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Excerpt from Best Dating Rules
Determined to call the doctor and make an appointment as soon as lunch was over, Anne pushed the food around on her plate to make it appear emptier.
“Anne?” All the levity disappeared from Steven’s voice. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She felt the blood drain from her face at his words and the severity of his tone.
“Nothing. Nothing, I just… uhmm… I was trying to remember something.” She rose from the table, scrambling for an excuse. “I remember what it was. I forgot to mail our RSVP for the wedding. You know Sam and Tanner’s wedding? I’ve got to get it in the mail before it’s too late.”
“Anne!” Steven rose from his chair and pinned her with his glare. “Stop avoiding my question. What is it?”
“Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just...”
She watched in confusion as the sides of the room turned black and closed in on Steven’s face. Then she saw the floor coming toward her. Then she saw nothing.
Forcing her heavy eyes open, Anne gradually focused on Steven’s worried face.
“You’re in an ambulance. Stop trying to push the mask off your face. It’s oxygen.”
An ambulance. She was going to the hospital. She had to tell him—he couldn’t find out from the doctors. He’d be so angry. She struggled to speak, her words muffled by the mask.
“She’s trying to say something,” Steven told the paramedic. “Can she move the mask?”
“Sure, we can take it off for a minute.”
How could she break the news to him? Her eyes filled with tears, and she sobbed out the words.
“I th-think it m-may be cancer.”
“No, sweetheart, no.” He soothed her, pushing a stray strand of hair off her face. “It’s not cancer. It’s probably not a big deal. Maybe it’s appendicitis.”
“No. M-my mother died from it—stomach cancer. And now I have the symptoms. I didn’t want to tell you...”
“No! That’s not it. You have something else wrong with you. It’s not serious.” His brows creased, and his jaw flexed.
“But, my mom...”
“No! It isn’t cancer!” He blinked rapidly and rubbed at his eyes. “It isn’t—it can’t be. Not now, when I’ve only just found you. It can’t be that...” He kissed her all over her face, saying, “No, no, no, no...”
Anne sobbed even harder and grasped his neck in desperation. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do this to you.”
“Stop. You didn’t do anything, and we don’t know anything. We’ll just do tests and see what the doctor says. It’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Anne knew the words he repeated to comfort her were his futile attempt to convince himself.
