3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Nate
My brothers Ben and Roman had had more injuries than I could count. Considering they had both been professional rugby players at one time—and Ben still was—that tracked.
I wouldn’t have said seeing them injured got easier, though. The last time Ben took a bad hit on the pitch, ending in a severe concussion, I’d wanted to walk out of my skin and never come back.
Not easy, but my mind accepted it. They’d been rough-and-tumble since they’d burst into the world three minutes apart. Skinned knees, dislocated fingers, and head injuries were par for the course.
Adrian was a different story. He had always been circumspect—careful with his personal safety and risk-averse. As a small kid, he’d only go down slides feet first and never let his swing get too high. As an adult…well, he probably got his thrills at his sex club and only there.
Until tonight, I’d never had to worry about him.
Appendicitis, they’d said. Risk of rupture, they’d told us. Surgery was the only option, and it needed to happen immediately.
When he’d admitted to hiding his symptoms for several days, my head had nearly exploded. Samantha’s reaction was the only thing that had stopped me in my tracks.
Standing right beside him, her hand on his shoulder and her other fist clenched, I swore she would have punched Adrian square in the nose if the doctor hadn’t been right there.
At least I wasn’t the only one angry at him.
He’d been wheeled off for surgery a while ago, leaving Samantha and me alone in his private room.
It was dark, and she was sitting with her head pressed against the window. I opened my laptop, deciding if I were going to be awake most of the night, I might as well get some work done.
Except my eyes kept leaving the screen to look at Samantha. She hadn’t moved an inch. Her straight, blond hair was covering most of her face, but her chin poked out just enough for me to see it quiver.
If Roman were here, he would have known what to do or say to make the situation more bearable.
Or Ben would have strolled in and cracked a joke, dispelling the thick tension, if only for a little while.
There was no need to say Adrian would know precisely how to make Samantha feel better.
They were connected like that. Always had been.
I wasn’t the one called in situations like this. Business logistics, I could handle. Emotions? Never. Scads of medication controlled mine, and even then, I barely hung on by the skin of my teeth some days.
Still, it seemed I should have been saying something.
“He’ll be all right.”
There. That was…something.
Samantha jerked, like she’d forgotten I was in the room with her. Her head turned, eyes blinking owlishly.
“I know.” Her fingers twisted together in her lap. “He’s never sick, then suddenly he’s so sick…”
I nodded. “Caught up to him all at once, I guess. He’s actually human like the rest of us.”
She almost smiled and laughed just a little. “He would hate to hear you say that.”
I laughed too. “Very true.”
For the first time since I’d walked into Adrian’s bathroom and found them both on the floor, I took a good look at her. She was dressed for a date in heels and a formfitting black dress that stopped mid-thigh. Her long, long legs were bare, and goose bumps pricked her skin.
“Are you cold?” I asked, already out of my seat.
“I’m okay.” She wrapped her arms around her middle.
“You’re cold.” I opened a few cabinets until I found one with extra linens and grabbed a folded blanket.
She watched me shake it out and carefully lay it across her lap.
“Adrian would be mad if I stood by while you turned into an ice cube in his absence, and we both know he’ll have enough to be pissed off about after he gets out of surgery. ”
That made her smirk, though it was a touch too listless. “Recovery’s going to be a bitch.”
“Such a bitch,” I agreed. “Maybe we can rope in Rome and Ben to hold him down. They’re bigger than you and I combined. They can do it.”
“Sure, sure. Though…letting his brothers squash him is most likely contradictory to healing.”
“Right.” I rubbed my chin, pretending to think it over. “We’ll discuss it with the doctor. See what he says.”
This time, her smile reached her eyes, humor spreading from the corners like sunrays.
“I like that idea, Nate. We’ll go with it.”
I cocked my head. “You’re going to let me do the talking, aren’t you?”
“You’ll get all the credit, don’t worry.”
“Good. I’m glad. I already have enough to worry about.”
Just like that, the mood soured, and Samantha’s gaze drifted to the door. That was why they never sent me in first. I wasn’t good at this sort of thing.
Emotions.
Women.
Life.
Adrian’s appendix had ruptured before the doctors could open him up. What should have been a simple surgery wound up taking several hours, and, as expected, Adrian was pissed.
My brother didn’t do well with being told what to do, and he really didn’t like being helpless. He was fortunate to have Samantha, though. No matter how hateful he was, she laughed it off and continued taking care of him.
I’d gone down to the hospital cafeteria in search of coffee and something edible for Samantha and me when Ben and Roman arrived, identical looks of worry plastered on their faces. We rode the elevator together while they peppered me with questions.
“Why didn’t you call?” Ben asked, dragging his hand through his curls, a wild spray of corkscrews that suited him to a T.
“It was the middle of the night.”
“We would have come,” Roman argued. “What if—?”
I interrupted him, not wanting to hear him utter aloud the possibility of what could have gone wrong. “You have a newborn, Rome. There was nothing you could have done here.”
Roman had two small children—Jonah and Ruby—and Ben had a daughter, Katty. Pulling them from their beds in the middle of the night had been the farthest thing from my mind.
