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  I tried not to cry when I watched Easton drive away, but I couldn’t hold my tears in. I was sad. The stupid four and a half hour drive between us felt like the whole United States.

  Me: Did A leave yet?

  Nicole: Not yet. What’s up?

  Me: E left already because of Cheyenne.

  Nicole: He’s leaving soon. Want to do dinner?

  Me: Yeah, where?

  Nicole: Your place?

  Me: Sure.

  Nicole had never really liked coming over to my apartment before, but everything was different now that I’d broken up with Jared—or maybe Nicole thought I was fragile because of the tumor. But I suspected she was okay with coming over because Jared was long gone.

  After I finished my Sunday routine of laundry and cleaning my apartment, Nicole came over with bags of food.

  “You do know I’m not helpless right?” I asked.

  “I know, but I went to the store to get stuff to make dinner, so I picked you up a few things.”

  “A few things? You bought the whole store.”

  “Eh, whatever,” she said, waving her hand to brush off my statement.

  We put all the groceries away. I was actually grateful that she had gone to the store. Usually, my shopping day was Saturday, but with all that had happened, I didn’t get a chance to go.

  “How you feeling?”

  “Good.”

  “Does your neck hurt?” Nicole asked, twirling her finger around to motion for me to turn around. She lifted one side of the bandage and looked at my wound.

  “No, it feels fine.”

  “It looks good too. I think you can take this off.” She removed the bandage and threw it in the garbage.

  “Thanks. So how are you and Avery?” I asked, wanting to avoid talking about my tumor.

  Nicole’s eyes lit up. She loved talking about herself and the men she was dating. “Oh my God, B, he is so sweet. You want to know what sealed the deal for me?”

  “His big cock?” I said with a laugh.

  “Well, duh, but no. Did you know that he helped Easton raise Cheyenne after Easton’s wife died?”

  “Easton briefly mentioned it.”

  “I think Avery loves that girl like his own.”

  “I think he is just a really good uncle.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right, but knowing that he helped raise a kid just makes me want him more. My clock is tickin’,” she said, slicing chicken into bite size pieces.

  “Tell me about it,” I huffed.

  I never thought that I would be thirty and not married with kids. The times were changing, and women were having babies later, but I’d always assumed I would at least have one by thirty.

  “Also, the sex is really good. Like the best I’ve ever had.”

  “Sex with Easton is the best I’ve ever had,” I said, putting a cup of brown rice in the rice cooker.

  “Okay, start from the beginning with him showing up without telling you.”

  “I thought it was you at my door. He was on the phone with me, so I didn’t even think it could be him. When I looked through the peephole and saw him standing there, my heart stopped. I swear to God, it stopped. The last time that I’d actually seen him face to face was when we awkwardly went to bed the last night of the cruise.”

  “Okay, okay, get to the sex.” She laughed.

  “Whenever I imagined sex with him, he would throw me on the bed and fuck me hard, but it was so … passionate. I’ve never had it so slow and good before. I don’t know, I can’t explain it. Jared used to just lick and stick, but Easton … He paid attention to my needs. It was perfect.”

  “Now are you happy I got you a cruise for your birthday?”

  “Yes, but I wish I hadn’t wasted a week with Easton.”

  “I don’t think you wasted a week. You got to know him. And I know you—you wouldn’t have been able to wrap your head around the fact that he has been married before and has a kid if you didn’t get to know him first.”

  “I know. I still can’t wrap my head around it actually.”

  “B, I’m not telling you to marry the guy. Just have some fun.”

  “Avery is rubbing off on you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Ever since you met him, you’ve called me B. You used to call me by my name or Brookie.”

  “Huh …” she said, trailing off.

  “Anyway, Easton wants me to meet Cheyenne.”

  Nicole dropped the knife from her hands. “Oh my God, really? Avery said that he’s never introduced a girl to his daughter before.”

  “I know. I’m really nervous. What if she doesn’t like me?”

  “Well, I think you will be okay. She’s ten. If she were a teenager, I would tell you to wait until she was out of the house.”

  I tried to remember what Bailee was like at ten. She’d stopped playing with dolls and had started to play more with the kids in the neighborhood. By thirteen, she thought she knew it all.

  I had three years to prove myself to Cheyenne.

  I went to work on Monday. Ian dragged me into his office first thing, trying to reprimand me for being gone for two weeks. I explained to him about my tumor, and he apologized, but he still seemed a little standoffish about it.

  Nicole texted me on Tuesday to let me know that Dr. Sam couldn’t tell me the results of the biopsy, but that Dr. Bloom needed to talk to me. I was scared, but she told me not to worry about it and that it was standard procedure.

  Not long after Nicole’s call, Dr. Bloom’s office assistant called to schedule an appointment with me. I didn’t want to miss any more work than needed, so I scheduled it for Friday at four. At five o’clock, Nicole and I would be New York bound, however I didn’t tell Easton because I wanted to surprise him.

  “Hi, Brooke, how are you doing?” Dr. Bloom asked as he entered the exam room.

  “I’m a little nervous.”

