Once he’s gone, Adam rubs at his neck. “God, I’m sorry. He flew in this morning. I don’t even know why he bothered coming.”
“You really weren’t kidding about him. I don’t think the two of you could be any more different.” I continue to stand in the doorway, unmoving.
“Jewels, I’ve been trying to call you ever since I got here with my parents.”
“I didn’t have my phone.” I offer a stiff smile. “Turns out there’s no age cap on when a person’s parents can ground them.”
“I wanted to apologize. I should’ve told you I was sick the day you told me about Jason. You’d been through enough already. ” He tips his head back with an exasperated sigh. “Would you please come over here?”
I take small, tentative steps toward him, although not close enough for us to touch.
“I’ve been going crazy thinking about what you said to me in New York. You’re right, it wasn’t fair of me to tell you that I love you, and then say in the next breath that I was giving up. Theo called to tell me the hell I put you through the past couple of weeks. It was wrong to force you to go along with my decision not to have the surgery. I don’t know how to start telling you how sorry I am...for all of it. I’m ready to do whatever it takes to make things right between us. I’ll understand if it will take time for you to trust me again. I just don’t want to lose you. I’m not going to give up on us.” He pauses for a few moments, running a hand through his hair. “Say something. Anything. Tell me I finally deserve to call myself an asshole.”
Unsmiling, I fold my arm against my stomach. As heartfelt as his apology sounds, there’s still something he kept from me. “Who’s Cora?”
He flinches with my words. “My mom told you?”
“She told me she’s your donor. I already knew she’s Zach’s sister. Dead friend’s little sisters don’t go through a potentially lethal surgery for nothing. What is she to you?”
“Remember when you asked about my past girlfriends and I told you I had one for a few months?” When I nod, he closes his eyes. “That was Cora. We...bonded after Zach died. Things started to get a little intense. She wanted things I couldn’t give her. She eventually broke it off when I refused to accept her kidney.”
I know I can’t be mad that he’s accepting a kidney from an old girlfriend, especially when I’m the one who forced him into the surgery to begin with, but really?
Fresh tears prick my eyes. “How could I ever compete with someone who gave you a freaking organ? Do you still love her?”
“In a way, yeah, I do. She’s my best friend’s sister. We went through a lot together, and now she’s giving me a ‘freaking organ’. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to repay her, even if I live to be an old man.” His impossibly serious gaze burns through me, penetrating right down to my soul that aches to return to him. “Do I love her in the way that I want to kiss her, and make love to her, and see the world with her, spending endless nights at her side in whatever life I may have left? No. I have someone else in mind for that role.”
“Anyone I know?” I ask, crossing my arms. I tilt my head back and sigh. “Adam, come on. It’s a body part.”
He reaches out to gather me in his arms and pulls me back onto the bed with him, laughing. Pinning me down on the mattress, he kisses me. At first his lips are light and playful, but they quickly turn eager and meaningful. He breathes heavily through his nose, gripping the sides of my face as if I’m his life preserver while his tongue and lips work on making their mark, claiming me.
I wrap my hands in his hair, finally feeling at peace. At home. His health problems will never go away, but they’ll just be a part of what defines the strength of our relationship. Because no matter what will happen next, I’ll never let him go. And with the urgency he’s using to kiss me back, I get the feeling he feels the same. The seal of our lips breaks free, and his lips cover my cheeks, my eyes, the spot beneath my ear.
“Maybe someday if I survive this and my body will allow for it, you can carry my baby,” he whispers. “There’s no competition for that.”
“Whoa, big guy.” I push on his chest. “We’re both homeless. We need to figure out some kind of life plan before we bring offspring into the picture.” I kiss him again, reaching for the slit in the back of his gown. “We’ve got more pressing matters at hand, like whether or not we should add a hospital bed to our growing list. Pun most definitely intended.”