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Drew shook his head. “That’s not what we’re saying, babe.”
Aithan said, “You have a tremor.”
“What?” Her brow furrowed, but realization dawned on her face.
“Hold out your hands,” he commanded. The dude had this way of talking to her that made her comply. Drew didn’t push like that. He used a more subtle approach, but this wasn’t the time for a soft touch. He was one hundred percent okay with Aithan putting the screws to Zel on this ’cause her health was on the line.
She stared at her hands like they’d betrayed her, then slowly raised her arms straight in front of her, palms facing down. They shook; Drew could see it from the couch.
Aithan rested his open palms lightly against the tips of her fingers and repeated gently, “Zel, you have a tremor.” He clasped her hands and pulled her into his arms. “Time to call your endocrinologist.”
“Fuck.”
“You must’ve noticed,” he murmured.
“Yeah.” She sighed, sounding defeated. “Stress is probably making my Graves’ worse. I have my regular checkup next month, so you can cross that off your list of things to nag Zelda about.”
“Good,” Aithan said. “I know you don’t want to deal with this on top of everything with Greer—”
“But ignoring it won’t make it go away.” She settled into his embrace. Her gaze found Drew’s and she asked, “Why do you want Drew to marry me?”
That answers that. She’d heard most of their conversation. “For financial stability,” Drew replied.
“Not to make you choose,” Aithan clarified. “We’d never do that to you.”
Drew added, “We promise.”
Zel stepped back and dropped onto the couch. “You guys can stop panicking. I just need my medication adjusted. It’s not the first time that stress has thrown off my levels. My thyroid is notoriously difficult to regulate. The littlest thing can make it whack-a-doo.”
“It’s not just that,” Aithan said. “It’s the dysbiosis, too. We want to take care of you, and part of that is making sure you have access to the best treatments.”
Drew took her hand. “Without worrying about cost, Brick.”
She looked from him to Aithan. “I’m not interested in marriage right now. I’m only twenty-four, and I’m building my career. Becoming a wife was never high on my priority list.” She squeezed Drew’s hand. “Maybe we can discuss it again in a year. I mean, guys, we’ve only been doing this for a few months. Don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a bit?”
“It wouldn’t’ve come up if you weren’t dealing with a chronic condition,” Aithan said.
“Fuck!” Zel stood, yanking her hand free. “Don’t define me by mycondition! I’m not some fragile little girl who’s gonna break under the slightest pressure. My sister balling my ex is just another lump of shit to wipe off my heel. They’re each other’s problem, not mine. You can both stop worrying and, for fuck’s sake, stop planning out my life for me!”
With that, she stomped across the room and up the stairs.
“Sooo,” Drew said, “that did not go well.”
Aithan shrugged. “Went about as well as I expected. Hyperthyroidism triggers irritability.”
“Seems like this has come on fast.”
“I think she’s been skating on the edge for a while. Stress is placing pressure on her system. Our bodies deal with that in a lot of different ways, some more efficiently than others.”
“And Zel’s sucks at it?”
Aithan nodded. “Which she hates.”
It made sense. “What do we do?”
“Give her space to cool off and make sure she sees her doctors. And, as much as she hates it, keep the marriage conversation going.”
Drew was dubious about that. “She’s right about timing, you know. Ithasonly been a few months.”
