Page 26 of Winning You
“Can I say some—” He stopped abruptly when he looked up and noticed Lucas had walked over to his grill and was chatting away with Gage while making Frankie’s sandwich.
It was a nice reminder that they weren’t friends. They weren’t even technically neighbors. They shared a building, and while Frankie had fucked up royally with him, Lucas had forgiven him with a plate of cinnamon buns.
But there was nothing else to this.
He shuffled backward, feeling like a total moron, and dug his phone out of his pocket. He hit Fallon’s contact and pressed it to his ear as he waited for the exact three rings before his brother picked up.
“Everything’s fine. The house isn’t on fire. Elodie is napping.”
It was past PT and OT, and she always napped after her mind and body were put through the wringer. “How did she do?”
“She cried a lot at the end,” Fallon said. “Her legs seem a little stiffer.”
Frankie had noticed that too. He thought maybe it was just the seizure activity ramping up, but he had a feeling it wasn’t. Which meant more doctors. Probably surgery. Shit he was not looking forward to because taking time off for all of it was killing his ability to pay his bills. She had state medical care, but that wasn’t going to keep the power on if he had to miss a few weeks of work.
“I’ll try to get through my last restaurant quickly.”
Fallon sighed. “You can take your time. Fenton’s going to come over with pizza.”
Frankie knew he should insist on going home and cooking—or attempt to cook, anyway. But he was tired, and he knew Elodie would be too. “Tell him I’ll Venmo him the cash for it.”
“Stop being weird,” Fallon said. “What has crawled up your ass lately?”
Oh, nothing. Just a big, ugly public shaming. But he wasn’t about to tell his brother that. “I think I’m getting into my feelings. I don’t know. It’s been a lot over the last few months.”
Years, really. But he didn’t need to get specific about it.
“I think Fenton and I can have a sleepover with her this weekend. You can get some rest.”
He wanted to argue, but the very idea of not getting up at the ass-crack of dawn so he could put on Miss Rachel to distract her while he attempted some sort of breakfast made him want to fucking cry.
“Yeah. Let’s see how she feels, but I think that could be good.”
His brothers rarely had time to actually do that for him, but they fit time in with their baby sister as often as they could. And he appreciated them for it.
“You still here?” Lucas asked, sticking his head out the window.
“Yeah, one sec.” Frankie turned his back to the truck, which felt a little ridiculous when he remembered Lucas probably couldn’t see much of him. “I gotta go. I’m grabbing a quick lunch, and then I have to get to my next appointment.”
“I’ll call if anything goes wrong,” Fallon said, then hung up like he always did, without a goodbye.
Shoving his phone into his pocket, Frankie approached the truck and realized that Lucas was alone. “Did your not-boyfriend leave?”
Lucas scoffed. “Yes. He had to get back to the station. And he really isn’t my boyfriend.”
“But you wanted him to be.” Oh my god, why was he still talking? He reached for the sandwich, but as though Lucas could sense the motion, he snagged it back.
“Hang on.”
Suddenly, the window slammed shut, and Frankie blinked in surprise. Was he being denied food now for being a jackass? Except the side door opened a second later, and Lucas appeared, holding the little paper box with his lunch in it.
“Did I slam the door on other customers?” he asked.
Frankie glanced around to be sure. “Uh. Nope. Just me.”
“Great. Lead me to the tables. Pick one with some shade. I can’t afford another sunburn.” Then he held out his hand, and it took Frankie almost too long to realize what he was waiting for.
He shuffled up and tapped Lucas’s palm with the back of his elbow. When his fingers grabbed Frankie, they held him in a strong grip. It felt…good.
