“Banner, what the hell are you doing here?” Nichole asks in a teasing tone.

“Uh . . . I heard you fell.”

“I’ve fallen many times, but you’ve never come to see me before.”

He pulls on the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, this is different.”

She rolls her eyes and then shifts on her bed. “Banner and Ryot, line up at my bedside. Myla, can you please go find me some apple juice? And don’t come back until I tell you, you can. I need to talk to these men.”

“Why can’t I listen in?”

“Because I love you very much, but I need your comfort, not your decision-making. Now go on.”

Sighing—because I know she’s right—I go back to Ryot and whisper, “Can I borrow your wallet? I don’t have my purse with me.”

He pulls it from his pocket and hands it to me right before pressing a kiss on my lips.

I turn back to Nichole and ask, “Do you need anything else?”

“Just for these guys to take their shirts off. I’m sick after all. The least they could do is give me a good show.”

I chuckle as more tears come to my eyes because this is my girl. Positive, funny, loving Nichole.

I can’t fucking lose her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

RYOT

Present day . . .

“Do you really want our shirts off?” Banner asks as he grips the collar of his T-shirt.

Nichole smiles and shakes her head. “No, but pull up a chair because I need to speak to you two.”

With Myla on the hunt for apple juice, Banner and I pull up chairs to Nichole’s bed. I sit closest to her while Banner sits just to my left.

She looks at Banner. “I hope you’re not here to express some undying love to me. Please tell me that’s not the case because I am not in the mood to turn a man down.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Here as a friend. Here for support. Here for anything that anyone might need.”

“Okay, because we’ve had that conversation. You’re hot, but also not my type.”

He laughs some more. “Best orgasm of your life is not your type? Not sure how that works, but okay.”

“My type is noncommittal, and you and I both know that deep down, you want to commit. You just need to find the right person first. Which by the way . . . how was Kenzie?”

I turn toward Banner. “Who the hell is Kenzie?”

“Kelsey and Lottie’s cousin.” He sighs. “And nothing happened there. That’s why I don’t tell you shit.”

“Wait, you two talk?” I motion between them.

“Sort of,” Banner answers. “We’ll talk about random things. I saw a wine that reminded me of the night we had in my car when she was visiting two weeks ago, which by the way, thanks for the fucking memo on your cancer.”

She just casually shrugs. “It would have ruined the moment. I needed to get some good dick in before the chemo really started to hit me.” Leave it to Nichole to tell you like it is.