Marley raised a brow. Then winced because somehow that hurt. Was this superstar celebrity… starstruck by her cousin Reena?
“Marley!” Reena was in her doorway now. She was in asweatshirt and jeans, and her eyes were as wide as Nikhil’s. “Are you fucking serious right now that your mystery friend is theBronze Shadow?” She raised a brow at Nikhil. “YouareNik Sharma, aren’t you?”
He nodded, too starstruck to speak.
“Holy shit.” Reena looked back at Marley. “Nadim is going toflip his lid. He’s been obsessed with the guy since Comicon!”
“You swear more than you do on YouTube,” Nikhil said.
Marley closed her eyes and put her head back on her pillow.
“Marley, are you okay?” Nikhil said. “How’s your pain? You shouldn’t need painkillers yet. It’s only been three hours since your last dose.”
Marley did not open her eyes. “No, I’m fine. I’m deliberately not looking at the two of you because then I’ll laugh at how hilarious you are, and it hurts to laugh.”
“I’m not hilarious,” Nikhil said.
“You’re literally a comedian, aren’t you?” Reena asked.
“I have your cookbook,” Nikhil responded. “Can you sign it? Wait—it’s in LA. Can you sign my dad’s copy?”
Marley opened her eyes and shook her head. “Nikhil, shouldn’t you be at the gym?”
“Yeah.” He looked at Reena. “Do I need to show you her meds? There’s a chart.”
“I think I can handle it. Hey, did you know you went viral yesterday for—”
“Bye, Marley,” Nikhil said, interrupting Reena. “Call me if you need anything! Nice to meet you, Reena.” He mock saluted Marley, then rushed out of the room.
Reena looked at Marley, one brow raised. “You, dear cousin, have a lot to tell me.”
Marley nodded as she slowly turned so she could get outof bed. “Yeah, but first, can you help me change out of these sweats?”
While Reena helped Marley empty her drains and change into clean sweatpants and one of the mastectomy shirts Ruby had given her, Marley gave Reena a short version of how Nikhil ended up here, leaving out the whole wild-sex-in-a-hotel part—both back when they were eighteen and last week.
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Reena said after they’d made their way downstairs. Marley sat on the hideous recliner while Reena made some tea and toast.
“I signed an NDA. I couldn’t. I didn’t even tell Shayne until Sunday.”
Reena made a dismissive noise. “Still. You know I’m good for secrets. My sister—don’t tellheranything. But…” Reena put the tea and a thick slice of sourdough toast on the table near the recliner. “I can’t even believe it. You know Nadim was there at Comicon when they announced his casting? He texted me immediately about the Brown Bronze Shadow.” She shook her head, sitting on the sofa next to the recliner. McQueen immediately meowed and sat next to Reena, who started stroking the top of his head. “What’s he like?”
“I don’t know him that well. We were friends in high school, but people change.”
Reena stared at Marley for several seconds. Then shook her head again. “The guy isliterallyliving in your house taking care of you after you had major surgery. You know I adore you like a sister, but it’s frustrating how you keep everyone, even your closest friends, at arm’s length.”
“Do you mean I’m keeping him at arm’s length or you?”
Reena snorted. “Both. Some people are an open book. You are not one of those people. Which is fine. I love you the way you are. But… I really don’t believe that you would let someone you claim tobarely knowtake care of you aftersurgery.”
Marley blinked wordlessly, then took a bite of her toast. It was one of Reena’s breads from her bakery: a sunflower flax sourdough. Reena had smeared it with a chunky guacamole, also from her bakery. Reena was not only a gifted baker and cook, but one of the few people who noticed when Marley was pushing people away.
Though she was hardly keeping Nikhil at arm’s length. She’d opened up more to him than she had to almost anyone else in her life. She’d freaking had a casual hookup with the guy… which was so out of character for Marley that Reena would either give her a standing ovation or take her temperature if she knew about it.
But no, Marley couldn’t tell Reena that she’d had sex with Nikhil. Sharing it with others meant it wouldn’t be justhersanymore. Which was preposterous. Just because it was the last time her real boobs got any loving didn’t mean the sex was anything more. At the thought of her boobs, Marley felt a sharp pain in her chest. She winced.
“Painkillers are probably wearing off. Here—let me check your chart,” Reena said, picking up the clipboard. “Wow, your superhero is thorough. Still don’t really understand why he’s here, but at least he seems to be a genuine help right now.”
Marley took the pills Reena handed her and swallowed them. And that was the bottom line. No matter how complicated Marley’s feelings were, and no matter how much she and Nikhil had made this arrangement each for their own selfishreasons, at the end of the day, Nikhil was helping her. A lot. And that was because she was letting him. And letting someone into her life was something that Marley usually found difficult.
