to stay?”
“Mm. With me.”
Be strong, Fred, be strong. She needs you right now.
“All right. Here, put this on.” I pulled a clean t-shirt out of my drawer and handed it to her. “Let me change quickly.”
She grunted again, and her eyes stayed closed as she weakly kicked off her shoes.
She was not going to be changed when I walked back into this room.
I got changed myself in the bathroom and after quickly brushing my teeth, I walked back into the bedroom to find my prediction absolutely correct. She was lying on the bed, asleep, in nothing but her bra and jeans. My jumper was hanging over the side of the bed and pooling on the floor, while my t-shirt was on her thighs where I’d tossed it just minutes before.
“Deli?”
Nothing.
All right.
Good.
I just needed to put that goddamn t-shirt on her before I lost my mind.
I took a deep breath and walked over to her. I pinched her finger between my pointer finger and thumb and raised her hand, then let it go again. It fell flatly to the bed, and her breathing remained deep and steady.
Yep.
Brilliant.
Just bloody brilliant.
I wasn’t even going to think about the fact I had to pull her jeans off her.
I scrunched the t-shirt up to the neck hole and gently eased it over her head. She sniffled, but she stayed asleep as I tenderly eased her arms through the sleeves. I pulled the fabric down her body, covering the way the black, lace cups of her bra hugged her breasts, and turned away as I took hold of the waistband of her jeans.
