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“You can’t say that. You don’t know.”
“I do know.” He captured her face and kissed her, pouring all his love and adoration into a meeting of lips and tongues. He explored her body with hands hungry for more than she could give. He’d never feel satiated, never have enough of Lori, but he’d take everything she had and not feel an ounce of guilt.
“Zane.” She tore her lips away. “You need to know what the future holds for me, and for you, too.”
“No one has a clue what the future holds, Lori. Not even you, and I know you like to think you’re all-seeing, all-knowing.”
“I’m serious. It’s going to be a rough ride.”
“Oh, baby, I sure hope so.” The look he gave her was intended to set her on fire, and if the way her flawless skin reddened was any indication, he’d achieved his aim.
“Zane.” She shook her head. “One day, I’m going to need another heart. At some point, this one will fail, too. I’m already living on borrowed time. The average for a transplanted heart is ten years, although people have gone twenty-five years before needing a second one. It’s important you try to understand. There are no guarantees.”
His brows dipped. “But you’re okay right now? I mean, you’re not sick?”
“No. I’m fine. I saw my doctor on Saturday over that episode on Friday evening, and he checked me over and said I’m fine, so it must have been the food giving me heartburn. Wait until I tell Dayton.”
Zane grinned. “Maybe you should jack up your fee.”
“Can you please be serious for a second? When the time comes, I want you to promise me something.”
He dropped the teasing. He already knew where this was going, and the answer was a resounding fuck, no. She could argue—or try to—but she wouldn’t get anywhere.
“I don’t want to hear it, Lori.” He shifted his weight and caught hold of both her hands. “Here’s what’s going to happen. We’ll take each day as it comes, enjoying every moment that life has to offer. If…” He shot her a frown as she opened her mouth to interrupt. “If that time which you’re referring to comes, we will deal with it. Together. I just got you back, and I don’t care what you say to try to push me away. I’m never letting you go again.”
CHAPTER 15
Love filled every crevice inside her, crawling into spaces she’d saved just for Zane. Regrets, pointless as they were, hung around her neck, heavy and burdensome, but there was little to be done now. She couldn’t go back in time and make different decisions. She’d done what she thought was best at the time, and it wasn’t possible to change her choices.
“I should have told you on our first date, but the timing never seemed right, and the longer I left it, the harder it became. Mom urged me to tell you, and today, I guess it came to a head. I didn’t want you to find out like that, though. I wanted to sit you down and calmly explain.”
“What’s done is done,” Zane replied in typical forgiveness mode. “I’m glad your mom pushed, though. Who knows how long it would have taken you to tell me?”
“I don’t feel good about it.”
“Lori, stop.” Zane combed his fingers through her hair, root to tip, then tucked a lock behind her left ear. “Can we please just move on?”
She lowered her lashes. “I’d like that.”
“Good, because I have a question and it is far more important than any I’ve asked so far.”
She fingered her necklace, the one her parents gave her on prom night, zigzagging the pendant along the chain. “What’s that?”
“Are you feeling well enough for me to take you to bed? Because despite the stellar blow job in the limo on Friday, I’m suffering from the most horrendous blue balls.”
She tossed her head back and let out a hearty laugh, one that took with it the intense worry she’d carried these last few days. “Oh, Zane, I love you so much.”
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes.”
“Thank god.”
Standing, he reached down to her, helping her upright. His arms encircled her waist, his palms slipping south to cup her ass. He squeezed. “Still got the best ass I know. Best in Manhattan.”
“Just Manhattan?” She pouted. “I’m offended.”
“New York State?”
