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She was bouncing on her high heels now, obviously thrilled at this gift she was handing him. He could see why people were drawn to her. Her cheerful attitude was more appealing than her model-perfect beauty and billionaire status. That she’d lost her mom in a car accident as a teenager and her brother two years ago made her happy light even more impressive.
He didn’t have the time or desire to be drawn to any woman, and he’d never saddle a light-filled woman with his vile future. But other men would be sucked in by her money, light-filled countenance, and beautiful face.
Five million dollars …
Cash drew in a breath to clear his mind and settle his breathing. He received too much perfume in his nostrils. He coughed and backed up another half a step.
How could he not jump at this opportunity? Not for himself, but for the chance to start new gyms and update his current facilities, setting aside money to pay staff and keep the lights, heat, and air conditioning on for years after he died. He could pray and get the right names for wounded vets who could also use and make a difference with their million, though he could only imagine some of them would still resist a reality television show.
“Um … can I think about it and get back to you?”
“No time!” she exclaimed.
He blinked at her. “No time?”
“Come now.” She pursed her red lips and gave him the most honest and depth-filled look he’d seen in those teal-blue eyes today. “You don’t have much time … And neither do I.”
“Excuse me?” There was no way she could know about his diagnosis.
“You and I are more alike than you might believe.” For the first time during their interaction, the acclaimed billionaire beauty wasn’t smiling. She was dead serious.
“How could you possibly …” His brow wrinkled and his mouth went dry. More alike than he could believe? She was crazy. They were nothing alike. Except for their connection to Grayson, they had nothing in common.
“How could I know that you have three to six months left to live? Unless you agree to treatment. Even then, six to eighteen months is your optimistic prognosis.” She arched an eyebrow as she delivered that gut punch. “I’ve had people watching you and researching you, Captain Trapper.”
Cash swayed, stunned. He’d wondered if someone was following him but had never been able to prove it. He’d worried he was getting paranoid or not able to let his former life as a Green Beret go, making up opportunities to fight and defend in his own mind.
At least this confirmed he wasn’t crazy.
“I’ve been stewing on this idea since Grayson died, and when I got my own ticking time bomb … I knew this was my swan song.”
Cash could only stare at her. She couldn’t be serious.
She pulled down the high neckline of her form-fitting dress.
Cash held up a hand and looked away. “Miss Belle!”
She laughed. “I’m not trying to flash you. I was only showing you that I’m not making this up.”
Cash glanced back at her and saw the red, angry scars tracing down the middle of her chest. He focused on her face as she straightened her dress. All laughter was gone. His stomach churned. He’d noticed she was ultra-thin, but he’d written it off as a trend for high-dollar society girls. Was she pale under allthat makeup? Is that why she had so much caked on? Why would she entrust him with a secret this huge?
“You can imagine my father has had the best heart surgeons in the world trying to save me.” She shook her head. “My dad’s integrity means everything to him, but I’m certain he paid somebody to move me up on the transplant list. After losing Mom and then being blessed with Grayson coming into our lives only to have him be killed in action … I’m grateful for how strong Dad’s been, but everybody has a breaking point.” She blew out a breath, and Cash’s gut churned. He felt such empathy for her.
“Over the past eighteen months, I’ve had two donor hearts implanted and one artificial heart. My body is a chronic rejecter, apparently.” She gave him a very insincere smile. “Doctors and researchers and my father are doing everything they can to keep me alive, but …”
She lifted her hands, flashing the jewelry and those nails at him again. The jewelry didn’t feel obnoxious, and the nails no longer seemed so vicious. Both were a distraction. Cash looked her over and realized she was hiding—her pain, her fear, her diagnosis. They were all hidden behind long, shiny, blonde curls, gobs of makeup, fake eyelashes, fake fingernails, a high-dollar dress, and spike heels. Even her brilliant smile and the teal-blue eyes, contacts he now realized, were defense mechanisms. The two of themweremore alike than anyone could believe, and not just because they’d both mourned the loss of Grayson.
“I ask that you keep my illness between us,” she said. “You can’t imagine the money spent to keep it a secret—buying off paparazzi, securing doctor’s offices and hospitals before I could enter, wearing disguises …”
She trailed off and looked so fragile and worn down that Cash felt sympathetic and empathetic for her. Luckily, he’d been able to maintain his strength through a strict diet and perfectly structured and executed exercise, sleep, and stretching routines.Would he soon be as fragile as she looked? His stomach churned. The kinship he felt to her was unreal. She’d fought in the trenches with him and had his back, just as her brother had.
He cleared his throat but still said with more emotion than he’d spoken since his mom’s funeral, “I would never betray the secrets of a fellow soldier in this losing battle neither of us signed up for.”
Their gazes locked, and he knew their futures would be linked, no matter how short they might be.
“Thank you.” Straightening her spine, she gave him a tremulous smile, then she surprised him by moving on and not dwelling on their shared sorrow. “Since I came up with this idea … Well, actually, I stole it from my good friend Axel Dexter. But I have improved upon hisSurvive the Romanceshows. My shows will be more exciting but also safer for the participants. It’s going to be epic, dedicated to Lieutenant Grayson Travier,”—there was the nail in the coffin of his resistance—“and you get to be part of the entire blessed event!”
Cash wasn’t much for television, but he had watched a few of Axel’s reality shows. The famous billionaire had done something similar to what Mercedes was suggesting, pairing a retired military hero with a woman raising money for her charity. The shows had been intriguing and exciting, and the former SEALs seemed like good guys. He’d worked with Britton Grady and Satchel Johns on different ops and gone through an advanced weapons training course with Tagg Reynolds. The women on those shows had each been beautiful sweethearts, but he hadn’t appreciated the romance angle Axel’s assistant Emerald Taylor had apparently pushed into each episode.
