AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My mother wiped away a single tear that had escaped her eye. “Sweetie, I have breast cancer. I’m going in for surgery and treatment right after the trip. I was hoping we could have one last time together before I was too sick to enjoy it.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Mom?” I choked out. The pit of my stomach twisted in a terrible knot. My vision swam and my throat felt like it was closing in on itself.
My mother’s lips were trembling. She was struggling to speak so my dad stepped in for her. “After the experimental trial didn’t work, her last checkup showed the cancer had spread to some lymph nodes. The doctors felt there was no time left to try anything else. They want to act aggressively. Mom will have the mastectomy and radiation and then chemotherapy, starting about a month after the surgery.”
My voice came out shaky. “You said experimental trial? Mom, how long have you known you’ve had this?”
She took a deep breath before answering. “About six months.”
My hand flew to my mouth.
Six months!
I thought about all the time I’d wasted that I could have been spending with my mom. Helping her through this. Comforting her. Instead, I was ignoring her calls. Telling her I was too busy to come home to visit.
“It will be a really tough time for me, but the doctors are optimistic that I have a chance to make it through all this.” She sounded more composed now, even as I was falling apart.
“We have every reason to be optimistic.” My dad smiled at her like she was the bravest woman alive, and then he turned to me. “After the last results, the oncologist wanted Mom to go into surgery immediately, but Mom insisted on seeing you first. It would mean a lot to her if we could all go on this trip together, Jellybean.”
Mom pleaded with her eyes. “I want to spend some time with my baby girl before I go through all that ... misery.”
I was crying now. Tears were running down my cheeks, one after the other. I could barely grasp this was happening. Scotty wrapped his arm around me and now he was the one soothing me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you.” My mom dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. “I didn’t want you to worry about me. I’m going to be okay, sweetie.”
I sniffled in a very unladylike manner, and Scotty handed me a cocktail napkin. “Mom, I can move back home and help you after the surgery—“
She cut me off before I got much further. “That’s exactly what I don’t want. You’re not going to give up your job and your life here in L.A. to run back home to nurse me. Dad will take care of me and we’ll hire help if we need it.”
I blew my nose on the napkin and wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand. “I just want to help you.”
Mom smiled lovingly at me. “What would help me the most — what would make me the happiest — is if you two would go on the spa retreat with Dad and me.”
I nodded as I wiped away a few stray tears that had fallen. “Of course, we’ll go.”
Chapter 7
Knox
Mynighthadgonedownhill so fast that my head was still spinning. I’d gone to dinner, goaded by Ghost, on a lark, thinking I’d amuse myself trading barbs with an American princess whose beauty made my cock twitch. Instead, I’d ended up embroiled in the middle of a weighty and depressing conversation.
Her mum had cancer. Fuck. Suddenly, acting as the fake boyfriend and playing around with everyone’s emotions seemed anything but harmless. When the conversation turned personal, downright uncomfortable, I’d wanted to bolt. I shouldn’t have witnessed all that. I was an arsehole of the highest order.
After her parents had dropped that bomb, Lara decided she needed her rest. She insisted we go out and enjoy the night without them. My lass wasn’t about to argue with her mum anymore; she’d shut down. I could see panic reflected on her face: that along with guilt, fear, and worry were all vying for the top spot with her.
Sure, I wanted to bolt, but I couldn’t abandon her now; she needed some time to process the news. To decompress. But I wasn’t sure where we should go. It was too cold to spend any time outside, and she was wearing heels way too high for any significant amount of walking. Where could we go indoors where no one would recognize me?
I sent a quick text to Hudson, who was still sitting twenty feet away, watching over me. Jim and Lara had already left and my lass was in the ladies’ room fixing herself after crying, while I settled the bill that I had remained firm upon paying despite Jim’s protests.
I rejected Hudson’s first suggestion, a coffee/dessert cafe, but then okayed his suggestion of a jazz club. At least the lights would be low and I could listen to some good music. He texted me the address and said he’d make all the necessary arrangements.
When she returned from the restroom, I couldn’t even tell that she’d just been weeping with sorrow. Her stunning beauty struck me all over again. If the perfect woman had been molded precisely to meet my every specification, she’d look just like her. No wonder I was caught knee-deep in this mess.
She looked at me and frowned. “I should just go home. You don’t want to hang out with me; I’d be terrible company anyway...” Her voice trailed off.
I felt bad for her. She’d had a rough night. In fact, she’d been utterly knocked down on her arse. She certainly wasn’t the feisty lass I’d sparred with this morning.
