She grinned happily as she kissed his jaw. “So we’ll just do us.”

“I like that.”

“But you’re not hiding me?”

“No, you freak. If I want to do you against the wall with the whole team there, I’ll ask you first and then do it.”

She snorted as she crawled up his body and kissed his lips. “Sounds like a plan.” Reaching for the remote, she restarted the movie and lay down as he hugged her tightly against him. He liked that they had settled that, and above all, that they were both on the same page. She smelled like heaven, and he wanted to bury his face in her hair, but before he could, he remembered she’d had an appointment with Rodney that afternoon. “Hey.”

Pausing the movie, she looked at him. “Yeah?”

“How did Rodney’s appointment go? Sorry, I meant to ask earlier.”

“Don’t apologize, I forgot to tell you because I’m trying to forget.” His heart sank as she blew out a long breath. “Dr. Miller doesn’t like the looks of Rod’s EKG, so they’re running some more tests.”

“What does that mean?”

“He might need a new heart.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly. The doctor is thinking about putting him on the list to be safe.”

“Yeah. Fuck, baby, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to think about it.”

He drank in her face. She was looking at his chest, and within seconds, the fun, silly Brie was gone and replaced by a worried sick sister. She was so used to doing everything on her own, and he didn’t want her to feel like that. He wasn’t expecting her to just give him all the pain, but she could lean. He’d hold her. “Hey.”

She looked up and he cupped her face. “You know you got me, right? To lean on?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

“Okay, don’t be an ass and not lean, then.”

A grin replaced the smile, and she nodded. “Okay.”

“Start the movie.”

With a grin in place, she lay down and hit play. But then he said, “Wait, I forgot.”

Laughing, she paused and sat up. “And you say I’m annoying and ruining the movie.”

He scrunched his face up at her playfully before smacking her butt, which she laughed at. “So, question?”

“Yes?”

“You know I’m from Colorado and all, right?”

“I do.”

“Well, when we go there to play in a couple weeks, I wanted to show you NateWay One. Take you to see Nathan and my mom.”

Her eyes widened a bit as her lips curved into a small smile. “I’d love that.”

“Cool. Also, I need you to be my date for this dinner with Jensen, Wren, my best friend, Wells, and his new boyfriend.”

She held his gaze, and he was sort of worried she’d say no. “So you’re introducing me to the family, in a sense?”

“Yeah.”

“Holy crap, this is serious, isn’t it?” Her eyes were teasing, and he found himself laughing.

“A bit.”

“Cool.”

“Cool?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Her eyes sparkled as she held his gaze. “Might wear the dress I only wore for like ten minutes on our first date.”

He shook his head. “Don’t do that to me. I can’t be a best friend when I’m trying to finger my girl at dinner.”

Turning red, she laughed. “I would die ’cause you know I’ll come.”

“Oh, I know. I also know you won’t wear panties.”

“Nope, just to mess with you,” she admitted with a wink, and he smiled. “Guess, I’ll wear pants and tee.”

“No, you won’t.”

“I know, but I’m not going to tell you what I’m wearing.”

“Fine, brat.”

Sticking her tongue out, she reached for the remote. He stopped her, bringing her hand up to his lips before he kissed it. “I want to have sex now.”

She made a face. “But I want to watch the movie.”

“I don’t care,” he said, rolling her over so he was on top.

“I want you.”

Letting out a groan, she teased, “Fine, I guess.”

And as their lips met, he found he smiled more during kisses with Brie than he did anywhere else.

Climbing onto the Assassins’ charter, Brie tried to stay calm as she FaceTimed with Rodney. “I’m sorry I had to drop you off so quickly. That we didn’t get to talk that much.”

He shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“Okay, but when I get back, we need to talk this out.”

He let his head fall back in annoyance. “I don’t want to talk about my heart.”

Her own heart broke a bit. “They want us to go back in, and the testing will be overnight.”

“B, I don’t want to. I don’t want to leave my home.”

“I know, buddy. I’m sorry, but we have to.”

“Not we, me. It’s always me.”

“I’m there with you, though.”

“I know, but Mitch won’t be or Grandma, and I don’t know. I hate it.”

“Rod, it’s your health, bub.”

Letting out an annoyed breath, he shrugged. “But I can come back, right?” he asked, so hopeful, and she smiled.

“As long as the doctors say yes, then, yeah,” she said, dropping into her regular seat beside Mekena, though she wasn’t there yet. When she looked back at the screen, though, she saw Vaughn’s face beside hers in the camera. Looking over, she laughed while he waved all big and silly at Rodney.

“Hey! How ya doing, buddy?”

But Rodney didn’t smile. “She’s making me go to the doctor. Overnight.”

Vaughn set him with a look. “What did I tell you about that ticker?”

“Keep it healthy?”

“Yup, don’t let me down, bud.”

Rodney smiled a bit as he nodded. “Okay.”

“That’s my man. And don’t worry, she means well.”

“I know, but I don’t want to.”

“But we’re men, right? We gotta keep healthy, because then who would drive Brie crazy?”

Rodney smiled and nodded. “You’re right.”