“If all you are is a distraction, I hope you’ll be that for the rest of my life. Be my distraction on the hard days when work gets me down. When I lose a case, or when I don’t get the promotion I wanted. Be my distraction when my sisters drive me to the brink of insanity and I need someone to bring me back. Be my distraction when we turn on the news and when the world is falling apart and it’s hard to see the good in it. If you’re there, I’ll have faith that God is real and that He still cares.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks and he cupped her face, wiping them away with his thumbs. “I can’t do this without you, Lauren.”

“Yes, you can.” Her voice wavered, and her bright green eyes looked deep into his. “But I don’t want you to.”

Andrew’s eyes closed, and he mouthed a wordless thank you before he crushed her to his chest. They held each other tightly for a long moment, Andrew still on his knees, Lauren supported by his arms around her.

Andrew pulled back and kissed her softly, reverently. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of kissing her, of touching her.

He worked his way down the column of her throat, loving the way her breath hitched with each press of his lips. Her hands roamed his shoulders and arms, causing goosebumps to break out along his skin.

Just when he’d made his way back up, his phone rang. Lauren tried to move away, but he held firm.

“Ignore it,” he said against her mouth.

The tone stopped for a few seconds, then started up again.

With a muttered curse, Andrew rocked back on his heels and reached into his pocket.

“What the hell do you want, Logan?”

Lauren watched with an amused expression while Andrew listened to Logan’s proposition. “I’m at Lauren’s. I know. I know. I’ll ask her, okay? She had a long day, and I’m not going anywhere without her. I’ll let you know.”

He ended the call and looked at her. “Logan wants to go out tonight to celebrate my last chemo. What do you think?”

Lauren thought for a moment. She gifted him with a wide smile, the first he’d seen since she first walked into his exam room that morning.

“I’m in.”

…

The following Wednesday, Andrew found himself sitting on a rickety wooden bench, hunched over his feet to make sure the laces were tight.

“Ready?” Lauren asked.

“No.”

“Come on. Stand up already.”

“Don’t rush me, woman.”

“They’re tight enough, I promise. I won’t let you fall.”

Andrew gave her the side-eye. “If I go down, there’s no way your tiny body can stop me.”

Lauren put her hands on her hips, wobbling slightly. “I’m hardly tiny.”

“Compared to me you are.”