I didn’t like the awkwardness between us, but the lie was a wall forcing me back. A wall he’d built.
Payton gave me a nod and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Joseph said. “Thank you.”
She gave him a pleased smile. “You put me and Dominic together. Somehow you knew when you interviewed him, he was what I needed.” Her gaze on me was warm. “You and I are a lot alike, Joseph.”
She thought I was what Joseph needed? I watched her head down the hallway, and risked a glance back to him. He was still shirtless and tattooed, and the man I loved. Possibly sick.
“Come in.” He stepped back from the doorway and gave me space.
There was a blanket and his iPad on the couch, and CNN was on mute on the television. Around his coffee table were boxes of snacks, like he’d been camped out there a while. The half empty glass on the table was a bright red drink. Kool-Aid.
How long had he been sick?
“I’m sorry.” His voice was solid. “I should have told you, but . . . No, I just should have told you.”
“Yes,” I said quietly.
“I was worried once you knew, I was going to lose you.” He drew in a deep breath. “Did I?”
I couldn’t answer the direct question. “Go see the doctor, Joseph.”
His eyes narrowed at my tone. “No.”
“No? How can you say no? Are you scared about what they’ll find?” A fire built inside me that quickly flared out of control. “Because you’re going to be fine.”
He put his hands on his hips. “Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”
“Because I want you to be, and I told you, Rossos always get their way.”
A hint of a smile curled on his lips. Even tired, he was so beautiful. “I don’t have cancer.”
“That’s what I’m saying, but you need to—”
“I don’t have cancer,” he repeated, firm. “I have mono.”
What? I stared at him.
“She wore me down. I went yesterday afternoon, and the monospot test confirmed it.”
It was ironic that this word brought me joy. “Mono.” He was okay.
“My swollen lymph nodes are already gone. How are you feeling? I’ve been trying to talk to you, but communication has been pretty one-sided.”
It had been. I’d been holding a grudge, which I hated, and because of it, he’d gone through this cancer scare alone. I should have been there for him.
“I feel . . .” Awful? Like I shouldn’t have judged him without hearing his side? “I feel like I don’t have mono.”
He nodded. “The doctor said you probably don’t. It’s highly contagious, but at the same time, the stars have to align just right for someone to come down with it.” Joseph made his way incredibly close to me, and I stared up into his gorgeous eyes. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
My voice was breathless. “Yeah, well, nothing lasts forever.”
He cupped the back of my neck, which held my gaze on him, as if there was anywhere else I’d look.
“Nothing lasts forever,” he repeated, “except for the way I feel about you. I love you, Noemi. I think I’ve been in love with you since the night you insulted my car.”
I sucked in a breath, and laughed at the same moment tears welled in my eyes. “It is overpriced.”