“That’s better news than the fact that this is my last chemo,” Andrew said, smiling widely. A tiny voice in the back of his brain reminded him that there wasn’t a guarantee this was the last, but he shut it down.

Mandi finished applying the dressing to his port and looked at him. “Andrew, I can honestly say I hope I never see you here again.”

He laughed as he stood and wrapped her in a hug. “This may be the first time I won’t take offense to that statement.”

“I’ll be thinking about you next week,” Mandi continued, and he assumed she referred to his PET scan.

He wished he knew what to say, to thank Mandi for all she’d done for him. Her confident and calm presence had been a comfort for him these last several months. He’d never worried he was being given the wrong drug, or that she didn’t have an eye on him during his chemo. He’d had complete faith in her, and she’d made the entire experience a little less terrifying.

He swallowed, intending to find the right words, but Mandi just smiled at him, her chin trembling slightly. She shook her head and said, “Get out of here and don’t come back, okay?”

He and Lauren walked through the infusion center hand in hand, and Jeni chattered away on his other side.

Andrew dropped Jeni off at her house before going back to Lauren’s. He slowed just before turning into her driveway. “Want me to check the mailbox?”

“Are you making fun of me?” she said good-naturedly.

He grinned. “I would never.”

She waved him forward. “We both know it’s empty. Just go.”

He complied and pulled into the driveway, leaving the car running. “I’ll be back for you at six?”

Lauren leaned across the console and pecked him on the lips. “Yep. See you soon.”

He grasped the back of her head and pulled her back. “One more,” he murmured. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her lips, and the sigh that escaped her seemed to breathe life into him. Every time he touched her, he felt more alive than the second before. He wasn’t sure if it was the words his father had said, or the tentative joy he felt at this being his last day of chemo that brought him clarity. But whatever he felt in this moment—this warm, electric sensation of hope and amazement—it had everything to do with the girl in his arms.

When they finally released each other, Lauren’s expression glowed with heat and awe, and he dared to hope she experienced the same overwhelming sense of wonder that he did. He’d do anything to make her as happy as she made him.