Bossy Romance: Chapter 14

The smell of burning metal fills my nose as I adjust the kinetic battery’s memory board. I’ve got a magnifying glass in front of me. It’s the strongest on the market and yet my eyes are still blurry.

Cursing, I whip my glasses off and rub my eyes with the heel of my hand. A sound drags my attention away from my work.

I see a small, slim shadow hovering in the doorway of my lab.

“Hey, bud. Can’t sleep again?”

Rowan shakes his head.

I swivel my chair around and stare at him as he moves gingerly through the lab. Rowan’s visited this messy room so many times that he could dance through the obstacles with his eyes closed.

“You should get some rest.” I squeeze his shoulder when he stops in front of me. “It’s been three days since you’ve gotten a full eight hours.”

“You too,” Rowan says.

I arch both eyebrows.

He rubs his bony elbow with a hand. “Every time I get up, you’re always working.”

“So what?”

“So you don’t sleep either.”

I rub the back of my neck. “I’m an adult.”

“Adults need to sleep too.” He shakes his head. “You don’t know anything.”

Smart mouth.

I nod to the sketch book that’s got a permanent place on my work table. I cleared up the spot so that Rowan could draw next to me. “You can stay up for an hour.”

He pumps his fist.

“

an hour.” I slant him a hard look. “And then you have to go back to sleep. Even if you just stare at the ceiling, you’ll get sleepy eventually.”

“No, I won’t,” Rowan mumbles. Reaching forward, he nabs a colored pencil from a sculpted pencil holder. The fancy monstrosity was a purchase from the emporium.

Why we spent so much for a fancy when we could have just used a mug for free? I don’t know.

But alas, Rowan’s desk is full of them.

I found out later that some of Nova’s purchases at the emporium had been for Rowan. Now, his side of the work table has a cork board, sketch books, paints, colored pencils and markers. I can clearly see where his side ends and mine begins.

“Take it or leave it. One hour here or you can go straight back to bed.”

“I’ll stay here,” Rowan says quickly.

I smile and focus on my own side of the table. Since my eyes are tired from trying to work on the tiny microchip, I switch over to my laptop and monitor the specs.

For a while, we both work in peace.

“Adam,” Rowan says quietly.

“Mm?”

He hesitates. “Is there any way we can keep mom from dying?”

I freeze, my heart in my throat. Most of the time, I don’t grapple with topics as depressing as death. But with all that’s going on lately, I feel like I can’t run away from the darker sides of life.

“No, kid. The doctors have tried everything.”

“Can’t you invent something?” He looks beseechingly at me. “Something that’ll make her feel better?”

“I’m sorry, Rowan.”

His bottom lip trembles and his eyes get red, but he doesn’t cry.

I place a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, I’ll do everything in my power to be there for you, okay? And about Alexa,” I clear my throat, “I’ll use every cent in my bank account to make sure she’s comfortable. Money can’t buy health, but it can at least make a few of her dreams come true.”

Rowan bobs his head.

“Did you know,” I say gently, “that your grandparents were married for forty years?”

His eyes widen.

“After my mom passed,” I smile sadly, “my dad died a few weeks later of heartbreak.”

Rowan frowns. “Why did his heart break?”

“Because he loved her so much that, when she was gone, his heart stopped working.” I clear my throat. “But that’s not the lesson, Rowan. The lesson is what he told me before he died.”

“What did he tell you?” Rowan is leaning forward, soaking in every word.

“He told me that he’d spent his life loving my mom as if she’d die tomorrow. He poured one hundred percent of his effort, time and attention on her so that the day she died, he wouldn’t have any regrets.”

“But his heart still broke,” Rowan reminds me.

“It did,” I agree. “But at least it didn’t break from regret.”

He nibbles his bottom lip. “How can I do that for mom?”

“You can start by making a list of things your mom always said she wanted. We’ll go over it and start scratching them off until we have no regrets.”

That earns me a tiny smile.

Bingo.

I go back to working.

Rowan’s pencil skates against the sketch paper. It’s all I hear… until he starts to sniff. My eyes jump back to my son. He’s got his head down and is trying valiantly to keep himself together.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I got something in my eye.”

“Sounds like you’re crying, bud.”

“I’m not crying. Crying is for babies and losers.”

