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“Oh. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you.”
I put Boone out of my mind and focused on what I needed to do right now.
He’d be gone soon, and my future suddenly looked a lot brighter than it had.
When it was all said and done, I’d worked too hard to give up my dreams for a man.
No matter how I felt about him.
Right?
I’d just gotten home when my phone rang and Boone’s name flashed on the screen. The timing was perfect since I had a lot of exciting news.
“Well, hey there, handsome,” I said by way of greeting.
“Hey, babe.” His voice sounded funny.
“Are you okay?” I asked cautiously. “You don’t sound good.”
“No, I’m good.” He cleared his throat. “In fact, better than good. My brother got the results of his scans back today.”
It took a second for his words to sink in and my breath caught as I realized what that meant. “Oh my god. Does that mean it’s…good news?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Babe…” I didn’t even know what to say. This was the best possible news and my eyes filled with tears of happiness. I knew how upsetting this had been for Boone and his whole family.
“They’re clear. The scans showed no signs of cancer, Jolie.” He sounded better now, his voice getting clearer as he talked. “It’s gone. In remission. Whatever you want to call it.”
“Boone!” I squealed with delight. “That’s fucking amazing! You must be so happy.”
“I can’t even put it into words.”
I was a little dumbstruck as well.
I was genuinely happy for him and his family, but this changed everything for us too.
If Andy was cancer-free, Boone didn’t have to move to Nashville.
Which meant he could stay and, if things continued the way they had been, maybe we could make this work. My father would probably complicate things for us, but we’d figure it out.
“I’ve been pretty emotional since we hung up,” he continued. “Carrie and Andy were both a wreck.”
“Of course they were. I don’t even know them and I feel a little light-headed.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” he said. “I’m relieved and excited and so many different things, it’s hard to put what I’m feeling into words.”
“I think that’s normal in this situation.”
“Not for me. Usually you can’t shut me up.”
We both chuckled.
“Well, I think we need to celebrate,” I said happily. “Because I have good news too.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me.”
“Not only did Dr. Matello sign off on my dissertation, but he offered me a job.”
“Wait, does that mean it’s official? You have your PhD?”
“It’s not official until my defense day, but yes, I’m essentially done.”
“Holy shit, babe, that’s incredible! Congratulations.”
“It totally caught me off guard. I thought for sure there would be another round of edits.”
“And you said there’s a job offer too?”
“Yup.”
“Here in St. Louis?”
“Yes! So if things go according to plan, I’ll be working as a professor and scientist in the near future.” I gave him some of the details. “How cool is this?”
“That’s wonderful.” His voice was quiet. “I’m so proud of you, Jolie. You’ve worked hard for this and deserve everything you get.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you still going to interview for the job in New York?”
“I have no plans to take the job, but I think I still need to go, if for no other reason than to gain experience doing interviews, you know?”
“I was just going to say that. And you’re going to be an asset no matter where you wind up, so don’t shortchange yourself.”
“I won’t.” I took a breath, trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening. “I already looked at the schedule—you’re in town the day of my defense. I’d really like you to be there even though it would probably give away our relationship to my dad. But at this point, it doesn’t matter as much, does it?”
“No, I guess not,” Boone said slowly. “And I want to be there for you. Unless there’s a meeting or something I absolutely can’t get out of for the team, I’ll be there, babe.”
“Well, it’s on Dad’s calendar too, so I can’t imagine he’ll schedule practice or a meeting in the middle of it.”
“Okay. Then count me in.”
“Since we have so many things to celebrate, I think we should get naked.”
He chuckled. “We’d have to do that right now because Joey is with Hadley, but I have to pick him up by six.”
I glanced at the time, 3:55.
“That’s not a ton of time for all the things I want to do to you,” I teased, “but we can probably make it work.”
“Your place or mine?” he asked.
“Your place is closer to Hadley’s, which means we’ll have a little longer,” I said, grabbing my purse. “I’m leaving right now.”
I got to Boone’s place in record time, throwing myself into his arms the moment he opened the door. Our mouths locked together and he kissed me as tenderly as he did passionately. His fingers tangled in my hair and he held my head, taking his time despite my breathless anticipation.
