Page 31 of Won't Back Down

Nina Lambert looked up from the front desk and grinned. “Willa! You’re looking fabulous. That newlywed life treating you well?”

Heat flooded my cheeks at her implication. But—well—that was exactly what I wanted, wasn’t it? The notion of sex with Sawyer had been occupying a significant portion of my waking and sleeping thoughts since the moment he’d first kissed me. It was a nice departure from the nightmares that still plagued me more often than not.

“It’s good.”

Nina’s dark brown eyes danced, but I didn’t feel like it was at my expense. “You got one of the good ones there. You know your man changed my flat tire when he was back in high school?”

“Oh?”

Her firm nod made the beads on her headful of braids jangle a little. “Sure did. I was stuck out on the ocean road with my Nico in the backseat—he was only two then. Didn’t even have a jack in that old car. Sawyer came along and took care of the whole thing.”

“He’s always been good about stuff like that.”

“Glad to see him back on-island and to know the two of you are happy.” She thrust a clipboard at me. “Here. Fill out this paperwork and sign here, here, and initial here. We’ll call you back in just a few. And I was so sorry about your granddaddy. He’ll be missed.”

“Thank you.”

It only took a few minutes to dispense with the paperwork. Fifteen minutes later, I’d been weighed and had my blood pressure checked.

“Little on the high side,” Kristie Turner announced as she peeled off the cuff.

I surreptitiously wiped my hands on my shorts. “I have some medical anxiety.” That was putting it mildly. After my experience off-island, I barely took more than a Tylenol these days, and I avoided medical settings like the plague. On the rare occasions I needed something, I favored online providers. Professionals who couldn’t physically touch me. But this was Gabi. I could endure all this with her.

“We’ll check you again before you leave.”

She led me to a patient room. “Dr. Carrera will be with you shortly.”

I took one look at the paper-covered exam table and veered to take the visitor’s chair. The less I felt like an actual patient today, the better.

Gabi didn’t keep me waiting long. She came through the door with a burst of energy. “Girl, I know we’ve both had a lot going on, but this was not where I thought we’d be seeing each other next.”

I laughed, some of the tension draining. “It seemed the most efficient place for a catch up.”

“We don’t need to talk about the epic crash and burn of the situationship I was in most of the way through residency. I’m single now. There, you’re caught up on me.”

So that was what had put that sadness in her eyes when she’d first come back to the island. I was willing to bet that had been why she’d been able to come back early. Before I could ask her more questions, she barreled on ahead.

“I want to know exactly how it is you just married the guy you’ve been crushing on since basically sixth grade?”

For about five seconds, I considered telling her the truth. But no doubt these walls had ears, and Florence had warned me it was imperative for everyone to believe this marriage was real. That meant the fewer people in the circle of truth, the better. But Gabi knew me really well. She’d been one of the few friends to have a front-row seat to all those years of pining when we were younger. I’d have a higher bar to keep her from asking questions.

“So… I haven’t been completely honest.”

Gabi grabbed the rolling stool and plopped down. “Spill.”

“Sawyer and I have always been friends. You know that. But things were different after I drowned. I mean, it’s easy to love your hero, you know? He risked his life to save mine. Literally breathed me back to life. I don’t know if that’s when things changed for him. He still thought of me as too young, and there was Jace, who would have had Opinions.”

She snorted. “Oh, I’m sure. Your brother’s never been short on those.”

“We stayed in touch when he left for the Navy. Even though he wasn’t here, we got closer in a lot of ways, talking about fears and dreams.”

“When did things change?”

“Oh, not for years. I didn’t even realize things had changed for him for a long time.” This was getting into the story we’d decided on together. There was enough plausibility and distance that no one would be able to disprove it. “About three years ago, we met in Raleigh while he was on leave. It was a quick couple of days before he had to get back. We were just going to hang out because we wanted to see each other. But then…” I trailed off, knowing Gabi’s romantic heart would fill in the gaps.

“Then he realized you were a sexy AF, grown-ass woman, and he couldn’t keep his hands off you?”

If only.