I run a hand up the side of her face and cup her cheek while planting a gentle kiss to her swollen pink lips. She sighs, her body relaxing into me, and I’m about to sigh with relief when she takes a deep breath, causing her to break out into yet another coughing fit. She braces one hand on my shoulder, the other covering her mouth. Her lungs wheeze, and after several seconds I become alarmed because she isn’t stopping. Pulling out a chair, I nudge her into it and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She takes several small sips but continues to choke and sputter. “Laney,” I ask, trying to keep from panicking. “What can I do? Are you okay?” She nods her head with her hand still to her mouth and finally the coughing subsides.
“I’m fine,” she squeaks, her voice raw.
“You’re not fine.” Squatting down in front of her so we’re eye to eye, I grip her hand in mine. “You need to call Dr. Hopkins. Didn’t you tell me that she wanted to know if you started getting sick?”
“That was when my blood counts had dropped, but they’re a little better now. It’s just a cold, Levi. I’ll be fine,” she says, dismissing me.
“A cold doesn’t last this long. Jesus, Laney, you’ve been coughing for weeks and you don’t have any other symptoms. This isn’t normal. We’re calling Dr. Hopkins.” Standing up, I reach for my phone, but she snatches it off the table before I can get to it.
“No. I promise, I’m fine.” My phone buzzes again while she’s holding it, and she looks down and then holds it out to me. “It’s Mason.”
“Promise me you’ll mention it to the doctor tomorrow,” I say, disregarding my phone because this is much more important. Laney drops her hand back in her lap when she realizes I’m not answering the call.
“I promise,” she sighs emphatically, rolling her eyes. “I promise I’ll tell her about the cough.”
“Thank you.” My phone buzzes again and she shoves it at my chest then stalks out of the room, coughing the entire way. I answer the phone.
“I can’t do it, Mason. I can’t go.”
“You have to go. This isn’t an option, Levi.” I know my brother, and I can practically hear him pacing around his living room. “Look, I get it. You want to be here with her. But this is important, Levi, and I don’t want us to lose out on this opportunity.”
“I know. I don’t want us to lose out on it either, but she’s sick, Mase, and I’m not just talking about the cancer. She’s got this cough and it’s getting worse, and I need to be here with her to make sure she talks to the doctor.”
“She’s a grown woman, Levi; I’m sure she can talk to the doctor on her own. And I know that Luke would never let her go by herself. Fucking hell, Levi,” Mason grunts, his irritation obvious. “This is important. It’s important to me, and it sure as hell is important to our business. You have to go so just make it work,” he says with finality.
I open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but the asshole hangs up on me. I toss my phone on the table. What the hell am I supposed to do? Spinning around, I come face to face with Laney.
“What did Mason want?” She yawns and tucks herself into my chest, wrapping me in her arms.
“He wants me to go to Nashville tomorrow to sign paperwork for the investors.”
“What? That’s amazing, Levi. I’m so happy for you guys!” Her eyes glitter with joy and it’s like a punch to the gut because I haven’t seen her smile like this in days. I’m realizing now how much I’ve missed it.
“I’m not going.” Untangling her arms from around my back, I walk down the hall and into the bathroom. Seconds later, she comes barging in on me with my sweats around my thighs and my dick hanging out. She doesn’t seem at all fazed that I’m standing here taking a piss, and the sassy little vibes she’s putting off with her hands on her hips and her chin jutted out is turning me the fuck on.
“What do you mean you’re not going? You have to go.” Her mouth comes together in the perfect pout, and I fight the urge to bite one of her lips and see just how sassy she can be. I pull my pants back up, wash my hands and push past her on my way out of the bathroom.
She follows me into the bedroom, which is exactly where I want her. I’m declaring our little argument the first fight since we’ve reunited, and I’m in need of some serious make-up sex. I shove my pants back down my thighs and Laney watches them fall to the floor. Then she looks back at me, trying to appear unaffected.
“I don’t have to go. We can reschedule.” I stalk toward her.
“What? No!” she says, shaking her head furiously. I grab onto the bottom of her shirt and tug it over her head. She looks down at her naked chest in confusion and then back up at me. “You have to go, Levi. You guys worked really hard for this. You deserve this.” She yawns, and as she takes in the deep breath, I hear a faint wheeze come from her mouth. Laney coughs once and clears her throat several times before speaking again. “Why wouldn’t you go?”
“Because I need to be with you. I want to be with you.” Bending down, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her over to the bed. As soon as I set her down, she scoots back and buries herself under the covers and I curl up next to her.
“You need to go,” she mumbles, resting her head on my chest. “I’ll get Luke or Mia to go with me to my treatment.” I smile to myself because she didn’t mention Benny. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy. But if Laney wasn’t with me, I could see her with someone like him.
“I don’t know, Laney—” She rises from my chest and shuts me up with a kiss.
“It isn’t up for discussion. I will be fine, and I’ll be here when you get back.” She falls back on my chest and I grunt. “Speaking of that, how long will you be gone?”
“I would leave tomorrow and come back on Sunday. We’re supposed to approve a building site they selected.” She nods, her smooth head rubbing against my chest. I’m so used to her bald head that sometimes I completely forget she doesn’t have hair . . . or eyebrows or eyelashes, for that matter. With the cold weather, she’s had to start wearing hats. I tried to take her to get a wig, but she didn’t like the way they felt on her head and I didn’t care either way, so she decided to go without.
My fingers trace a loop around the top of her head, over and over, and within seconds, a faint snore drifts through the air. So much for the make-up sex. She’s been so tired lately—more so than usual—and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of the chemotherapy or the cold. She slept a full ten hours last night, and it’s not even nine o’clock in the morning and she’s already back asleep. The small wheeze that I heard earlier starts up again each time she inhales and I prop myself up higher on the bed, bringing her with me.
Laney’s breast is squished against my side and her silky smooth legs are tangled with mine. It feels so fucking perfect, except that my mind starts to wonder what the hell I’d ever do if she wasn’t here. I’ve gotten fairly good at shutting off those thoughts because I know they won’t get us anywhere. She’ll get past this. Laney will survive, and when she does, I’m going to put a huge fucking rock on her finger and change her last name.
There is absolutely no way I’m going to fall back asleep, so I do the next best thing—I watch Laney sleep. Her shoulders rise and fall with each shallow breath, and a few times I lay my hand across her back just to make sure she’s still breathing. She’s so tiny and fragile, and I have no clue how her body has made it through everyt