“Okay…spill everything about her,” my mom says, and I can envision her tucking herself on our family’s couch and curling up for an exciting round of fresh gossip.

I unload on my mother. I bend her ear hard and tell her everything that turns me on about Olivia. From her beautiful face to her love of dirty jokes to her talent with floral arrangements to her kindness to others. I leave out how hot she is in bed, because moms don’t need to know that shit.

I tell my mom about how I found her sick at her apartment a few days ago, and how Olivia was going to hide the cancer from me, thinking that this was just a fling. I didn’t hesitate to even tell my mom about how badly Sutton and Alex had hurt my feelings, but that I patched things up with them. Well, with at least Alex. I haven’t seen Sutton since the day she brought Olivia home from her second chemo visit.

When I’m done, my mom whistles low. “You’ve had quite a week, haven’t you?”

“That’s an understatement,” I agree. “Listen…it’s getting late, but I had one more thing I wanted to ask you.”

“Sure, baby. What is it?”

“Alex questioned me today whether I should bother getting involved with Olivia. He’s worried about my heart getting tied up, and then if she were to die…” I pause for a moment, my voice cracking over those words. “You know…how hard that would be on me. He was pointing out the easiest thing would be to not get involved.”

My mom is silent for a moment, then she says, “Garrett…the worst pain a parent can feel is watching their child in pain. No mother ever wants her child to suffer, and she would do absolutely anything to protect them from that. However, in this instance…I think it’s worth the risk. You don’t know what’s going to happen to Olivia, and she could lead a long life. Hell…you two could break up for some other reason long before you ever have to worry about whether she’ll beat the odds. The point is…if this is making you happy, then I’d rather you pursue that happiness at the risk you could get seriously hurt one day. Life is too short to worry about that stuff, and you should not let this pass you by.”

I didn’t realize how much I needed my mom to say those exact words until a long sigh of relief gusts out over my lips. “God…thanks, Mom. That’s exactly what I needed.”

We talk for a few more minutes while I hear all about her sewing club, which causes me to repetitively yawn, but, hey, she listened to me, so now I need to listen to her.

When I finally hang up the phone, I’m filled with a little bit of peace over my decision to press forward with Olivia. I think my mom is right…she is definitely worth the risk.

Chapter 14

Olivia

“I was thinking,” I muse out loud, sinking my feet deeper into the hot sand.

“See…that’s a problem for me,” Garrett rumbles from beside me. “You’re supposed to be relaxing, so quit exhausting that brain of yours.”

I open my eyes, which had been closed against the scorching Carolina sun, and turn my head to look at Garrett. He’s as dazzling as the bright sunlight as he lies back in his beach chair with his eyes closed and his face tilted upward. His skin, which is already tanned, shimmers like bronze under the suntan oil that I generously slathered on him, and his body is a reflective work of art. I still can’t believe I’m lying here…on a beach…with Garrett Samuelson.

More unbelievable is the fact that this man who doesn’t do relationships for some reason wants to continue to see me. For a brief moment, it crossed my mind that he was sticking around out of some sense of pity. But then I cast that aside, because Garrett just isn’t the type to stick with someone he barely knows out of a misplaced sense of obligation. No…I’m pretty sure he’s interested in me, and he’s willing to take me as I am…ugly cancer warts and all.

“Anyway, I was thinking—” I start again, but I’m cut off as Garrett suddenly lunges out of his chair and grabs me around the waist.

He hauls me out of my chair, across his body, and lies back down on his own chaise longue, snuggling his face against my neck. His skin is hot and moist from the suntan oil, and it makes me want to drag him back to the cottage and get naked with him. It’s the first time in three days I haven’t felt like my stomach was going to turn inside out, and now, lying across his massive frame, I’m feeling a little frisky.

“No talking,” he grumbles. “Just relaxing.”

“Let’s go back to the cottage and, um…relax up there…together…naked,” I murmur against his ear.

Garrett groans and hugs me to him a little tighter. “No sex. You’re still sick and weak.”

“I am not sick anymore…and barely weak. I feel much better.”

“You should be relaxing.”

“I am relaxed.”

“Relax some more,” he says with a chuckle.

Bringing my hands up to his chest, I push my upper body out of his embrace so I can look down at him. Holy Mother of God…the sun reflecting in those green eyes almost has me wanting to strip right out here in public.

“It’s me, isn’t it?” I say with a serious look on my face. “Sex with me is horrible, right? And you’re using the cancer as an excuse not to touch me.”

Garrett rolls his eyes at me then grins. “Jeez…enough with the dramatics. Sex with you is beyond amazing, and you know it, you little brat. I just don’t want you to overdo it. Just two days ago you were expelling your guts.”