Page 58 of Let’s Be Real

“I know you’re not talking about me,” Adrian grumbled.

I went on, “—where’s mine?”

“I haven’t seen her yet.” He checked his watch. “It’s early. I suspect she’s still asleep. I’m surprised you’re not. You had a late night.”

Our eyes caught for one heated beat, a secret passing between us. Only, it wasn’t quite a secret but a detail that was only ours.

“Sunday is my lie-in day. Saturdays are for spin class and errands. This specific Saturday is for giving your bedroom a makeover.”

I slid the bag from the boutique over to him, and he frowned, putting the smoothie down.

“What’s this?”

“The beginning of your optimization,” I replied. “Open it.”

He reached into the bag, his expression smoothing as he pulled the heavier-than-expected item out. He turned it in his hands, his frown deepening.

“I give up.” His eyes lifted to mine, brow crinkled. “I don’t know what this is.”

Taking it from him, I tilted my head back and placed it over my eyes. It was an odd position, and didn’t exactly feel great, but I was all the way in this.

“It’s a weighted face mask. I read about them online. The weight is supposed to ground you and help you shut off your mind.”

I straightened, catching the mask as it fell. “I don’t know if there’s science behind it, but people swear by these things, so I thought it would be worth a try.”

He studied the mask in my hands for a long moment before nodding once. “Anything’s worth a try.” His gaze lifted to mine, shinier now, even as his expression remained blank. “Thank you, Samantha. You didn’t have to go to any trouble.”

Adrian had moved his hands from a sassy hip prop to folded grumpily under his arms. “Yeah, yeah, Sammie’s so nice. Is there a reason you’ve failed to mention you’re struggling with insomnia to me, or Ben, or Rome?”

The shine in Nate’s eyes dimmed. “There’s nothing you can do about it. I haven’t slept well in years. It’s a side effect of my medication. I’d rather be tired than…well, the other option.”

“Surely there are other medications,” Adrian pointed out.

Nate passed the heavy mask from hand to hand. “There might be, but I’ve reached a happy medium. I’m not prepared to tempt fate by changing things.”

Adrian wasn’t having it. “Have you spoken to your doctor? There has to be another option. I don’t think anyone should—”

Nate pushed his chair back so abruptly it screeched against the floor. “I’ve got it covered, Ade. This isn’t a conversation we need to have—which is exactly why I haven’t brought it up. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. I’m going to shower and get dressed now.” With that, he took the mask and his laptop and retreated to his bedroom.

Adrian and I exchanged a glance.

“Maybe you can talk to him about his meds…”

I shook my head. “That’s not my area of expertise.”

Tugging the top of his hair, he sighed. “He doesn’t think he’s worth worrying over. What he doesn’t get is that’s part of this whole brother thing. It’s not something that can be turned off.”

“I’m sure he gets it.” I picked up the bag from the boutique and flattened it on the counter. Adrian was pacing, raking his fingers roughly through his hair again and again. “I won’t talk to him about his medicine unless he brings it up. That’s not my place. But I’ll keep checking in with him about sleeping, okay? He’s already agreed to try my suggestions, so that’s good, right?”

“Yeah. Right. I guess.” He pinned me with a sharp gaze. “You’ll tell me if you get concerned, won’t you?”

“I would, but I won’t be here much longer. The chances of me noticing anything are really low.”

“What—do you plan on riding off into the sunset? Never speaking to Nate again after all this bonding you’ve done? You’re friends now.”

The idea of doing exactly that made my stomach swoop. I’d hate to go back to being acquaintances with Nate, and the mind-bending sex was the furthest on the list of things I’d miss.

Well, maybe not the furthest, but low-ish.