I shake my head. “I would beat Jakob’s ass if he didn’t call me and he was sick like this. You’re gonna piss off Shea. Believe me on that.”
“He can’t see this. I’m disgusting.”
“And he won’t care! He loves you! All of you—even the stubborn part that doesn’t think she’s good enough.”
My chest actually hurts that she doesn’t seem to understand that. Did her ex really fuck her up that bad? I mean, let’s be honest, my many exes did, and I’m just now opening up to Jakob. Mainly because he wouldn’t leave me the hell alone.
Hmm. Idea.
“Just leave me alone. I don’t want him seeing this,” she moans, moving her hand up and down her body. Even that seems to hurt her.
“Did you at least tell him you were sick? Like, really sick, or are you telling him the same lie you told Bryan and your dad? That it’s just a cold? And by the way, I didn’t rat you out to them.”
I expected some gratitude. But nope. “Harper,” she says sternly. “It doesn’t matter. I’m fine. It will pass.”
“You need supervision!”
“I am a grown-ass woman. I don’t need supervision. I can handle this.”
I glare. “Elli, you’re puking so much, you’re missing the trash can!”
“I’m fine! Go.”
She covers her head, and I shake my own. “Whatever. Not all your meds were ready, but I brought your soup.”
“Thank you. I’ll go get the other meds later.”
I make a face. “Don’t you need them to get better?”
She groans. “I’ll figure it out since asking you is out of the question now.”
“Wow, you’re a real asshole,” I say as I head out of the room. I know she doesn’t mean to be rude; I know she doesn’t feel well and is lashing out at me because it’s easy. It doesn’t make it right, but I know she doesn’t mean it. I go to the kitchen to feed Adler, and while I fill his bowl, I pull out my phone. I dial Shea’s number, and when he answers, I glare at the picture of Elli and me that hangs on her fridge. She’s lucky I love her ass for life.
“What the hell, Shea Adler!”
He’s taken aback. “Harper?”
I fill the water dish as I say, “The one and only. Listen here, buddy. Why is it that I am taking care of your best friend, but you can’t take care of mine?”
“What? What are you talking about?” he asks, genuinely confused, and for good reason. I’m sure she hasn’t told him shit.
“Elli. I can’t do both and work. You’re going to have to take one of them.”
“Wait, Harper. What’s wrong with Elli?”
Figures. I can’t believe her. “What? You haven’t talked to her? Oh God, please don’t tell me you don’t know she’s sick.”
“I knew she was sick, but she told me she just needed a few days to herself to sleep and heal. What the hell is wrong?”
“Ugh, damn it. Why does she do this? She lied to her dad, her uncle, and now you. Wonderful.”
I can hear the frustration in his voice, but he’s trying to stay calm. “Harper, what the hell is wrong with Elli?”
“She’s sick. It happens every once in a while,” I say slowly. “She starts to feel run-down, and then she’s just out for a couple days. She had to change her meds this time, so it must have been bad when it happened. She called me to bring her soup and to pick up her meds. I got mad because that’s what you should be doing since you are her boyfriend.”
“You’re right. I should be doing that…if I actually knew she was that sick!”
“Well, now you know. Her meds are at Walgreens, and she likes the chicken noodle from Panera. Holler if you need anything else. Do you have a key?”
“No.”
Are they even in a relationship? Not only does Jakob have my key and I have his, we are looking for a place of our own. I know Shea and Elli might not be where Jakob and I are, and I can’t compare them to us, but I wouldn’t hide something like this from him. Shea is about to get a rude awakening, and fuck if I don’t hope he steps up. He better step up and make her feel special, or I’ll take him out. “Well, stop by the studio and get it, because she won’t be able to unlock the door. She’s really weak.”
I say bye and then hang up before I start to clean up just a bit. It’s a wreck, but to be honest, I want Shea to see it. I want him to know what he is getting into because this isn’t something that will go away. Her thyroid disease is no joke. As I head out of the kitchen, I dial Jakob’s number on FaceTime.
He answers on the second ring as I walk out the front door. “Hey, baby. Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Is Elli okay?”
