Page 87 of Chain Reaction
Had he just made a colossal mistake by pulling away?
His heart told him no.
“I’d love nothing more than to kiss you.” His voice came out hoarse with emotion. “But can we please talk first? We just need to have a conversation.”
Raven looked away, pressing her eyes closed as regret captured her features. “I’m not sure what else there could be to say. You broke my heart.”
“It’s more complicated than that. I just want the chance to explain. Please.”
She rubbed her neck. “I guess if we’re going to die in here, then I might as well die knowing what happened.”
“First of all, we’re not going to die in here. Secondly, it would mean everything to me if you’d just listen.”
She pressed her lips together, her expression strained even in the dim light. Finally, she nodded. “That sounds fair.”
Jake swallowed hard before beginning. “The truth is that when I left you in New York to go back to my job, I had every intention of calling you. Of seeing you whenever I could. Of the two of us planning a future together.”
Raven’s gaze remained skeptical. “Go on.”
“When I was at the airport waiting to catch my flight, I ran into an old friend. Danielle.”
Surprise captured Raven’s expression, but she said nothing. She only waited.
“Danielle and I had dated in high school, and I hadn’t seen her in years,” Jake said. “I never thought I’d see her again. She was a wonderful person, but I couldn’t see us spending our future together.”
“Why not?”
“We were too different. We wanted different things. I guess it’s true what they say—when you know, you know. And I knew my future wasn’t with her.” When he and Raven had been together, he’d known also—known that he wanted to be with her forever.
Those plans had been interrupted. Detoured. Ruined.
“So what happened?” Raven stared at him, caution in her gaze.
“We talked a while longer.” Jake looked at the ground as memories filled him. “She told me she only had six months left to live.”
“What?” Surprise lit her voice.
“I know it sounds crazy and dramatic. But it’s true. She’d been diagnosed with a very aggressive kind of brain cancer. The only reason she’d come to New York was because she had a bucket list, and she was crossing things off. She had a friend with her who confirmed everything she said. She wasn’t the type to do things for attention.”
He paused and drew in a breath.
This was a lot. And he never talked about what had happened.
Never.
Raven stared at him now, and he couldn’t read her expression.
“Should I keep going?” he asked.
Raven finally nodded. “Yes, I want to know all of it.”
CHAPTER 41
Raven was cautious as she listened to the rest of Jake’s story.
He was right; the explanation did sound crazy and dramatic.
If she didn’t know Jake better, she might think he was lying.
