Page 44 of With You Forever

That is them. Her and Seth. Burning together, until the end.

“I love you too,” she says, lifting her eyes to meet his steadfast gaze. “And I’ll try, okay? I’ll try hard not to run.”

Seth runs a tan hand down her arm, slowly lowering the strap of her bra. “Don’t push me away, princess.”

Her heart thunders, and breathlessly, she whispers, “I won’t.”

Lowering her gently into the pillows, he presses his lips to her throat. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she gasps, her voice hoarse with anticipation.

“How sure?” he asks, raising a wicked brow. Lacey drags her nails down his shoulders, but he grabs her wrists to bring them high above her.

She moans, arches beneath him. “So sure.”

Slowly, in a way that’s holy and pure and reverent, Seth begins to kiss his way down her body. Her panties disappear. The hot pulse of his breath as his mouth sweeps across the inside of her thigh.

And Lacey falls away.

Worries, woe—everything bad gone in this instant.

There’s only the good.

Her and Seth.

Their future.

The next afternoon, Lacey sits in the parking lot of Bluegrass Bakery, waiting on Seth. They’ve agreed to meet here after his practice to finally pick their cake design and flavor. And she can’t wait.

In fact, she feels steadier than she’s felt since her diagnosis.

One day at a time. One breath. One heartbeat. They take it all at one time.

They take it together.

Seth’s calming words have lingered all morning. They’ve helped her regroup. But that’s Seth. Her rock in the face of a storm.

She couldn’t do this without him. She doesn’t want to.

Though she had tentatively broached the subject of possibly postponing the wedding, she held back her true worries. That Seth will marry a woman he doesn’t deserve. That she isn’t being strong enough for him. That she doesn’t want him to settle.

Instead, like always, she buried it deep.

She’ll get through this. She can do it. Just nine days to go until her surgery.

And while she waits, she’ll work.

Inhaling a steeling breath, Lacey taps out a run-of-show schedule on her laptop. Best to get in as much work as she can before her surgery. She’ll be out of commission for at least a week, and God knows Seth isn’t going to let her work.

She chuckles at the thought, loving him.

Fuck work, she suddenly thinks and straightens up.

Instead, she pulls her wedding planner onto her lap. Her lips curve as she flips past her dresses to the tux Seth’s selected. He’ll look so handsome. So sexy. A laugh bubbles off her lips. He’ll look better than her.

Resolve fills her.

She and Seth—they’ll have their life. It’ll just be a little less planned and a little more chaotic, but they’re good at that.

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