My heart warms. He’s just a good dude. Elli isn’t even his friend, and he cares for her. “She’s pretty bad off. I called Shea.”
“Good. He’ll take good care of her. I’m glad you didn’t listen to her and went over.”
“Yeah. I knew she wasn’t okay. It just irritates the hell out of me that she thinks it’s okay to sit over here and suffer.”
“Why didn’t she call Shea?”
“She doesn’t want him seeing her like this.”
He scoffs. “Does she not know that’s gonna piss him off?”
“Who knows. She’s so worried he’s gonna dump her. Everything about her is wonderful. It’s her insecurities that will ruin everything.”
“True that,” he says softly. “Plus, doesn’t she know it’s all the little things, the things you don’t even suspect are special, that make you special?”
I grin. “You think that about me?”
“Yeah, I do,” he says softly. “I didn’t know I would love your bad breath in the morning or miss it.”
I laugh from my belly. “That’s your bad breath!”
His eyes are dark as he holds my gaze, ignoring my laughter. “No, kiska, that’s you. I thought mine was bad, but then I woke up beside you.”
I almost fall over myself laughing. “Shut up. You’re so mean!” He just laughs as I open my car door. “You sure Shea will care for her?”
“Harp, he loves her. A lot. He’ll take damn good care of her.”
I nod as I get into my car. “I’m so mad at her. She looked like utter shit, and the whole time, all I could think was if you did this to me, hid it from me, I’d kick your ass.”
He laughs. “Bring it,” he teases, and I grin. “But I wouldn’t do that, and you better not do it to me.”
“Never.”
“Good. Plus, let’s be honest. Look at us. You’re my own private nurse, basically. Bandages, braces, and blow jobs. It’s really great.”
I snort. “You’re impossible,” I say as I look back at Elli’s house. A part of me wants to go back in there and care for her myself, but I feel strongly that Shea should do it. If I’m gonna trust him to love and care for Elli for the rest of her life, he has to see this. She would hide it until the day she dies if she could. It makes me sad. She’s so wonderful, so perfect. I hate that she doesn’t think so. If I could take out her ex, I would. Get a professional hit man. I’d do it.
“You on your way here?”
“Yeah,” I say as I turn off her road. “I’ll be about an hour, depending on traffic.”
“Sounds good. See you in a bit.”
“Love you.”
“Love you more, kiska.”
As we hang up and I move my phone from the holder on the dash into the seat beside me, I know he means it.
I just hope Shea means it about Elli.
I learned a couple weeks later that he did, in fact, love her like I assumed.
I suspect, more than he loves himself.
Not only did Shea step in and take care of Elli, she said she fell even more hopelessly in love with him. He came in and did exactly what I hoped he would. He was her partner. He cared for her, cleaned up, and made her feel better. Apparently hockey isn’t the only talent he has. Shea Adler can sing—and pretty damn well from what I’m told. I was shocked, but as I stand here in the middle of the Belmont Mansion and watch as he skillfully moves across the dance floor with my best friend, I realize Shea is a man of many talents.
One being making my best friend deliriously happy.
When he came to me with the idea for Elli’s birthday, a Pride and Prejudice-themed bash, complete with period costumes, a violin quartet, and all her favorite foods, I knew he was the one. I don’t care if Elli doesn’t even know—I do. They will get married, they will have tons of babies, and they will be so happy, it will disgust me. Even with me having my own Darcy, I have to give props where props are due. And they’re due to the guy standing in the middle of the floor, in full costume with a pair of Chucks on, whom Elli can’t stop beaming at.
It’s quite the show.
Jakob wraps his arms around my waist before his lips come to my jaw. He dressed up, but he wouldn’t put on the period socks. With his brace, it would be hard anyway. I offered to try, though. But he doesn’t need them. He looks stunning in his red velvet costume with a frilly little tie. He left his hair wild, unkempt, and I’m really digging it. He somehow got them to allow him to wear his Converse. Really, I don’t care. I’m just glad he’s up, out of the house, and with me. He kisses my jaw once more, and I lean into him as I smile. “She looks so beautiful.”