I turn him to face me. “Rowan, crying is for anyone who feels pain. If you’re in pain, it’s gotta come out somehow. Some people let it out by being jerks and hurting other people. But if you can let it out with some tears and then get up and make things better, that’s the best option.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Rowan pulls his lips into his mouth. His eyelashes start fluttering. The tears slip down one after another.

I have no idea what to say, so I just grab him for a bear hug. “It’s gonna be okay, son.” I give him a squeeze. “You’re gonna be okay.”

That’s my promise to him.

As a man.

And as a father.

I’ll do anything to make sure that Rowan doesn’t feel like he’s going through this darkness alone.

“Adam, what are you doing here?” Nova pops out of her chair when I show up with breakfast and a smile. She rounds the desk quickly, revealing a pencil skirt designed to show off her legs. And she has legs.

Her heels-ban is over and today, she’s wearing a sexy little number with lots of straps.

When she gets close, I wrap my arms around her. The lunch bag swings wildly and lashes around her thighs. I slide my hand against her waist, drop my head and find the softness of her mouth.

Kissing Nova is like standing in the middle of a lightning storm. Flashes of light and pummeling rain and utter destruction that’s so sweet it’s almost painful.

Nova gives me a tiny push, sending a nervous look at the blinds outside her window. “Adam.”

“Sorry. I got carried away.” I reach behind her leg, untangle the lunch bag and hand it over. “I came to deliver this and get a new load of documents from the archives.”

“Thanks for breakfast.” She squeezes my hand. “And why are you going through the archives?”

“I’m taking the reins from you, remember? If I want to make your work load easier, I have to know what I’m dealing with.”

Nova blinks at me. “Taking the reins?”

“You’re teaching me how to run Vision Tech so I can step up in the managing department. That’s weird. You don’t usually forget things like that.”

Nova frowns. “Adam, that’s not a priority.”

“Of course it is.”

“You have enough on your plate as is.”

“I’m fine, darlin’.”

She slants me a look. “There are dark circles under your eyes and your fingers are jittery.”

“Are they?” I hide my hands behind my back.

“Jittery fingers means you overdid it with the coffee. How many cups have you had since you woke up? Did you even sleep last night?”

I laugh. “Guess I can’t hide anything from you.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I don’t know, Nova. I haven’t been keeping a coffee count.”

“When did you go to sleep last night?”

I tilt my head and give her a flirty smile. “Do you know how sexy you look when you scowl at me?”

Her expression doesn’t change a bit.

I sigh. “You don’t have to worry.”

“We’ve established that I am incapable of doing anything else.” She folds her arms over her chest. “You’re preparing for the second round of the competition, while being a father, and trying to date me. Every day, you have to drop Rowan off at the hospital. Then you have to pick him up and take him to art camp. Then you pick him up and take him to the farmhouse. On top of all that, you bring me breakfast and eat lunch with me and then pick me up for dinner.

you’re studying work files trying to catch up on Vision Tech admin while handling your responsibilities as the R&D director.”

“Wow. I take it back. I’m tired just listening to you.” I pretend to wipe sweat from my brow.

“This isn’t funny.”

“Nova.”

“There’s only one of you, Adam. You can’t be everything to everybody.”

“Relax.”

“You first.”

I slide my hands over her shoulders. “It’s a hectic time. I admit that. But it won’t be hectic forever.”

“You’re going at a pace that will hurt you in the end.”

“I can handle it.”

“I know you can, but you’re still human. If you spin too many plates in the air at once, one of them has to go or they’ll all drop.” She slides my hands off her shoulders. Her eyes skitter away. “With everything going on with you and Rowan and Alexa, maybe… you and I should slow down.”

“Not a chance,” I growl.

She purses her lips, clearly displeased.

“If any of those spinning plates have to disappear, it’s not going to be you, Nova. Just being in the same room with you recharges my batteries. I need you. So letting you go is not an option. Don’t even ask me to.”

Her eyes lock on mine and it seems like she wants to argue.

I straighten my shoulders, ready to go.

If she wants to fight, let’s fight.

There’s a knock on the door.

Rochelle pokes her head in. “Miss Delaney, you have a call on line two.”

“Thanks, Rochelle.”

I back away when I hear Nova’s phone ringing. One of the things I’ve learned after working with her for seven years is that she likes to compartmentalize.

Work time is for work discussions and activities. Off-time is for everything else. She gets extremely uncomfortable when personal things slip into business hours.

Rather than push her further, I head for the door. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

“I have a meeting with the planning team at six,” she says brusquely.

