Page 288 of Manhattan Bossholes

She shrugged. “It’s bound to work out one of these days. Why not today?”

I patted her knee. “Why not today?”

Stacy leaned over and pecked me on the cheek. “Exactly. I’m gonna go before I fall asleep on your couch. Text me later?”

“Sure,” I said. “Have a good night.” She got up, letting herself out of the apartment while I grabbed my phone to scroll through the notifications that I had ignored during the party. I had a direct message from Snug. I opened it, my eyes widening as I read it.

This wasn’t a business request, but a personal one.

From a woman claiming to be Trent’s mother.

18

TRENT

“How’re things going?” I asked as Sofia greeted me at the door of Nana Dee’s place.

She shrugged, tucking her stethoscope into the pocket of her nursing scrubs. “She hasn’t had the energy to get out of bed yet. Sounds like maybe she overdid it at the party.”

I closed the door quietly behind me, not wanting to disturb Dee if she’d gone back to sleep. When Sofia had reached out this morning, it was to tell me that Nana Dee had a rough night. “How’s her breathing?”

“Better now. But I’m worried she’s developing a cough.”

I winced. I knew how dangerous it was for her to develop a chest infection when she was already struggling to breathe. “You think she picked up something at the party yesterday?”

“Seems too quick for it to be from that. I’ll keep an eye on it. Let me know if you think she needs to make an appointment with her doctor.”

I ran my hand down my face. This was not the news I wanted this morning. Sofia put her hand on my arm and squeezed my elbow. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I guess I…” I shrugged. “Well, maybe it was naive of me, but I sort of thought she’d been improving.” Especially since meeting Natasha.

Sofia’s mouth stretched into a thin line. “Trent, you know there’s no reality where Dee just gets better, right? Not without intervention.”

“I know.” Despite how much I wanted it, I knew Dee wasn’t going to magically recover from heart failure. It didn’t work like that. “What I meant was…she’s seemed more energetic these past weeks. More engaged than she’s been since her diagnosis. She started coming into the office again for our lunch dates. She visited with the staff. She attended things with the guys, like Hailey’s party.”

“Sounds like she made an effort for you,” Sofia said, smiling softly. “She does nothing but talk my ear off about how much she loves Natasha, and how good she is for you.”

The corner of my mouth twitched. Natasha had been good for us both. But I couldn’t bring myself to fully smile when the situation was so grim. I didn’t need Dee to make an effort for me. I needed her to make one for herself.

“I need her to want this surgery, Sofia.”

“I know.”

“To want more time with me and her Lost Boys.” I’d hoped this whole fake relationship I’d started with Natasha might spur her to get treatment so she could be around for all these new milestones. But what if it had the opposite effect? What if Dee felt that she could let go now that I seemed to be happily settled?

“You can’t force her into these decisions,” Sofia said, sighing heavily. “No matter how much you want to. I know it’s hard, but you have to respect her right to make what she thinks is the best decision for herself.”

“It’s not the best decision,” I said, the words more of a growl than I’d intended. “She’s just scared. Too afraid to fight after watching what my grandfather went through. She’s given up without even trying.”

“Maybe,” Sofia said. “But that, too, is something for Dee to work out.”

“I can’t just sit here and let the disease take her.”

“The best thing you can do for Dee right now is support her decisions.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” I said through gritted teeth.

“You are doing it,” Sofia said, squeezing my arm again. “Just like this. You show up and you be there for her. That’s it.”