Price Of Love (Written In the Stars Book 4)

by Erica Marselas

  It stings a lot.

  It shouldn’t sting now, but it does because I wasted my time with him, and he sliced my soul and opened the old wounds I have tried so hard to heal.

  I close out the app and open my Instagram instead. Insta tends to make me less stabby since Tim doesn’t have an account. I have a ton of notifications under my little heart icon, and I click on it.

  @nurseprice has tagged you in a photo.

  @nurseprice mentioned you.

  @therealChristiana liked the photo you are tagged in.

  @therealChristiana commented on the photo you are tagged in: Awww stinkin’ cute.

  @Allihope liked the photo you are tagged in

  @JoJoBeans12 liked the photo you are tagged in

  @JoJoBeans12 commented on the photo you are tagged in: <3 <3

  And the notifications go on.

  I click on the picture Leo tagged me in an hour ago of us from outside the restaurant after we left. He’d forced me to take a picture with him, to put our cheeks together and smile, the Marco’s neon sign lit up brightly behind us.

  Underneath the caption, it reads: "To first dates." @clairebearmalone

  Holy hell. He's fucking bold...and I admire it by putting on one hell of a show.

  I scroll through a bit more of his Insta, wanting to get more of a feeling of who Leo is. There’s a picture of him skiing with a couple of his guy friends. A picture of him looking fine in his green scrubs, and there’s even one with his mom and step-dad, Gale. Then I notice that he also still has a couple of pictures of him and Izzy together. One where she’s kissing his cheek in a selfie. I can’t help the twinge of jealousy that spikes in my belly seeing them together. They look so happy and carefree. Happier than Tim and I ever looked.

  How bad could their breakup have been if he didn’t even delete her photos?

  Unless he just forgot about it.

  I shake off the silly thoughts I’m starting to let consume me because they don’t matter; he isn’t mine.

  I close out my app and decide this Taurus knows what she needs to do.

  It takes me about fifteen minutes of staring at my cell phone, wishing it could dial Leo’s number for me before I get the guts to open up the contact screen.

  Am I crazy for considering this?

  Wanting to fake date my ex-boyfriends’ stepbrother.

  The whole thing is nuts and could totally blow up in my face, but at the same time could be fun. I can’t deny that he makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. It also helps he’s easy on the eyes.

  Okay, let's do this.

  My cell phone screen brightens, and I go to my contacts to find Leo's number. With my eyes closed tight, I hit call and place the device to my ear.

  My finger twists in the silk fringe of my blanket as it rings. And rings.

  I'm about to hang up after the fourth ring when the line picks up and his husky voice echoes through the line. "Claire, hey."

  "Hey."

  "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon." Leo chuckles, and I’m relieved by his lighthearted nature.

  "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

  "No, I just got in. What’s up?"

  I wanted to hear your voice, my clingy subconscious screams.

  "I thought about that thing we were talking about, and I’m in."

  "That was quick. I thought you might stew on that throughout the night.”

  “I might have, but a certain picture on Instagram helped.”

  “Ah, you saw that.”

  “It was hard to miss since you tagged me in it,” I bite out sarcastically.

  "Good. I wanted to make it impossible for you to say no to my offer." Even though I can’t see him, I can tell he’s smirking.

  "Your brother also helped that with his post," I mumble. Then curse at myself inwardly. Fucking smooth, Claire.

  "What was that?'

  "Nothing,” I chirp brightly, hoping to ward off my infraction. “So, what do we do now? Besides change our Facebook status…if people even still do that. Maybe send a flyer?" I tease.

  "Why don't me and you go out again? Let’s say Friday? I would say tomorrow, but I work the late shift."

  "You're really antsy to get me on another date, aren’t you?"

  "I figured we have a lot to talk about."

  "We have three weeks till the wedding, there's still plenty of time.

  "Maybe I like hanging out with you. Plus, it beats going home to my empty house and watching sports highlights by myself."

