“Then everyone else is an idiot. I mean every word. And I think you’re incredibly beautiful, do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” she whispered. Her feelings for this man overwhelmed her, and it was both wonderful and frustrating. She let out an irritated groan. “Alex Trebek,” she muttered.

“Did you just cuss at me? After I said nice things?” An air of humor was back in his tone.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because this sucks, Andrew!” She jumped off the bed and paced around the small room. “Why couldn’t I have met you before? Or some other way? Why did you have to be a patient?”

“Believe me, I’d prefer if I hadn’t met you the way I did, either.”

Lauren froze mid-step. Had she seriously just complained to him about the fact that he had cancer? “Oh my gosh…I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking—”

“Lauren, I’m messing with you. Finish what you were saying.”

She resumed pacing but chose her words with care. “I like you, Andrew. I liked you from the beginning, and those feelings grow stronger every day. But I shouldn’t like you. Not like that, and not right now. And it’s hard.”

“I know exactly how hard it is,” he said dryly.

Lauren slapped her hand over her mouth. “Andrew Bishop!”

He chuckled, and she was relieved to hear the sound. “You set me up for that one.”

She supposed she had.

“I’ve liked you from the beginning, too. From before you were my pharmacist.” He paused, and they seemed to inhale simultaneous breaths. “You had me at William Shatner.”

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Andrew didn’t see Lauren again until his next chemo appointment. If it weren’t for her, he’d probably dread the way he spent the afternoon every other Friday. But as it was, he looked forward to them the same way he had Saturday morning cartoons as a kid.

He was coming back from the restroom, pulling his IV pole behind him, when he found her at his chair talking to Jeni. He paused at the edge of a pull-around curtain, just out of view, wanting to just look at her for a minute.

She wore dress slacks and a fitted black sweater, and her hair was down, which drove him crazy with the desire to bury his hands in it. Damn, she was beautiful.

“This morning was crazy,” Lauren was saying. “Clinic was super busy. I’m headed down for lunch and wanted to check in on my way. What about you? Andrew said you had a nice Christmas in Nebraska?”

From her chair, Jeni extended her legs straight and crossed her ankles, then folded her arms across her chest. She regarded Lauren with one eyebrow raised. “It was good…until the family got into a huge argument. Because of you.”

“What?” Lauren asked, her voice shrill. “What do you mean, because of me?”