Page 130 of From Best Friend to Bride
I dragged my gaze up from the floor, gliding it up his body until our eyes met. “If you want me to stop looking at your cock, don’t put it in my line of sight.”
He fought back a laugh. “Is that something you should be saying right now?”
“Probably not,” I admitted. “But it’s all I’ve got.”
Fred took a deep breath and cradled my face. He drew me in, pressing his lips against my forehead. They lingered against my skin, wrapping me in a blanket of warmth. “We’ll come back to this another time, all right?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Right. Go shower. I’ll take care of everything else, all right?”
“I need my phone. I need to call Si and—”
He pulled back, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “Done. You’ve got the next two days off. I told him I’d call again when we know more.”
“When did you do that?”
“On my way back here last night.” He booped my nose with his fingertip and stood up. “Just focus on Nana, Deli. I’ve got everything else—you included.”
“Fred.”
He grabbed my hands and helped me to my feet. “Yes, wife?”
I softened a little. “You’re the best.”
“I know.” He spun me around with another kiss to my forehead and pushed me in the direction of the bathroom. “I’ll take care of everything. Just go.”
27
FRED
Deli insisted on going back to work after those first two days off.
She wanted ‘normal,’ she said. She wanted consistency. She wanted something to do with her mind that wasn’t overthinking.
Nobody argued with her. I was the only one who suggested reducing her hours. Si agreed with me, but with one sharp, “Absolutely not,” from Deli, we’d dropped it.
I knew her, and I knew what she was doing.
She was coping the only way she knew how.
We all knew the truth. The doctors had told us. Nana, in one of her more lucid awake moments, had told us to get our shit together because she was ready to go. That she was tired. That she couldn’t fight anymore.
Now, all we could do was wait. Wait until Nana decided it was time to say goodbye.
The next three weeks were a mix of misguided hope and devastating acceptance. Aunt Bonnie temporarily moved into Hawthorne House so she and Granny could easily go back and forth from the hospital. Mum had suggested it, and I’d been quick to agree—Aunt Bonnie was just like Deli, and if we didn’t look after her, nobody would.
Besides, she’d been Mum’s pillar of strength after Dad died. It was our turn to step into that role for her.
Lucy was working from home because everyone was worried about what effect the stress would have on her pregnancy, and I’d sent her to a private clinic so she could get some fancy 3D pictures of the baby for Nana. With that, she’d finally shared the name she’d been holding onto—Olivia Judith.
Nana had smiled before falling asleep, clutching the scan picture in her hand.
And Deli? She’d barely left my side. If everyone thought we were inseparable before, it was even more true now. If she wasn’t at work, she was like my own little moon, permanently hovering somewhere in my orbit.
She’d tried to hide it at first, but on the second day, I’d told her to just sit next to me and lean on me if she needed to.
In hindsight, I should have realised what I was letting myself in for. I knew better than anyone what kind of person she turned into when she was upset, but I hadn’t quite been ready for the intensity of her neediness.
