27

JILLIAN INSERTED THE KEY in her lock, pushed the door open, and dropped her purse to the floor, three steps inside. Half days were wonderful things. She’d change her clothes —starting with taking off the knit cap on her head —crawl into bed for a nap, and worry about eating later.

Shutting the door, she sagged against it. She used to love to go to work. Going in early wasn’t a problem. Staying late? She’d do that, too. But that was before cancer stole her stamina. Her mental ability.

Her future with Geoff.

No sense in standing here and thinking of the life she could have had.

“What in the world?” She managed to stop short before she fell over her bright-yellow hard-sided suitcase sitting just inside her living room.

How did that get there?

“Sorry.” Geoff’s voice caused her to stumble back a step. “I should have said something sooner.” He rose to his feet from where he’d been sitting on the arm of the couch.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I’m waiting for you.”

Jillian shook her head, her gaze flitting between him and the suitcase. “And why is this here?”

“I packed it for you.”

“You packed it?” The man came to her apartment and packed her suitcase? “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I hope to change your mind about that.”

Her world seemed tilted off center. Was this some kind of joke? Yet Geoff hadn’t sounded this serious since the day Dr. Williamson told her . . . them . . . the cancer was worse than they’d expected.

Geoff paced the small space between Jillian and the living room. He never paced. Oh, how she wanted to tell him to stop. To stand still. To hold her so she could find the rest that had eluded her since she’d sent him away.

She squared her shoulders. This was not the time to run back to Geoff. To start thinking she could still have what she’d lost.

“You need to leave. And please give me the key to my apartment.”

“Not until I say what I came to say.” Geoff stopped pacing, facing off with her, hands on his hips. “I listened to all the reasons you called off our wedding. And I’ve thought about every one of them over and over again.”

“If you’d listened, then you wouldn’t be here —”

Geoff raised one hand like a police officer halting traffic. “You had your say. Now it’s my turn.”

Jillian swallowed the rest of her sentence. Closed her mouth, pressing her lips together.

“You’re scared, Jillian.”

She waited half a beat to see if Geoff was going to say anything else before speaking. “I am not scared. I’m thinking of you, Geoff.”

“No, you’re not. You’re running scared.” He exhaled, his eyes meeting hers. “And I get it. I really do. I’m scared, too.”

Right. “All I ever got from you was ‘You can beat this, Jillian. Everything is going to be okay, Jillian.’ And then you’d go off to work —”

“I admit it. I got caught up in work. Yes, I had that crazy project, but the truth is, keeping busy helped me not think about what was happening to you —it helped me not be so scared.” Geoff took a step forward. Stopped. “I wanted to fix what was happening . . . but I couldn’t . . . and without realizing it, I pulled away. I’m sorry.”

His admission, the pleading tone of his voice, tempted her to weaken. But she couldn’t.

“Fine. You’re scared. I’m scared.” Even as she said the words, she steeled her heart. “But I’m not changing my mind.”

Now Geoff would leave —and she could collapse. But he remained where he was, looking even more determined.

“There’s just one thing.”

“What’s that?” Her question wavered. Just the smallest bit. Had Geoff heard?

“You never said you didn’t love me, Jillian.” Geoff’s tone softened. “You’re afraid I’m going to stop loving you because you have cancer. Let me prove you’re wrong.”

“How?”

“Marry me. You want ‘for better, for worse, in sickness and in health’? I do, too. Let’s forget about the big wedding. All the other people. They don’t matter to me. You do.”

“Geoff, I’m not the woman —”

Geoff took three strides, pulling her into his arms. “I don’t care, Jillian. I don’t care that you’re bald. Wear the wig or don’t wear it.”

“It’s more . . . more than that.”

Geoff held her so close their bodies pressed together. With the back of his hand, he caressed her face, her neck, his hand trailing to her collarbone before he stopped. “I’m sorry you lost a breast. So, so sorry. But I still want you, Jillian, in every way a man wants a woman. I’ll wait until you’re ready, but know that I do want you.”

