Page 76 of And Everything In Between

“Ok, tell me what you need. You hungry? What?”

“No, I’m not hungry.” She twisted the end of her blouse around her finger, hating how weird she sounded.

“Ok, baby, tell me what it is you need.” His voice was encouraging, a soft laugh underneath.

He was trying to figure out why she was hesitating. “P, you know I don’t like being forceful with you, but we done with that ‘scared to ask me for shit’ phase.”

She swallowed hard. He was right.

“It’s my daddy.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “He missed his medical transport van. I don’t know how, but now he’s stuck needing a ride to dialysis, and I can’t leave work. Ashton’s in back-to-back meetings all day, and I have two loan closings that I can’t reschedule and-”

“Cinny, chill and breathe. I got it.”

Seven words, and the knot in her throat relaxed.

“You sure?” she asked, still not used to this. “His appointment’s at eleven. I know it’s your morning at the shop, and I wouldn’t ask if…”

“Paige.” His voice was gentle but firm. “I said I got it. Text me his phone number. I’ll swing by and scoop him.”

She exhaled, her shoulders dropping for the first time all morning. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need thank me. This is what we do.”

We. That word still caught her off guard sometimes. It made her heart flip in the best way.

“I love you.” The words,still new enough on her tongue to give her butterflies.

There was a pause.

“I know,” he replied.

It wasn’t cockiness or dismissal. It was certainty. He knew his woman sighs, they’d been the cheat code to her heart from the jump.

“I’ll hit you when we’re done.”

“You don’t have to wait with him. You can drop him off. The van can take him back.”

“Nah, Imma keep him company. Don’t worry about us. Go do great things. And Paige, don’t ever hesitate to call or ask me anything ever again.”

“Okay, thank you a million and one times.”

When she hung up, she sat there for a long moment, phone clutched to her chest. For someone who’d always been the fixer, having someonebe the fixwas still new. But she was learning to receive it. Paige smiled to herself, tucked her phone away, and turned her attention back to the loan applications waiting on her desk. Knowing her father was in good hands gave her the space to focus on being the manager she’d worked so hard to become.

Across town, Giovanni slid his phone back in his pocket and headed to his car. His mind drifted between the day’s work schedule and Paige’s voice, how it had softened when she finally asked for help. He was lost in his thoughts, so lost he didn’t realize he’d made it to pick up Perry until he was pulling into his driveway.

“Preciate you doing this.”

“No problem, I ain’t mind.”

The ride to the dialysis center had been quiet, but comfortable. Now, with Perry hooked up to the machine that would clean his blood, Giovanni sat two chairs down, giving the man space while staying present. He didn’t need to say much. The rhythmic hum of the dialysis machine created a strange sort of peace as nurses moved efficiently around the room.

Giovanni watched the routine unfold, realizing this was Paige’s normal, this sterile room, these same chairs, this waiting. It made him see her differently, understanding the strength she carried. The woman he loved had been holding space for a father who’d missed so much of her life, and it spoke volumes about her heart and character.

Perry shifted in the recliner, cords connected, the machine doing what it did best, pulling and giving back. His eyes flicked toward Giovanni, then away.

“You ain’t have to wait,” he said, voice dry.

Giovanni shrugged, elbows on his knees. “I know.”

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