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“I’m not sure yet. So far, the benefits seem to outweigh the drawbacks.”
“What drawbacks? There should be none.”
What about exposing my heart, family, career, and future? What about exposing me as a liar and a fraud?
“I misspoke. I can’t see the drawbacks anymore. But I should go home.”
“I can drive you in the morning.”
“I can take an Uber.”
“Veto,” he murmured in my ear.
“You can’t veto me.”
“I believe I just did. You stay here with me until morning. I’ll sneak you out through a private elevator, take you to breakfast, and then you can pick up Ozzy.”
“I’ll have to brush my teeth before breakfast.”
“I keep a spare toothbrush here. Now stop making excuses and let me enjoy holding you. I’ve missed three years already. I’m not missing any more.”
Exhausted, confused, and satisfied, I snuggled into his body. My cheek lay flat against his naked chest, and I listened to his calming heartbeat. The rhythmic beat eased the anxiety tied around my heart. His light snore rumbled underneath me when a text pinged on my phone. I snuck out from his hold, wrapped another blanket around myself, and tiptoed to my jacket over his chair.
I found my phone and pulled my finger across the screen. The text nearly stopped my heart.
Teresa Silver: I’d like to meet for lunch this weekend. Please bring my grandson.
CHAPTER 6
JAMES
“Good morning, Mom.” I strolled though the front door of my parents’ house.
“Daddy!” Kensi and Laila ran to my side and gave me a hug.
“Morning, girls. What are you baking?”
“Pancakes and muffins. Grandma’s making croissants for later.”
I inhaled the fresh pastry aroma. Comfort and security hung permanently in the air at my parents’ house. I wished Laura hadn’t left my office five days ago. I’d woken up that morning intending to share a breakfast, but she was already gone. She’d left a note on my desk that we’d catch up during the week. and I had heard nothing since. The past five days without her as I waited for my biopsy results felt torturous. The girls stayed home with their grandparents’ next door, while I lost myself in casework.
“Breakfast smells delicious.”
The girls ran back to my mother and glued themselves to her side by the kitchen pantry. She kissed them both on top of their heads and started listing all the baking she’d planned for the day.
We’d pulled Kensi from school three months ago when her health took a turn for the worse. Sick seven-year-olds shouldn’t have to worry about school. I’d hired a nurse to stay at my parents’ monitoring my girl when I worked. My mother, meanwhile, watched Laila, because she was a superhero.
I stole a hug from the girls and took my mother into my arms.
“You call me as soon as you know.” She squeezed me tight. “You don’t know how much you have to live for.”
I glanced over her shoulder at the girls. “Oh, I do.”
“No, you don’t. Trust me, you don’t; so you need to be well, you hear me?”
My mother looked different this morning than yesterday. She looked truly worried, which kicked up an instinct in my chest. Perhaps she was right.
“Everything’s going to be fine, Mom. I’ll call you as soon as I can. Love you.” I kissed the top of her head the same way she’d kissed my girls and left for Manhattan General.
