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I quickly stripped off my own clothing and adjusted the water temperature. The accessible shower had a handheld feature which was nice for directing the warm spray onto Malik’s tense shoulders and chest.
“Oh, that feels good.” He groaned as I gently soaped him up. “You’re too good to me.”
“Hey, this is for me too.” I bent to give him a fast kiss on the neck. Funny how lathering his fuzzy chest had become one of my favorite things, the way his hair tickled my palms and the slide of the bubbles. Taking care of him wasn’t merely fun. It was also healing and hopeful—a reminder of what a good team we made. Working as a team showed our potential for making it no matter what life threw at us, and being able to take turns caring for each other was a huge part of that.
I helped him rinse before doing a fast wash of my own, then dried us off and inspected the cast for moisture.
“Now, to bed with you.” I held out his crutches so we could make our way back into the bedroom area. There were two beds, but no way was I sleeping anywhere other than right by Malik. However, the pillows from the second bed were handy for getting Malik all cozy under the covers, foot propped on a stack of pillows with others to support his sore neck and ribs.
“I feel bad, zoning out on you so early.” He yawned as I brought over some water and the bag of medicine the hospital had sent home with him, which included an emergency supply of his sleeping meds.
“Don’t worry about it. You need your sleep.” Still wearing my towel, I stretched out next to him and grabbed my phone for quiet distraction. “Take your meds, close your eyes, and I’ll be right here.”
“Thank you.” He rolled so he could give me a kiss on the cheek before flopping back against his pillow mountain.
“That’s what I’m here for, baby.” I did a great job imitating Malik’s deeper voice, and he gave a sleepy chuckle before falling asleep. Not all that sleepy myself, thanks to a nap that afternoon, I played a new phone game, challenging my left-hand reflexes. I’d won two rounds in a row when my phone buzzed with an incoming call.
Megan.
It would be only too easy to let the call go to voicemail, deal with her and the rest of my family later. Or never. Never was certainly an appealing option. But that was exactly why I hefted myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
I spared a glance over my shoulder for Malik’s sleeping form. He’d been so fucking brave the past few days on so many different levels. I could do this. For him. For us.
“Hey,” I answered softly, flipping on the bathroom fan to mask the noise.
“Avery! I’m so glad you picked up! Tiffany said there was a fire!” Megan spoke in rapid-fire exclamation points. “Oh my gosh, I was so worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” I said gruffly before I forced a nicer tone. After all, I’d spent weeks telling Malik it was okay to not always be fine. “It was scary, though, especially before the crews got the fire out.”
“I bet. Tiffany said you were like a real-life action hero, saving the costume director.”
“His husband, actually. And he’s gonna make it.” My voice shuddered. Liam and Andre had joined us for dinner, and knowing how close we’d come to disaster for them made me queasy. “I was just happy to be there.”
“So you’ll be home soon, right?” Typical Megan, moving right along to whatever her real reason for calling was.
“If by soon you mean a couple of days, yeah.” I wasn’t sure when Malik would be up to traveling or how much time off Duncan might give either of us
“Good. Mom’s set a date for our engagement party dinner at their place.”
Yep. There it was. Another command appearance, but it was Megan, so I stifled my groan as I leaned against the sink.
“I’ll make the date work. Dress code?”
“Don’t sound so dire. Look nice. And you’re welcome to bring a plus one.”
This was it. Now or never. I’d picked up the phone with an agenda of my own, and this wasn’t the moment to chicken out. I sucked in a breath and let the edge of the counter dig into my hip, grounding me.
“Good. Yeah, I’ll be bringing someone.”
“Yes! Tell me it’s Tiffany!” Megan squealed, throwing me back to that moment on the dancefloor with Tiffany. It could have been her. But the price of continuing to lie and hide wasn’t worth it.
“It’s not. She’s a friend though. A really good one. Drove me into Denver…” I trailed off because I was starting to ramble, getting further away from the news Megan actually needed. “It’s…um…it’s a guy.”