  "Yeah. I feel you there… minus the sports highlights. I'm more into binging on reality television."

  "So, what do you say? I promise you will enjoy another date with me. I already have an idea up my sleeve."

  "I guess I can’t really say no to that, can I? Will you be posting any more pictures on Instagram?"

  "Possibly. It grabbed my mother’s attention. She has already called me twice wanting to know all about the one I just posted."

  I suck air through my teeth, cringing. "I'm sure that's going to go down well."

  Me going from one son to another. Well, stepson to son. However you fry it, it still doesn’t shed the best light on me.

  "Are you kidding? My mom loves you. And I haven't talked to her yet." He chuckles. "I love her, but she can talk forever…as you know. Also I want to make sure we have our story straight before I start selling it to everyone."

  "I still can’t believe we're doing this."

  "Try not to think of it as doing anything. It’s just two people hanging out, having fun. No pressure but making up for some lost time."

  "Lost time?”

  "I told you, Claire. I feel this was all meant to happen this way."

  "You did say that, but what do you mean?"

  "I think you know."

  “I don't." I laugh nervously and play with the collar of my shirt.

  "Listen, it’s best if you don’t overthink anything and go with the flow.”

  “Not overthinking is not my strong suit.”

  “Try for me.”

  “I’ll try for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I guess I should let you go. I bet you’re exhausted, and you have to work tomorrow.”

  "I do, but not till eleven, so I'm fine if you want to talk, Claire."

  "No. I should probably get some sleep."

  "You don't sound sure."

  I suddenly feel like I’m back in high school, playing the game of who should hang up first.

  "I'm just nervous…" I say softly.

  "About our little arrangement for the wedding?"

  "Yeah."

  "It'll be fine. Trust me. We’ll talk about all that more when you have dinner with me on Friday.”

  “Can I tell you something though?” I ask, sinking down into my bed and glancing up at my ceiling.

  “You can tell me anything.” His voice drawls dripping like honey.

  I chew on my lip, ready to confess my deep dark secret of how I wish he’d asked me out first. I don’t even know what’s driving my wild mind to tell him, so I chicken out.

  “Tonight was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” I groan inwardly and slam my fist against the mattress.

  God, why am I such a wuss when it comes to him?

  He chuckles deeply into the phone. “Same, Claire. Now can I tell you something?”

  "Yeah"

  "My brother was crazy for not treating you right and losing you because you are worth holding on to.” My mouth drops open, the sweetness of his words spinning around in my head. He's leaving me speechless, again. "But his loss is going to be someone else’s gain."

  I’m sitting in the reclining chair beside my Grams’ bed scrolling through my phone while she sleeps. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m feeling the effects now. Leo and I talked until midnight. After he left me speechless, I found my words again and he told me the story of what got him wanting to be a nurse. I had heard some of it before from his mom, but I could have listened
to it a hundred times more from his mouth.

  “You still getting phone calls?” Grams’ groggy voice says. I smile at her and lay my phone down.

  “No, surprisingly. I’m just reading some clickbait, waiting for you to wake up. How are you feeling today, Grams?”

  “Ready to take on the world.” She props herself up in the bed. “If they ever let me out of this hospital prison.”

  “Only a couple more days.”

  “How was your date?” I’m surprised the question wasn’t the first thing out of her mouth.

  “It was good.” I push an errant strand of hair behind my ear and put my phone in my pocket.

  “Just good, huh? I know you’re hiding something because those rosy cheeks don’t lie.”

  “Grams, I swear.” I place my hands on my face to hide my blushing cheeks, and I can feel the heat rising off them. I really can’t hide anything.

  “It was good. There’s not much to tell. We might be going out again though.”

  "Your second favorite child has arrived." Christiana’s voice pierces through the air as she steps into the room. Oh, thank god for her timing. I’m not ready to get into it with Grams. "And look who I found behind me." She throws her thumb over her shoulder to point to Leo who is holding a small bouquet of red and yellow roses and a gray plastic bag.

