Stay With Me (The Montgomery Brothers) by Samantha Chase

debacle, I had no one to commiserate with; no one to share my fears with .  I was terrified to move across the country and my mother was so busy hating my father that I was alone a lot.”
    Mac wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say anything or not but decided to keep quiet because clearly Gina needed to get some things off of her chest.
    “You have wonderful parents and brothers who you’re close to.  And now,” she added with a half-hearted laugh, “you have two sisters and a niece!  I mean, I really hope that you appreciate them, Mac, because I can tell you, it is no fun being alone.”
    Reaching out, Mac placed a calming hand on her shoulder.  “I do appreciate them; maybe not all the time, but I know that I’m lucky.  I’m sorry that your folks made things so hard for you.  Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my brothers even though there have been times that I wanted to strangle them.”
    “At least there was someone there to strangle,” she mumbled.
    “I’m sorry that you were alone, Gina, but know that while you’re here, you’re not.”  Her smile told Mac that she believed him and was grateful. 
    “Thank you,” she said softly.  Gina was about to say more but felt that maybe what she really needed was to get some sleep.  Her emotions were all over the place and being this close to Mac had her on sensory overload.  She didn’t want to argue with him and he certainly didn’t seem too interested in making a move on her so she decided to cut her losses for now and call it a night.
    “This was wonderful,” she said as she stood; water cascading down her body and she smiled as she noticed Mac’s jaw drop.  “But I am exhausted and I think I’m going to head in , put on my jammies and watch a movie.”  Turning, she leaned down and gently kissed Mac on the cheek.  He closed his eyes and she lingered for just an extra moment before standing and climbing out.  “I really appreciate the pizza and the company, Mac.  I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
    He could only stay seated and watch her glistening body walk slowly back toward the French doors she’d come through earlier.  There was a towel draped on a chair next to the doorway and she wrapped it around her hips as she walked though the arch.  Turning one last time, she waved to Mac and then closed the doors.  His head dropped back against the stones and he let out a low growl and counted backward from one hundred.
    And it still wasn’t enough to wipe the image of Gina Micelli’s curvy and wet body from his mind.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    Gina arrived at the hospital the next afternoon after two as the nurses had instructed.  Her father was asleep when she walked into his room and she made herself comfortable and was content to just look at him for a little while.
    “When you were a little girl,” he said sleepily, “I used to sit and watch you sleep, too.  It’s nice to see that we’ve come full circle.”
    “How are you feeling?”
    “Like I’ve been poked and prodded by too many people,” he said lightly, his voice gaining a little strength.  “They’re going to be doing that sort of thing more and more often so I guess I better get used to it.”
    “Is it really necessary?” she asked quietly.
    Arthur adjusted his bed and sat more upright so that he could look at his daughter.  She was so beautiful and had grown into such an amazing woman and looking at her now he realized how much time they had lost and were never going to get to recover.  “If you mean is it going to help me get better, then no,” he said seriously.  “It’s more for the doctors to track the cancer and make sure that it’s not getting any worse or spreading.”
    Gina nodded and willed herself to not cry.  “I hate that they are making you more uncomfortable when they need to be doing everything they can to help you.”
    He smiled sadly.  “In their world, they are helping me.  By making sure that I’m not getting