AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Terrified.”
“That’s understandable.”
She lets out a snort. “Yeah. Doesn’t make it any easier.”
“So your treatment…you said something about chemo?”
Lily nods. “I get a mastectomy, and they do a breast reconstruction in the same operation. Then I need some chemo to follow up on the surgery.”
“One of my employees had breast cancer,” I say, getting up to refill my mug. “She said her doctors did everything they could to save the breast tissue. Did radiation, and she was grateful she didn’t need to do any chemo.”
Lily nods. “Yeah. I have…separate medical issues that mean I’m not eligible for radiation or hormone therapy, or even breast-conserving surgery. They have to take the whole thing.” She cups her boob and pouts.
“That sucks,” I say, sliding back onto the barstool. “But hey—at least there’s a second one.” I reach down and lay a kiss on top of her breast to emphasize the point.
I laugh when Lily punches my arm. She can’t keep the scowl on her face too long, though, and just shakes her head at me.
I tuck a strand of hair behind Lily’s ear. “You look beautiful in the morning.”
Lily’s cheeks flush, and she nods to the bathroom. Her voice is quiet, almost shy when she speaks. “I feel like I need a shower. Would you like to join?”
Suddenly, my throat is tight. A gorgeous woman just invited me to shower with her. I nod. “Yeah,” I manage to answer. “I would.”
CHAPTER 20
Lily
After Rudy and I have—ahem—showered, I stand under the stream of water and let him run my loofah over my back. He lays a soft kiss on my shoulder as a rumble passes through his chest. Strong arms wrap around my waist as he pulls me close, something hard nudging at the small of my back.
“You’re insatiable.” A laugh escapes my lips along with the words, and I lean into his warmth.
“Only with you.”
His words make my breath catch. So it isn’t just me who feels this way—like there’s something between us that’s different, special. I’ve never actually enjoyed showering with anyone else. It’s usually awkward and inefficient, and I don’t care what anyone says—the lubrication situation downstairs during shower sex makes the whole thing vaguely uncomfortable. But with Rudy, it’s intimate and special and yes, fun. Just like everything else with him.
I turn around in his arms and let the water run over my hair.
He smiles, dipping down to kiss my lips. “I have a confession,” he says softly, hands sliding to rest on my ass.
“Mm?” I answer, tracing patterns on his wet skin. “What’s that?”
“I never wanted this to end after twelve hours.” When I open my mouth to answer, he puts a finger on my lips. “Don’t, Lily. Don’t tell me that you have too much baggage, that you don’t need my help, that you don’t want to burden me. I know you feel this between us. I want to see where it goes.”
My chest hurts.
I should laugh, really. For nearly a year, I dated a man who was literally married to another woman. He promised me everything and gave me nothing. He strung me along, and I clung on like a fool. It was only when I told him about the baby that he finally made a choice—and he didn’t choose me. Less than a year isn’t much to waste on a man, but it still makes me hesitant to jump in again.
Now, mere weeks later, I’m standing under the stream of a hot shower with another man—a better man—telling me he wants to choose me despite my baggage.
The problem is, he doesn’t know the half of it.
Can I really trust him to stay by my side when he finds out about the baby?
I guess there’s only one way to find out. Before I can stop myself, I let my mouth run away with me. “Jared said something else.”
Rudy freezes, a hard wall of muscle in front of me. “Oh?”
“Something about a stepkid.” Even I can hear the odd note in my voice, but I just close my eyes and tilt my head into the stream of the shower to hide it. When I straighten up again and meet Rudy’s eyes, I’ve regained control over my own body.