  “Leo,” I choke. “What are you doing here?” He knocks his head to the side with a quirky smile, and I shake my head with a groan. “I mean, not that I’m not happy to see you.” I quickly correct myself and stand from my chair to walk over to him. It’s just him being here is not going to do anything to help my quizzical grandmother.

  "I thought I would come check on the patient and see you before I started my shift." Leo places a kiss to my still heated cheek.

  "Oh, that's so sweet of you," Grams answers for me, and I spin to see her silver eyes sparkling. I know Leo just got major brownie points from her.

  “I have something for you,” he tells me and hands me the plastic bag. “I brought you some snacks for while you’re hanging around today. Things I know you can’t get downstairs.”

  I open up the bag and peek inside where I find a large bag of Funyuns, a bag of Swedish fish, and two bottles of Orange Fanta. These are my favorites and I know I haven't told him.

  "How did you know these are my favorites?" He shrugs, and I know he isn't going to give up where he got the information. “Thank you. I’m actually starving now that I think about it.” I didn’t even have my morning coffee before I came in, which is so unlike me. Coffee is my life, but I left this morning without it.

  “Hey, what about me?” Christiana pipes in with a frown.

  Leo glances at her, pulling air through gritted teeth as he winces. “Of course I didn’t forget about you.” From his front pocket, he pulls out a lollipop and hands it to her. “I carry them around for the kids.”

  “Oh, he has jokes too.” She takes the lollipop from him and peels back the wrapper. “But you’re in luck. I happen to be a sucker for cherry lollipops.”

  “Lucky me then.” He smirks. “Well, there’s more where those came from if you need more.” Christiana narrows her eyes at him, mumbling a sarcastic thanks before popping the lollipop into her mouth. “And these are for you, Val.” He steps aside and hands the roses to Grams. She reaches up with her thin arms to hug him.

  "I always knew you were the better North-Price brother," Grams says to him and then pats the bed beside her, telling him to sit. "How's your mother doing?"

  This woman is unbelievable. She's sending the most conflicting signals ever. "Don't date Leos, but on the other hand, he's pretty awesome though."

  My eyes drift over to Christiana, who is chuckling to herself, and I’m glad she’s finding this funny. As Leo and Grams start talking, I plop myself next to Chris, knowing I lost Leo for the rest of his visit.

  “Oh my god. He's so into you.” Christiana whispers, nudging me.

  “What are you talking about?” My head spins to her.

  “What do you mean, what am I talking about?” She nudges my shoulder again. “He came by to check on you and Grams, brought you a snack and a drink and not just any snack, your favorite snacks. He’s so into you.”

  “It could have been a lucky guess.” I wave her off, but my eyes dart down to the big yellow chip bag on my lap. Even I know that isn’t true.

  “Nobody in their right mind picks Funyuns for someone as a snack because no one but you actually likes those funky things.”

  “That is not true. Funyuns are the bomb.” They're onion rings without all the grease, yum.

  Christiana wrinkles her nose, grimacing. “It’s true. Either way, it’s the fact that he knew that about you. He likes you because I don’t remember Tim ever doing that shit, even on his good days.”

  “How would he know that about me? I’m sure I never told him. I don’t tell many people that because they all judge me like you do.”

  “Even if he picked them as a lucky guess, he came down here before his shift to see you. To check on you and he has no reason to do so because, I mean, aren’t you only “fake dating.”” She uses hand quotes sarcastically and rolls her eyes. I spilled the beans to Christiana what was happening between Leo and me right away when she called me wanting to know about the tagged Instagram picture, and I told her the truth. It’s safe to say, though, she isn’t going for it.

  “It is only fake dating.”

  “Then give the man a golden globe because, whoo.” She fans herself. “The way he looks at you. The way he acts. The little kiss on your cheek too. I say he actually really likes you.”

