Page 159 of Love Thy Brother
I took a slow breath. “Is Mateo gonna be her dad? For real?”
“Papá,” Rubi corrected. “Liliana calls Embry dad sometimes.”
“That’s nice.”
Rubi smiled, kinda. It wasn’t his stop-traffic megawatt grin, but it was definitely better than the face he’d walked in with.
Tell him.
I took another breath, but Skylar came back before I could speak.
Rubi started to slide from the bed.
Skylar stayed him with a kind hand on his shoulder. “I spoke to Dr Ramsey. He was going to move you to a ward to be monitored overnight, but I’ve persuaded him you’re probably okay to discharge around dinner time.”
“Discharge?”
“Yup. Your numbers check out and you’re in good shape. All I ask is that someone stays with you, okay? Don’t be alone for a few days—”
“He’s not being alone ever again,” Rubi snapped.
Skylar blinked. Then amusement warmed his steady gaze. “Even better. You can make sure he follows the recovery instructions. Lots of rest. Hydration. No stress. Think you can manage that?”
Rubi flipped him off.
Skylar laughed and disappeared again.
Rubi glared after him, more like me than I felt right now.
I poked him. “How much is the new boiler?”
“Hmm?” Rubi dragged his gaze from the flapping curtain. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
“It’s my fucking house.”
“You don’t need to worry about itright now,” Rubi amended. “Nash’ll square it away on the club and we can sort it out later.”
“I don’t have a job. And I just gave all my assets away. If I’m gonna drop three grand on a boiler, I need to plan that shit.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.” Rubi tucked my hair behind my ears. “Let the club do its job and take care of its own. It’s why your dad built it in the first place.”
“You’re playing the dead dad card?”
He shrugged, unrepentant.
I let it go for now and focused on searching for my clothes. Under the thin hospital gown, I was pretty fucking naked.
Rubi had my chain. He fastened it around my neck, and the heavy ring was cold against my skin. Fuck,Iwas cold.
“Do you know where my clothes are?”
Rubi’s gaze was absent and it took him a second to meet mine. “What?”
“My clothes.”
