JESSICA PICKED AT a jalapeño popper with her fork, feeling sick to her stomach. She tried to put the conversation with Dr. Martin out of her mind but it was futile.

James cringed. “Jeez, that thing is potent! It’s making my eyes water!”

With a weak smile, she put the fork down and gulped some water.

“Jess, are you okay? What’s wrong? You’re not yourself tonight.”

She let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah, it was just a long day. I guess I’m just tired.”

“So, how’s your client list coming along? Any more prospects?” James sipped his ginger ale.

“Well, now that my silver bullet basically imploded I need to find a replacement. But I’m working on it. Something will come up. There are tons of companies here, I just need to find the right ones.”

James smiled. “This place is definitely a hotbed for new technology. How about your boyfriend Charlie? Heard from him lately?”

“No, not since before I left the city. Something is definitely up with him. I’m thinking he’s on his way out of DMC. One of my friends caught him meeting with a competitor.” She waved a popper in the air. “Let somebody else deal with him.”

“Well, in the meantime, at least you don’t have to deal with any of his crap, right? That’s got to be a nice break for you.” He popped a piece of grilled chicken into his mouth. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“My stomach’s a little upset.” She took another drink of water. “I’ll be fine.”

James leaned closer. “Do you want to leave? I’ll take you home so you can rest, okay?”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pulled away. Her heart started pounding when she saw his confused look. “James, I need to tell you something.”

James furrowed his brow. “What is it?”

She opened her mouth, unable to stop the words from tumbling out. “I have multiple sclerosis. I was diagnosed six months ago. That’s the real reason Drew and I broke up. He didn’t want to commit to taking care of me. He said it was too much to handle and he left. That’s why I was so afraid to tell you. I really care about you and I thought you might leave too.” She took a deep breath and her eyes filled with tears.

James cupped her face and leaned towards her with an alarmed look. “Jesus, Jess. Are you okay? Are you in any pain or anything?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not. I’ve been lucky so far. My symptoms have been pretty innocuous. There was a period when I was tired all the time, like tired enough to fall asleep on my desk at work. Then it subsided for a while and recently I started having these weird pins and needles sensations in my feet, a lot of tingling and some numbness.”

“So, what does your doctor say? How are you handling it?”

Jessica took another breath, not wanting to revisit the conversation with Dr. Martin. I still need time to process everything. “They caught it pretty early, which is good, and the doctors say that younger girls diagnosed early fare better in the long run. A lot of people with MS experience episodes where they deal with multiple symptoms at once, like me. But there’s no cure and no real way to know how it’s going to impact me later in life. So, it’s scary and still kind of a shock.”

James shook his head in disbelief. “Your ex left because of this? He just walked away from you, when you were trying to deal with everything?”

“Yes.”

“Jess, I-I don’t even know what to say. I can’t imagine how he could do that to you. I completely understand why you didn’t want to say anything. He’s a complete asshole for hurting you.” He tilted her chin. “But that’s not me, Jess. I’d never walk away, because I want to be with you. You’re such an amazing girl. I’m so glad I met you. I’ve never felt like this before. I don’t care about your illness. I mean, of course the unknown is scary, but we’d face it together. I’d be there for you. I want to be there for you.”

Jessica’s heart soared hearing those words. “You know, you’re pretty fantastic yourself.” She brushed her lips against his, chills rushing through her. “So we did it, we actually made it out tonight. Now I want to take you home with me, what do you think about that?”

James flashed a wicked smile and signaled their waiter. “Can we get the check, please?”