  “You’re crazy. We’re just friends. We’re comfortable with each other.” As much as I want to dream of something more with him, I won’t give myself to someone else who doesn’t want to give it all back in return.

  “Did he ever kiss you on the cheek before?”

  “No.”

  I didn’t get even as much of a hug in with Leo before Tim would come ripping me off him. He was always odd about his brother—well, most men—yet he was the cheater. Go figure.

  A smile curves her lips. “See. And you’re both single now...”

  “Like I said, you’re crazy. This isn’t some romantic comedy about to play out. He’s just helping me.”

  “Anybody could help you. The man likes you.” She points her lollipop stick at me.

  “As a friend. He’s made that clear. He just got out of a long relationship too, and I doubt he’s looking for anything either.”

  Christiana groans and picks up a magazine beside her. “Blind. You're so blind I could smack you.”

  “I’m not.”

  The magazine hits me in the back of my head. “Hey!” I cry and rub the sore spot.

  “I told you I was going to smack you.”

  "Is everything okay here?" Leo asks, now standing in front of us with a delicious smirk on his face as he looks between us.

  "Everything is fine. Just Chris being Chris."

  "I’m trying to set your girl straight. You'll thank me later." She stands and pats his shoulder before walking over to Grams’ bedside.

  "Can I steal you for a second?" Leo asks putting his hand out for me.

  "Sure." I glance over at the hospital bed. Christiana has propped herself on Grams’ side, and she's waving me out of the room.

  Leo takes my hand and leads me down the hallway.

  “I see you have charmed my grandmother.”

  He grabs his stethoscope and leans against the wall. “Did you have any doubt?

  “Of course I did, Leo…” He opens his mouth and before he can reply I finish his name “…pold.” His lips twist and I giggle. “Now, what’s up?”

  “I’m confirming our date for tomorrow. Want to make sure you’re not going to try and dodge me.”

  “You brought me Funyuns and orange soda. I’m not bailing.”

  “You’re telling me that’s all I needed to get to your heart?” I shrug. “Hmm.” He brushes the l
ight stubble on his chin. “I wish I’d known.”

  “Now, you do.” I reach out and run my finger down his chest, feeling his rippled muscles under the thin scrubs. I’ve honestly been dying for a reason to just touch him.

  He watches as my finger drifts just to the top of the hem of his pants before I drop it to my side. With a bemused smile, he glances back at me. “So, I’ll text you later?”

  “Yep”

  He lifts my chin and runs his thumb across my wet lips before gently placing a kiss to them. “Later, beautiful.”

  He turns down the hall and again I'm left gaping like an idiot before I can give a send-off. Leo is a fucking mystery, and I wonder why my Grams’ vision didn't account for all this. Forget breaking my heart; he's blowing my mind.

  I walk back into the room, and Christiana and Grams are whispering to each other. There are wild hand movements and facial features as I spy on them before the door clicks behind me grabbing their attention. Both their mouths snap shut at the sight of me and I know the two gossipers were talking about me.

  “What are you two whispering about?” I cross my arms and eye them both.

  "We were just talking about you and Leo. I was telling her how much Leo really likes you."

  “Oh my god, Chris, stop.”

  “I’m just saying. I think the ad was a good idea, minus the last line. Because this Leo is a good one.”

  “I’m still convinced that something is going to go awry.” Grams sighs and brushes her hands down her blanket.

  “Val, he brought her a snack, asked her how she was. Look, he even brought you flowers. Jerkface never did that.”

  “That is true.”

  “Are you two going to keep talking like I’m not even in the room?”

  “Yes.” They say at the same time.

  “He looks like a lovesick puppy. She doesn’t see it, though,” Christiana says with a flick of her hair.

  “She has you there.”

  “Will you both stop.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. I have a headache coming on and the only thing my hot nurse didn’t bring me is some aspirin.

  "He's taking her to Jo's wedding."

  "Christiana," I hiss.

  "What? She was going to find out eventually." She shrugs.