“Still.” He ground his molars, his jaw flickering. “I should have been able to make that choice.”
I lifted a shoulder. “I’m sorry. It happened fast. I made the decision I thought was right.”
Ben patted my arm. “You don’t need to be sorry. We’re just freaked out. Adrian…”
He didn’t need to finish. We all knew Adrian. If he’d ever been in pain, he’d hidden it so well none of us had known. We didn’t worry about him. He didn’t allow it. This was new, and strange, and vastly uncomfortable.
The three of us pushed into his room and came to a stop. Adrian was asleep with Samantha curled against his side on the bed.
Rome rubbed his chin. “Huh.”
“Get married already,” Ben muttered.
“I didn’t know they still did this,” I said.
Growing up, Samantha had spent more time at our house than hers, and since our parents had been largely absent, no one had ever said anything about her sleeping over.
I’d found them in a puppy pile more times than I could count, their limbs tangled, breathing each other’s air.
This looked a lot like that, except they were both six feet tall and in their thirties.
Adrian stirred while Samantha slept on. His eyes cracked open, focusing on us.
“I feel you looking at me,” he rasped. “It’s annoying.”
Ben was the first to move, winding to the opposite side of the bed from Samantha. “Heard you almost died.”
Adrian grunted. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Roman went to stand beside Ben, his gaze traveling over Samantha before landing on Adrian. “Is this a good idea? Your sutures—”
Adrian raised his chin. “I forced her to lie with me so she’d get some sleep. My sutures are on my other side. If you’re here to give me a hard time, believe me when I say I’ve gotten enough of that without you piling on.”
After a long, silent moment, Roman’s head fell forward, air bursting from his lungs. “We’re worried, Ade. So damn worried. We could’ve lost you.”
He turned away, casting his gaze on his sleeping friend. “I’m fine.”
Ben clamped his hand on Ade’s shoulder. “You’re going to be. Thank god.”
“Thank Samantha.” I moved to the foot of his bed. “Adrian would’ve been rotting in a pool of vomit if she hadn’t come back to check on him.”
Ben nodded, wiping roughly under his eyes. “Of course she did.”
Adrian shifted uncomfortably at the visible display of emotion. “She won’t leave me alone. Such a nuisance.”
I eyed the woman at his side. “You very clearly hate it.”
Roman and Ben stayed until Adrian told them he was tired and forced them to go home.
Out in the hallway, we discussed taking shifts so he’d never be without someone.
Left unsupervised, he’d do something stupid, and we all knew it.
When it came down to it, I was the only single, child-free one of us, so me picking up the majority of the slack made the most sense.
Adrian’s hospital stay stretched for four days, and Samantha only left for brief periods to clean up and get a few hours of rest at home.
Ben and Roman relieved me during the day, but I spent my nights on the too-small couch.
Not sleeping. My brain wouldn’t shut off enough to lose consciousness.
I’d spent a lifetime getting too little sleep, so it wasn’t anything new.
At least I had something tangible and real to worry over instead of the myriad made-up disasters usually occupying my mind.
After the doctor left, I said, “You’re coming home with me.”
Adrian’s sneer lost its effectiveness when a grimace followed. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
Samantha swatted his shoulder. “Don’t be a pain in the butt.”
He rolled his head in her direction. “Why won’t you let me stay with you?”
She shook out her arms. “Remember my noodle arms? I have no hope of being able to help you into the shower on my own. I’d have to call Nate anyway, and that would defeat the whole purpose.”
“I can get into the shower by myself,” he grumbled.
She scoffed. “You’ll try, that’s for sure. Do you think I’d ever forgive you if I left you alone and you ripped open your incision and bled out on my tile? I’d have to have it all replaced, and I just had it installed last year.”
His eyes narrowed. “You love me less than your tile.”
“It’s imported from Italy—and took me months to find. You should be honored you come in slightly below it.”
I shook my head, bemused. They’d always been like this, and as Adrian’s oldest brother, it never failed to confuse me. He wasn’t this way with anyone else. Sure, he occasionally joked around with us, but when we gave him too much shit, he normally bowed out.
There wasn’t anything she could say that would make him turn away. Yes, he stuck by me, Rome, and Ben, but that was a biological imperative. Our DNA tied us for life. The only thing tying him to Samantha was their bond. Which, as far as I could see, was unbreakable.
He poked his bottom lip out and reached for her hand. “I don’t think you’re pitying me enough. I’m fucking miserable, Sam.”
She leaned down, smoothing his hair from his forehead. “I pity you plenty, Ade. That’s why you’re going to stay with Nate and let him be there for you. We both know you need it. Stop fighting and let it happen.”
He slowly exhaled, turning his gaze up to me. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I’m going to be a pain in the ass.”
“I offered,” I said. “If it’ll make you feel better, Samantha is welcome to stay too.”
She raised her head, her forehead crinkling. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t mind. It would actually be easier on me if you were there. You keep him in check.”
Adrian sputtered but didn’t deny it. Samantha bounced on her toes like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Thanks, Nate.” She beamed. “You’re the best.”
The best? I was far, far from it, but I let that lie.