They finally vacated the sidewalk when an older man walked in their direction pulled by two large dogs on a leash. Andrew held tightly to her hand as they climbed the stairs, and soon they sat on opposite ends of the couch. She’d tried to sit closer, but he pointed to the other end and said he couldn’t focus if she was that close.

“Fine.” She crossed her arms and then uncrossed them. It wouldn’t help to start this conversation on the defense.

“Where do we start?” he asked. “I can’t remember a single reason why we’ve been apart that makes any sense.”

Lauren could think of one. “You should know I got the job,” she said, though as she’d mentioned before, she’d have given it up for him if it had come down to it.

Andrew’s face lit up. “That’s incredible news. You should know that even if you didn’t, I wouldn’t have let you go back to work for your dad. No matter what, you deserve a job you love, not one you feel obligated to.”

He was right. She deserved to make her own way—forge her own path. “And I told Dr. Hawthorne about us.”

His smile faded. “You did?”

She nodded. “When he offered me the position, I told him there was something I wanted him to know before I officially accepted. For some reason they think I have integrity and that I’m not going around having one-night stands with all my male patients.” She winked at Andrew when he narrowed his eyes, apparently not finding that a bit humorous. “He seemed to understand it was serious and real, and agreed that sometimes these things are out of our control.”

“I’m really happy for you. Have you told your dad?”

She groaned. “Not yet.”

“That’s fine. We can do it together, when I’m done with chemo and you take me down to introduce me as the boyfriend.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He raised one back. “I have to say things like that, you know. I have to think about the future like it’s an actuality for me. If I don’t, I’ll go back to where I was the day we broke up. To wanting to protect you from loving a man who might be dying, and who might leave you soon. Deep down, I know that’s possible. But for now, until I hear the words terminal or incurable, I have to believe I’m going to be okay and that I’ll be able to give you a long, happy life.”