Page 21 of Mic Drop

“What does she have?”

I take a deep breath. “Stage four pancreatic cancer.”

“Oh, Jenna.” He pulls me to him again, holding tight. “I’m so sorry. Tell me, what can I do?”

With my forehead plastered against his hard chest, I pour out Ma’s situation to him. More tears soak his front, but he doesn’t flinch.

“Sweetheart.” He brushes his palm against my cheek.

“I can’t lose her.” When did I become such a watering pot?

Using his thumbs, he swipes the tears away from my eyes. “Have you run out of doctors around here?”

“Yes.”

“How about this. I’ll have Luke arrange for a Zoom meeting with a world-renowned doctor. We can attend the meeting alone. Your mother need not know.”

“I do have access to all her medical records. She gave them to me before our last appointment.”

“That’s good,” he praises me.

I lay my cheek against him, letting his slow and steady heartbeat calm my thoughts. We stand like this for a long while. “Sweetheart, if you want me to arrange this meeting, I better text Luke. Will you be okay if I let you go?”

Am I so fragile he thinks I can’t stand on my own two feet? “I got this.” I shuffle backward, shocked when my balance isn’t normal. Must be the uneven ground.

He presents me with the flower bouquet. “This is for you. I thought of you when I saw them, thinking they would complement your gorgeous gray eyes.”

I accept the gorgeous white calla lilies. “Thanks.”

“May I kiss you.”

This man, the cocky lead singer of a world-famous rock band, is asking for permission to kiss me? I love him so much. That never will change. “Yes.”

He holds up a phone. “I better text Luke first. Once my lips touch yours, there’s no telling how long they’ll linger.”

“Better hurry.”

“With the text, not the other,” he quips. I watch his talented fingers dance over his screen.

“New phone?”

“Yeah. My old one had a problem.” He glances up when the text is sent.

“What happened?”

“It hit a concrete wall.”

Oh. OH. I don’t have time to ask him if I was the cause for the flying cell before he wraps me in his arms.

“This is what I’ve needed ever since you walked out of my hotel room.”

I can’t talk because his lips cover mine in a delicious reunion. He molds my mouth to his, our tongues tangling like star-crossed lovers.My fingers rake through his hair as he pulls me tighter against his hardening body. I keep hold of the flowers by sheer will. All I want to do is explore his body.

The ping of an incoming text is the only thing that could drive us apart. Bennett checks. “Luke came through. He’s setting up a video call for us this afternoon. He’ll get back to me with the exact time.”

“Thanks.” I need to tell him that my feelings for him never changed. Despite being mad at him for distracting me from talking with Ma while I’ve been away, the truth is it doesn’t matter. Her cancer was here since I’ve been in Aroostook opening up my clinics. None of us noticed her symptoms. We’re all at fault. He was an easy scapegoat.

“Bennett,” I begin. “I need you to know something. When I left your hotel, Kara had just told me about Ma’s diagnosis. I thought this was new, but it turns out she’s been ignoring symptoms for a long time. Years, even. I was scared and mad and wanted to lash out. I’m sorry I took my feelings out on you.”

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