He bent his head, watching her. She should move away. Turn her face from his. But instead, Jillian slipped her arms around his neck, tugging him closer, his name escaping her parted lips on a sigh right before he kissed her.

So not fair. It wasn’t fair for Geoff to kiss her. She’d missed his voice. His laugh. His tenderness. But his kiss undid her, crumbling her defenses and igniting a longing for this man. There was no denying she still loved him. When Geoff held her, she was still a desirable woman, no matter how her body failed her.

Geoff ended the kiss. Whispered in her ear, “Will you marry me?”

“Yes. Yes, I will.” Her words eased an ache in her chest.

“You said yes.” Geoff held her away from him.

“You’re a very persuasive man, Mr. Hennessey.”

“I should have come and kissed some sense into you sooner.”

Laughter bubbled up inside Jillian and spilled out, but she stopped as Geoff pulled her engagement ring out of his pant pocket and slipped it on her finger. “You had my ring with you? You were that confident I’d say yes?”

“I’ve kept this ring with me ever since you left it in my desk drawer at work.”

“I’m sorry I did that.” Jillian refused to look away, even knowing the happiness in Geoff’s eyes would be shadowed by hurt. “I couldn’t keep the ring, not after we’d broken up . . . but I couldn’t face you again, either.”

“I understand.” Geoff pulled her close again. “You won’t believe how many times I’ve sat in my car outside your apartment and talked myself out of coming up here.”

“What changed your mind?”

A grin stole across his face. “Because today I’ve got it all planned out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to marry you, Jillian. Today.”

“Today?” It was her turn to pull away. “We can’t get married today.”

“Yes, we can.” Geoff sounded like he’d just won the Super Bowl and was going to Disney World. “I told you that I have a plan. We need to go get a license, but that’s doable. And a friend of mine’s mother is a judge. She’s agreed to marry us this evening in her chambers.”

“You’ve already asked her?”

“Yes.” He held up his phone. “She’s on standby.”

“You, me, and a judge?”

“It can’t be a whole lot simpler than that.”

“And then what?” Heat coursed through her body even as she asked the next question. “We flip a coin to see whether we come back here or go to your house for our wedding night?”

“I did make some plans for our honeymoon —”

“What if I’d said no?”

“But you didn’t.” Geoff reached for her suitcase. “You ready to go?”

“Can I change into a dress? Something a little more festive than my work clothes?”

“Sure. But we are on a bit of a schedule.”

“I realize that. Call the judge.” Jillian hesitated. “You’re not going to surprise me by having my family there or anything, are you?”

“No. It will be you, me, and Judge Estrada. A brief ceremony —and then a short honeymoon before we have to go back to work.”

“Did you even tell my family?”

“No. Now no more questions.” Geoff put his hands on her shoulders and directed her toward her bedroom. “Go pick your wedding dress, please. I’ll load your suitcase in the car. We can talk more on the way to get the marriage license.”

A moment later, Jillian stood in front of her bedroom closet, her arms wrapped around her waist. Memories of the disastrous day she’d gone wedding dress shopping flooded her mind.

And then a smile curved her lips. That day —with all its challenges and uncomfortable moments and the shock of Payton disappearing —held one unexpected benefit. A benefit that would be perfect for tonight.

Jillian shoved the hangers in the closet to one side, reaching for the dress she’d hidden in the deepest corner. Even covered in the clear bag, the soft lavender chiffon dress seemed to shimmer in the light.

No one —not her mother, not Johanna, not even Harper —knew she’d gone back to the bridal shop to try on this dress after noticing it while the two mothers were trying on their dresses. And certainly no one knew she’d bought it for a reception dress, back when she still believed her wedding would happen.

Now, of course, there would be no white gown. No long-dreamed-of April wedding. No reception, where family and friends watched her dance with Geoff —their first dance as husband and wife.

The truth was, the months ahead held so many more questions than certainties.

But it didn’t matter.

She and Geoff would be together.

And tonight . . . tonight she would wear this dress. She would feel beautiful. And she would stand beside the man she loved —the man who never stopped loving her —and say, “I do” to facing the future together.