  “Well, I know you’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks, and I hate to tell you that it’s not over.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They weren’t able to get enough sample of the mass and can’t determine what it is.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “They ran a few extra tests, but with the little sample that they got from the biopsy, it’s not enough to determine what the mass is.”

  “So we don’t know if I have cancer?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  I stared at him wide-eyed. How could they not get enough sample to determine what it was? It didn’t make sense. “Do I need to have another biopsy?”

  “That’s a good question. I’ve spoken with an associate of mine, and we think it would be best to test it after it has been removed.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “But, Brooke, even if we remove it, your pain might not go away. Your mass is on a nerve, and the CT doesn’t show exactly where it is in your shoulder area. You might have nerve damage after.”

  “Oh …”

  “It’s hard to say, but the nerve damage might be in your arm which means you wouldn’t be able to use it.”

  “Oh …”

  I’d assumed the tumor would be removed, and then I would be pain free again. I hadn’t thought about the consequences of having it removed. I was just tired of being in pain.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

  “It is.”

  “We can give you time to think about it before you make a decision.”

  “No, I want to have the surgery.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am. The tumor is growing right?”

  “Well, that is hard to tell, but I would say yes. I want you to get a second opinion before scheduling the surgery. If you want to still schedule the surgery, then we’ll get you set up, but I’ll need you to get an MRI first. It will help us determine where the tumor is. Your body is made up of layers, and we need to map out a plan.”

  Dr. Bloom gave me the name of another surgeon t
o go to for the second opinion. I didn’t want to go; I knew I needed the surgery. I had a fucking tumor for Christ’s sake.

  I reached in my purse to call Easton and had a missed text from Nicole:

  Nicole: I’ll be ay your place at 5:15. Be ready. I looked and a storm is coming. I want to get there before it hits.

  My appointment with Dr. Bloom lasted only a few minutes, but with the wait time, it was already a quarter to five. I walked to my car, calling Easton on the way, but he didn’t answer, so I sent him a text:

  Me: Doc says they didn’t get enough sample to determine if I have cancer or not.

  Nicole pulled up at the same time I did when I arrived at my apartment, and I switched cars after grabbing my bag. After I’d filled Nicole in on the news from Dr. Bloom, Easton texted me:

  Easton: Sorry, baby. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. I wish I had the answers for you. We’re really busy, but I’ll call you on my break. Remember, you’re my Superwoman. Stay strong.

  I smiled at his text. I was a little disappointed that it was a text and not a phone call, but it was Friday night, and he did run a bar.

  Dark clouds started to roll in as we neared New York. Every few minutes, I looked at my phone to make sure I didn’t miss a call from Easton. I had no idea when he was going on break, and I had to tell him that I was on my way.

  “We should surprise him at the bar,” Nicole said, reading my thoughts. “Avery’s there, too, but I didn’t tell him that we were both coming.”

  “You didn’t? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

  “I figured you would stay at Easton’s.” She shrugged.

  “Hello, Easton hasn’t introduced me to Cheyenne, yet. I can just imagine us bumping into each other in the hall. “Hello, I’m Brooke, your daddy’s fuck buddy.”

  “You know you’re more than just a fuck buddy.”

  “I hope so. I mean, I know, but once I meet Cheyenne, that will seal the deal in my eyes.”

  “You already know that’s coming. Pull up directions to the bar on your phone,” she said, motioning to my phone.

  I typed Halo in the search engine on my phone and pulled up the address. After I’d punched in the directions, we arrived at the bar just as it started to pour.

  “Looks like we made it just in time, but now we need to make a run for it,” Nicole said, looking at the drops of rain hitting her windshield.

  We dashed through the parking lot, the rain falling hard on my jeans and sparkly black tank top. By the time we made it to the door, my hair no longer had the little curl that I’d put into it that morning. The water from the rain had flattened it to my head. Nicole opened the heavy wooden door and we entered, showing a bouncer our IDs, and then I tried to fluff my hair to look somewhat decent. The bar was packed. Bodies were everywhere: on the dance floor, sitting at high top tables and at the bar. My eyes scanned the room until I saw Easton at the bar. He was leaned over the bar, looking down at a red head with big boobs. I grabbed Nicole’s arm beside me and motioned to Easton with my heart not beating. He was flirting with her.

  “Oh fuck no!” Nicole screamed over the loud music.

  As if he could sense me, Easton turned, meeting my gaze head on as I backed up to leave. I saw his mouth move, then looked down at the red head’s hand on his arm. That was all I needed to see: a deer caught in headlights.

  I turned, running out the door and into the rain. I had nowhere to go, but I couldn’t be in the bar. In my head, we were exclusive, and I thought he’d made himself clear, but guys had a way of manipulating you. After four years, I’d caught Jared cheating. I couldn’t go through that again. Easton had told me about his past …

  I was a fool for believing that he had changed.

  I looked to my left and then to my right. It had been a long time since I’d been to the city, and the last time Jared had left me to wander around alone. Once again, I was alone in the Big Apple. I thought about going back inside and finding Nicole, but I needed time to think. I saw a twenty-four hour diner down the street and started walking toward it as I heard the wooden door of the bar open with a bang behind me.

  “Brooke!” Easton shouted.

