Page 113 of The Love Rematch
She hangs up.
Bows her back.
Drops her head into her hands.
Jake is there in an instant.
“It’s okay,” he says, even though he has no idea if that’s true. But it has to be. And maybe if he says it enough times it will be. “I’m right here, Em. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” He runs his hands up and down her thighs, trying to soothe her as he fights not to fall apart. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
“Jake.”
She sucks in a sharp breath, lifts her head, and…
Smiles.
“I’m fine.”
A laugh pours from her lips. Relief and joy and disbelief all blend into one as she takes his fingers and squeezes them with all her might.
“I’m fine,” she repeats while her eyes well with tears. She brings his hands to her lips and kisses his knuckles softly, the look in her golden eyes enough to make all the panic rising within him melt away. “There was an issue at the lab. The blood sample I provided before filming got contaminated, so they need me to come in for another draw. Totally routine. They couldn’t tell Sam over the phone because of HIPAA. I’mfine.”
And god, he wants to believe it.
But in the back of his mind, he can’t help but scream,WHAT IS GOING ON?
She says she’s fine.
But blood tests and lab work don’t sound fine.
The panic in Sam’s voice on those messages didn’t sound fine.
The look in Emily’s eyes back on that first night and how hard she flinched at the mere mention of New York, that wasn’t fine.
And he’s not fine.
He won’t be—hecan’tbe—until he knows the truth.
“Em.”
He hates how the light dims in her eyes. “I know, Jake—”
“Please, let me finish,” he cuts in and shifts their hands until he’s kneeling before her. Jake clasps her fingers, every word he’s about to say as sacred as a prayer. “I love you, Em. Whatever is going on, whatever you haven’t told me, nothing will change that. And I mean nothing. I’ve been in love with you since the moment I saw you in the hallway on that first day of school, and I loved you every second that we were apart. And no matter what happens, I’ll keep on loving you as long as my fucked-up heart is beating. God knows I’ve made mistakes. I’ll never forgive myself for leaving you the way I did, when you needed me most, and I need you to know that whatever you’re about to say, I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you ever again. I’m yours as long as you’ll have me. And I’ll prove it to you. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you if I have to, I—”
“Jake—”
“No, Em.” He brings her fingers to his lips, holds her gaze, and breathes this promise into her skin. “I love you. Real answer.”
She doesn’t say anything.
She doesn’t move a muscle.
She runs her gaze over his face, studying every angle as if searching for the truth. Or maybe she’s simply memorizing this moment. Maybe she’s holding on to these last few seconds ofbefore, because he knows without her having to speak that whatever is coming, their lives will never be the same.
She finally swallows.
They lock eyes.
“A week after you left,” Emily murmurs, the words dropping like bombs about to blow, “I was diagnosed with cancer.”
