Page 87 of Flashback for the Forward

“Why don’t you head up and grab a couple of hours?” I jerked my chin toward the staircase.

“Will you come with me?”

I cupped her cheek. “I want to. More than anything. But I’ve gotta keep an eye on Crew, watch for complications.”

“How about we take shifts?” she suggested. “I’ll take first watch since I’m slightly more rested than you are this morning.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I began to protest.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. You’ve taken such good care of me, and now it’s my turn to repay the favor.”

Pressing a kiss to her lips, I murmured, “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Bridget hummed, soaking in my praise. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She gave me a light tap on my hip, teasing, “Better get going before I change my mind.”

“I’ll be back in two hours, tops.”

“Make it three,” she countered.

A smile split my face. “So bossy.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t like it.”

She was right about that.

I would happily let this woman boss me around until the end of time if it meant she stayed forever.

Chapter 26

Cole

“Can we have a movie night?” Crew asked around a mouthful of pasta.

For the first few days after his head injury, he was nauseous as hell, but then his appetite returned with a vengeance. I’d had to double our usual grocery order just to be able to keep up with feeding the bottomless pit, otherwise known as my brother.

“You’re not allowed to look at screens,” I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes with a huff. “Don’t remind me.”

“Forgive me for thinking you forgot when you suggested we watch a movie.”

“If we pick one I’ve seen a million times, I can sit in the recliner with my eyes shut and picture exactly what’s happening.”

“Doesn’t sound like much fun.” Certainly wasn’t something I would want to do if our positions were reversed.

Crew’s fork clattered to the table. “It’s better than doing nothing. This concussion shit sucks.”

I held my hand up. “Okay, okay. We can have a movie night.”

“Thank you,” he said on a heavy exhale.

My twin might be on the road to recovery, but I could tell just by looking at him that he still wasn’t at one hundred percent. Dark stubble lined his jaw because he couldn’t be bothered to shave, and the glasses he hardly ever wore anymore had become a permanent fixture on his face.

If listening to the familiar words of one of his favorite movies helped make him feel better, who was I to say no?

“Which movie did you have in mind?” Bridget asked, stepping in to diffuse the tension.

A mischievous grin curved on his lips. “Can we do the one where they go to Vegas for a bachelor party and get accidentally roofied and can’t remember anything that happened the night before?”