I reached out and pushed his hair off his forehead. The bump was still there, it had turned a deep shade of blue, but it hadn’t gotten any bigger. I pondered the self-made man in front of me and acknowledged that what I was about to do would likely finish off everything between us. Given that we were a little more than halfway through our three months, I supposed I’d have to be content with the time I’d been given.

The fact of the matter was, Nick needed someone to watch over him if I was going to be kicked to the curb in a matter of weeks. I knew he had Jackson, Lupita, and Juan, but he needed someone more. Someone who wouldn’t leave his side when he arbitrarily decided the relationship was over. He needed family. He needed his sister, Lexi.

Decision made, I climbed out of bed, grabbed my phone, crept down the hallway, and called Lexi. I told her that Nick had fallen and cracked his head. I didn’t mention the panic attack or the stroke. I could respect his privacy that much. I told her that he needed to be watched, and I told her that I couldn’t stay with him and she needed to be here to take care of him. I’d barely finished speaking before I could hear her running to her car, where she hung up on me. I texted her the code to the gate to get in.

I went back to Nick’s room and got dressed. The soft glow from the gas fire in the fireplace illuminated his face, and I tried to commit it to memory because I had a feeling that by letting Lexi into his world, I was losing Nick for good. Who was I kidding? I was going to lose him in a matter of weeks anyway. This way at least I knew someone would be taking care of him, and I could protect the tattered remains of my poor heart in the meantime.

Before I was ready to say good-bye, I heard Lexi’s car in the drive. I went downstairs to meet her. She dashed up the front steps. Her hair was in disarray, she was wearing glasses, and she had on two different shoes. She threw her arms around me in a hug that strangled.

“Is he okay? What happened?” she demanded. Then her face scrunched up and tears fell. “I can’t lose him, not now. I just found him.”

“He’s okay,” I said. I put an arm around her and tried to calm her down before she woke the whole house. I continued in a whisper. “He’s resting right now, but come on in and you can wait with him if that will make you feel better.”