Page 55 of Sweet Nothings

“No,” she whispers. “I’m fine. I’m actually at my weekly chemo session right now.”

I breathe a sigh of relief and pinch the bridge of my nose. Silent tears stream down my face. An avalanche of emotion crashes against my chest, and the floodgates have opened. Roe. Lennon. My head. It’s all too much all at once.

“How’s it going?” I ask her, trying my best to not let her know I’m crying.

“As good as it can be,” she whispers again, sadness laced in her wispy voice.

“I told you I wouldn’t mind sitting in with you one of the days you’re at the hospital. You’re there for eight hours, Roe. It must be taxing.” I don’t tell her about my conversation with Fred. The last thing she needs is to feel like I’m pressuring her to tell himwhen I know it’s not what she wants. I don’t want her worrying whether I’m going to spill the beans or not.

“It is, but I have Steven,” she reassures me. “Besides, you just got married, and I don’t want to hold you back from spending time with your new husband. Regardless of the reasoning behind your marriage.”

“You’re not holding me back,” I tell her.

Lennon’s doing that all on his own.

“Good,” she whispers again. “Listen, it’s a little difficult to talk in here since there are other patients getting their treatments, too. I’ll call you when I feel up to it later. Okay?”

“Okay.” I blow out an exasperated breath.

“Feel better soon, Laurel.” I can practically feel her warm smile through the phone. “I know you’re at work, but consider going home. You sound terrible.”

I chuckle. “Thanks.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.” When Roe hangs up, the silent tears I shed when I was on the phone only get worse.

My heart is incredibly heavy, and it does nothing to help the weight radiating across my body for varying reasons.

I reach for another tissue, wiping away my tears and then swiping it across my nose. My eyes hurt. My chest hurts. Everything hurts.

Reluctantly, I pick up my phone. It’s nine in the morning. Lennon’s probably still in his first meeting, but I don’t think I can make it until then.

I click on Ray’s number and type out a message before packing up my laptop and heading down to the main lobby of the building.

Laurel: You win, Ray. I need to go home. I’m on my way down to the lobby.

I step into the elevator and fall back against the wall, watching the numbers go down with every level. My body aches as I close my eyes, ready to hibernate in bed and not wake up until this sickness is gone. But I know even then that’s not what I truly need to feel better.

What I need is all those things… but with my husband lying beside me.

SEVENTEEN

“Fucking unbelievable.” Micah slaps his hand on the table, wearing the largest grin I’ve ever seen. He swings his wide eyes at me. “You’ve been CEO of Harding Holdings for only three days, and you’ve managed to close nine of the contracts that were held off the past month. We didn’t lose a single client.”

“Great job, Lennon.” Tyson, our accountant, taps on the tablet he’s holding between his hands. “If you keep this up, you’re on track to match your profits from last year.”

Leaning forward and resting my arms on the edge of the table, I can’t help but side eye my phone for the millionth time since I sat down in this conference room an hour ago. It feels like I’ve been living here the past few days, but all I want to do is talk to my wife.

I haven’t heard from Laurel today. We’ve only been married for three days, but we’ve managed to pick up a routine. A routine of sorts. But to secure these accounts that Tyson and Micah are raving about, I’ve had to sacrifice my time with Laurel by way more than expected.

Not having accounted for a honeymoon, I immediately headed into work the morning after our wedding. It took all the strength I had to leave her lying in my bed completely naked andsore from the night before, but my father’s words echoed in my mind, reminding me of the legacy he left behind.

Call it greed.

Call it ambition.

Call it ego.

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