Page 82 of Stolen Kisses

My hands reach out to grasp onto his slender hips, to keep my jelly legs from collapsing beneath me at his words.

He means them.

With every ounce of belief.

It’s there, in hisazureeyes. The honest truth. He guides me to sit back down on my bed, sitting gently beside me. “Will you tell me the prognosis?”

“Dr. Barnes feels he got all of the cancerous cells out. I hadductal carcinoma in situin both breasts, which is the least invasive form of breast cancer. I’m incredibly lucky by all accounts. The surgeon removed the entirety of the breast tissue to ensure he got it all. I’ll find out more at the follow-up appointment.” I shrug, sending shooting pain through my chest.

I’ve got to remember to stop doing stuff like that.

He rubs his hand up and down my back, careful not to disturb the drainage tubes coming out of my body. I wince as he catches the stitches on my back from where Dr. Corrigan shavedthe muscle in myback tousearound the front of my body to support my implants.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He snatches his hand away.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know I had stitches there.”

“It’s good news that they got all of the cancerous cells. Will you need to have radiation or chemotherapy?”

“He didn’t think so, but I’ll know more once the pathology report comes back.”

“Okay. Do you need me to bring you anything? I can come back tomorrow, once I drop Kenny at school.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. Honestly. I’ll be home in another two days.” This feels incredibly intimate and I’m unsure how we got to this point so quickly. “I meant what I said the other day, Theo. There can’t ever be anything more than friendship between us.”

“Look, I know I fucked up. I fucked up big time. I get that. But I’m willing to put the work in to make it right.” Hescrapeshis beard with his fingertips. “All I ask is that you give me a chance.”

We sit, in silence, locked in each other’s gaze for long moments. I’m working hard to portray that I don’t want anything more from him, even though I would love something, make that plenty more with him.

But Ican’t put myself at risk again.

Theo was mesmerized by my boobs. They’re different now and they will be smaller once I’m through with everything. When Dr. Barnes removed the bandages to check my wounds, my boobs looked like a war zone. I know the bruising will disappear and the scarring will heal and it won’t look as bad as it does right now, but that’s going to be a long way off.

How will he react to the changes?

Preston hated the way my body changed as a result of my pregnancies. I’ve onlyrecentlyrecovered my self-esteem as a result of his disparaging comments and rejection thanks to Theo. I don’t think I could go through havinghimdo the same, especially when he used to make me feel so incredibly sexy in my skin.

How could he even look at my scarred breasts and not be thinking about his losses?

Why would he want to be in that situation day in and day out?

He tilts his head, then leans forward, laying a gentle kiss against my forehead. “I’d better head out, your parents are probably wondering where I am.” He stands to his full height, running the back of his hand down the side of my face. I fight the urge to press into him. “I’ll be back tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that. I’m not going anywhere, Peaches.” Turning on his heel, he leaves my room before I can answer, taking his sexy scent with him.

–sixteen–

–theo–

Ispent the time Emmawas in hospital cleaning up her yard so she’s not tempted to do anything when she gets home. It all looks pristine for her return later today. Despite her denial that she didn’t want anything with me, I sensed that she was scared. Scared for me and scared for herself. I can’t blame her for not trusting me to stick around after the way I responded; especially since she just had cancer removed from her breasts.

Fucking cancer. In her breasts!

I thought my world was going to crash down around me when I finally learned why she was in the hospital. Of all the surgeries she could have had, it had to be fucking breast cancer—I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It’s like the fucking universe wants me to suffer as much as humanly possible. I was so close to walking away, but Anna’s words ran through my mind on repeat, bringing me back from the brink.

I came home that afternoon, spent time with Kenny, and then once she was in bed, I read Anna’s letter again.

I did some deep soul searching. Something I hadn’t really done before.

I needed to be sure I could stand by Emma through this challenge. I haven’t had the best track record of supporting the women in my life. First, I was too young to help Mom, but I had no excuse for not returning home when Anna became ill—only mylack of backbone. I wanted to be completely certain that I could be with Em through thick and thin because it’s what she deserves. I Googled the shit out of her form of breast cancer, so I had adeepunderstanding of what we were going to be up against. But it seems Emma’s already been through the worst of it.

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