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Miraculously, when he hands me my phone, it still has some charge left. “You’re insane if you think I’m calling my brother instead of Gretchen. She’s much more reasonable.”
His hand grazes from my temple down to gently cup my cheek, making me pause. My eyes grow heavy, loving the feel of him. This simple touch says so much. Has it always been like this with us? Easy touches and soulful moments that I’ve missed out on due to stubborn pride?
Him holding me like this, it feels right. Being in his space feels like home.
I shiver.
His hands gently trail down my cheek to my chin, then drops away. “Make the call. I’ll give you some privacy.”
All I can do is nod.
When he’s out of sight and the dogs have lovingly followed him, I focus back on my phone and hit Gretchen’s name.
It rings once before it’s picked up…but there’s shuffling on the other end.
“Hello?” I say, confused by the sounds.
“Give me the phone, you hunky Hulk, or I swear… She called me! Not you. Give me the—”
“Penny? You there?”
I close my eyes and internally groan. Just my luck that my brother would steal his wife’s phone so he could be the first to talk to me. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I answer.
“Hey, Noah. Yes, it’s me.”
“Carter said you’d call first thing this morning. What the heck took you so long?”
“Jez, Noah. Calm your jets. I just woke up, okay? And look, I’m calling you first thing.”
“You are not callingme,” he stresses, and I can hear a little bit of jealousy in his voice.
“Because she knows you’d act like a lunatic. Now, either hand me my phone so I can talk to Penny or put it on speaker. I’m not joking, Noah.”
God, I love my sister-in-law. She is the absolute best. I get such a kick out of this petite woman bringing my six-foot-two ex-footballer brother to his knees.
There’s a grumble on the other end before I can hear the both of them better as the phone switches to speaker.
“How are you feeling today? Carter texted last night that you were coming home with him under doctor’s orders.”
I was so out of it last night, I didn’t even think to update my family. “I’m doing much better. The cold is winding down. I really only have a sore throat left. And my body is one big bruise.”
“No signs of a concussion, though, right? Have you taken your temperature to make sure you don’t have a fever?” Noah asks, knowing from experience how complex head injuries are.
“I’m sure Carter is taking great care of her. Isn’t he, Penny?” Gretchen cuts in. The way she phrases this leaves no room to avoid the second most important topic.
Noah makes a strangled sound.
“Yes, Carter is taking care of me.”
“Jesus—Ouff.”
“Don’t you dare start, Noah Bassouni.”
“I didn’t say anything! That’s my sister and my best friend. What other reaction was I supposed to have to that phrasing?”
As much as I’m loving the back and forth, I need to get my confession out. I know I don’t need permission from Noah, but I also don’t want him to think that I’m hiding something or going behind his back.
“Look, Noah,” I interrupt them, my voice low so that Carter won’t hear me in the other room. “I think you need to get used to the idea of me and Carter being…more than friends.”