  I kept walking, picking up my pace to get out of the rain and away from him.

  “Fuck, Brooke, please wait!” he shouted.

  I heard footsteps splashing in the rain as he neared. He grabbed my right arm, spinning me to face him.

  “Baby, please stop. It’s not what you think.”

  “I know what I saw.”

  “Yes, you saw me flirting, but that’s my job.”

  “Are you serious?” I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest and looking to the side, not wanting to look directly into his beautiful face. “How is flirting part of your job?”

  “I have to flirt to get tips.”

  “Really? You expect me to believe that?”

  Both of us were drenched from the storm. People were trying to step around us with umbrellas as we stood in the middle of the sidewalk.

  I didn’t care.

  I didn’t move.

  “Ask Avery. Ask any one of my bartenders. If we flirt, we usually get bigger tips.”

  “I—”

  Easton stepped forward, grabbing my face with both hands, and kissed me. The moment his tongue entered my mouth, my body relaxed. I remembered how he’d surprised me last week, how we’d made love for hours, and how he’d stayed by my side at the hospital. I even remembered about the cruise and how he’d had every opportunity to fuck any girl on that ship, but hadn’t. He stayed with me—someone who didn’t drop her panties for him (even though I’d wanted to).

  As we kissed, the rain beating down on my face as he tilted my head up to his mouth, I remembered about Cheyenne. He told me he wanted me to meet her, but was that just a line?

  “Will you listen to me now?” he asked, pulling his lips from mine.

  “Yes,” I said, breathlessly.

  He held my face in his hands as he spoke. “I flirt to make more money. None of those women mean anything to me. I haven’t looked at another woman since I first saw you—except the ones you were trying to hook me up with on the cruise, but you know I didn’t do anything with them.” He laughed, trying to lift the tension between us.

  “I haven’t needed to look at another woman because all I do is think about you. From the moment I wake in the morning until I go to bed—I think of you—and it doesn’t stop there. I dream about you, too. My father once told me that I would know who I was meant to be with when I couldn’t get her out of my head. And you know what? He was right. I love you, Brooke. I fucking love you.

  “I never thought I would love anyone after Dana—I didn’t want to, but then this tiny brunette entered my life, and now I want to introduce her to my daughter. I want to pack her shit up and move her in with me. I want to spend forever with her, and I want to be someone who she can lean on.

  “I love you, and I don’t want to waste any more time without you. You’re my Superwoman, and I want to care for you. I want to love you. I haven’t felt like this in a long time. Please. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want you to think that just because I flirt to make money means I’m cheating on you. I’m not that person anymore. Life with you makes perfect sense—not some skank in a bar. I love you.” He wiped rain drops from my eyelids allowing me to see him better before he continued.

  “God, I’ve never met anyone like you. You make me want to be a better man—a better father. You’ve got me thinking all these crazy thoughts, and I don’t even know where you stand.”

  I tried to wrap my head around everything he said, but I could only remember three words. “You love me?”

  He grinned. “Fuck, I’ve loved you since day one. You didn’t hold anything back the first night. You flipped my world upside down.”

  “I love you, too,” I said, giving him a smile.

  His hands tightened on my face, and he kissed me hard. I’d never had anyone ever profess their lov
e that way, and I felt like a fool for jumping to conclusions and assuming that he was cheating on me. I still didn’t like the fact that he flirted with random chicks at the bar, but I would work on it.

  “Get a room,” someone shouted as they passed us.

  We smiled, our lips still pressed together, and then we held each other in the rain a few minutes more.

  “Come on, I have someone you need to meet.”

  Professing my love to Brooke was liberating.

  I hadn’t expected to tell her in the pouring rain when she thought I was cheating on her. I’d wanted to do it right. I’d wanted to light candles, buy her flowers and all that shit people do in movies. But as I’d kissed her in the rain like Spider-man and Mary Jane (despite me not being upside down), I needed her to know.

  When we walked back into Halo, Nicole was leaning against the bar in the corner while Avery made drinks for customers. As we got closer, they both gave us a questioning look.

  “It’s raining outside,” I said over the loud music.

  “I can tell.” Avery smiled.

  “It’s getting late, and I want her to meet Cheyenne before she goes to bed. Do you mind if I take off?”

  “My girl is here, too, man,” he said, motioning to Nicole.

  “I need to talk to you then. Let’s go to the office.” I turned to Brooke. “Baby, have a drink, I need to sort this out with Av.”

  “Okay.” She pulled me down by my shirt and kissed me like we’d kissed in the rain. When she let me go, all the women who I’d flirted with that night to get tips were staring.

  “I see what your plan is, baby,” I said, giving her a knowing smile. “Bethy, can you make Brooke whatever she wants to drink?”

  “Sure thing. Sweetie, what will it be?”

  Avery and I took the steps two at a time until we stepped into our office. “Hear me out …” I said, raising my hands defensively.

  “Nicole is here, too. We need to have a better system.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Dude, Brooke walked in and thought I was cheating on her.”

  “So you decided to fight in the pouring rain?”

  “She went to leave. I couldn’t let her just walk away. Also, I told her that I loved her.”