Page 78 of The Wedding Favor

His eyes moved back and forth between mine, a frown tugging at his mouth. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”

“Because there’s something wrong with me,” I whispered. “Nobody sticks around. Not my father or Grammie or Aidan. Mae’s leaving me now.”

“Sweetheart.” His eyes, his voice, his touch were so gentle that it made my heart ache. No one treated me like that. I was Iris Sampson. I was tough. I could handle myself. But on the inside, the part I didn’t let anyone see, I was soft and vulnerable and so, so alone. So why was I letting Abe see this side of me? I didn’t know exactly except that it felt right. I was safe with him.

“There’s not a single thing wrong with you.”

I hiccupped, my nose stinging as I held back more tears. “Are you sure?”

“Which one of us is the liar?” he asked with a hint of a smile.

I made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. “Me.”

“So, you know I’m telling you the truth. Okay?”

“Okay.” He leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to my forehead. I let out a shuddering breath. “Let’s get you into bed.”

He helped me stand up. Once in the room, he sent me to get ready for bed. Dutifully, I did what he asked. When I came out of the bathroom in an oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts, most of the lights had been turned off, the curtains closed, and the blankets turned down on my bed.

He’d placed a glass of water and two pills on the nightstand beside the bed. “When you wake up in the morning. Something to help with that monster headache you’re going to have.” He patted a pillow. “Now, into bed.”

“You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“I know. Come on.”

I slid into bed and he pulled the covers up to my neck. He actually tucked me into bed. Why was I finding this all so… sweet?

“Get some sleep, okay? It’s been a rough night.”

“Okay.” I clutched the edge of the blankets.

“I’ll see you tomorrow… or I guess in a few hours.”

He took a couple of shuffling steps backwards and a weird sort of panic gripped me. I didn’t want him to leave. Or maybe I just didn’t want to be alone. That must be it.

“Abe, could you, I mean… well, I don’t want to be… Could you stay for a little while, just until I fall asleep?” I patted the empty space on the bed.

He hesitated before nodding. “Alright.”

“Thank you.”

He rounded the bed and stretched out on it on top of the covers. I snapped off the lamp and darkness bathed the room. Neither of us said much of anything for a while but I was acutely aware of him and the foot or so separating us on that king-sized bed. The rustling as he shifted. The clean, spicy scent of him. Each of his breaths, in and out, steady. That word fit him so well—steady. He was a guy a person could count on to stick around.

“You asleep?” he whispered.

“No.” I turned to face him, although he was nothing more than a shadowy lump.

“What’s going on in that brain of yours?”

“Nothing.”

He snorted. “That might be the biggest lie you’ve ever told me.”

“I’m not lying.” I was.

“It’s alright. You don’t have to tell me.”

I wasn’t going to tell him but once again, the words came out of my mouth without permission. “What’s the thing you’re most afraid of?”