“When will you be finished?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then I’ll wait for you until you are.”

“Adam.”

I turn and face her. “I’ll go over the files while I wait. It won’t be a waste.”

She pulls her lips in and nods.

My days are so busy that they start to morph into one another. I wake up every morning feeling like I’m in a cosmic loop. It’s gotten so bad that I have to check the calendar just to find out what the date is.

Today, I’m trying not to doze off as I wait for Rowan outside the hospital.

“Aren’t you going in?” Rowan asks, slamming the door closed. It’s after five o’clock and the sky is a dusty grey. “Mom asked for you.”

“I’ll visit her later, bud.” I muster up a smile.

Rowan puts on his seatbelt and I drive away from the hospital.

At home, I instruct my son to wash up. After grabbing a beer, I move to the back deck. The swing sits in the darkness, forlorn and abandoned. Nova and I haven’t had time to sit in it again.

She seems to have amped up her work load these days. The only time she can fit me into her schedule is for meals and meetings about Vision Tech.

Is it just me or has she been getting distant lately?

I shake my head.

It’s a strained time for everyone. Maybe she’s trying to process everything with Alexa by working harder.

Just then, I get a text from Nova.

A smile spreads over my face. It’s like someone flipped the switch from depressing melodrama to an upbeat romantic comedy.

I storm inside. “Rowan! Change of plans. Nova’s coming over. So no pizza!”

“What?” Pre-pubescent whining comes from the direction of Rowan’s room. “No fair!”

I throw the fridge door open, looking for something I can have hot and ready by the time Nova arrives. My eyes snag on a package of chicken breasts.

Perfect.

Urgent footsteps pound into the kitchen. I feel the force of Rowan’s scowl like laser beams.

I shut the fridge and he’s there, a pizza zombie out for blood. “You said we could have pizza tonight.”

“Nova doesn’t eat pizza. She needs real food.” I take out the garlic powder, black pepper, and season-all. I used to cook only with salt and black pepper before Nova. After she accused my food of being tasteless, I went back to the drawing board.

“Is Nova the only one you think about?”

I stop, squint into the distance and then nod. “Pretty much.”

He scoffs and storms off.

Five minutes later, I get a call from Nova.

“Hey,” I wipe my hands on my apron, “are you almost here?”

“I’m in the mood for pizza. Do you mind just ordering in tonight?”

“Pizza?” Taken aback, I flip the stove off. “Since when did you like fast-food?”

“Rowan would enjoy it more.”

At the mention of my son, my eyebrows pull taut. “The kid put you up to this, didn’t he?”

“He texted saying you were going back on a promise.”

“I didn’t promise him pizza today,” I defend myself. “I said we if I don’t feel like cooking. And now I do feel like cooking.”

“I want pizza, Adam.” Her voice gets soft and coaxing. “Please? For me?”

The woman plays dirty.

“Fine.”

“Thank you. I’ll be there soon.”

I hang up, order the pizza and then glance up from my phone. Rowan wiggles his eyebrows at me, a mischievous smile on his face.

I point a finger. “Using Nova is below the belt.”

“If it works, it works.” He shrugs and then sticks his tongue out.

I pretend to chase him and he runs into his room, slamming the door shut. When he’s out of sight, I leak a satisfied grin. I’m glad to see him being more upbeat. After his crying session, I was afraid that he might be handling this worse than I thought. I was even prepared to call Darrel, hoping the therapist could help Rowan where I couldn’t.

Returning to the kitchen, I clean up and wait for Nova to arrive. The moment I hear an engine coming down the lane, I fly through the door.

Nova steps out of the SUV, looking tired but happy to see me.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey.”

I nod at Steve, who waves before driving off.

“Are you okay?”

She nods faintly.

I want to hug her, kiss her, sweep her into my bedroom—but she looks like she’ll crash into deep slumber if I dare set her down on a mattress.

Rather than give into my instincts, I press a kiss on her forehead. “Why did your meeting end early?”

“The promotion plans were all wrong, so I told them to do it again.”

“You’re being hard on them lately.”

“We need capable people to help you run the company. There’s no room for mistakes.”

“I’ll still have you to guide me.” I wrap an arm around her waist. “Even if you’re on vacation from Vision Tech, you’re not on vacation from me.”

She glances down. “Right.”

I take her hand and lead her up the porch stairs. “Pizza will be here any minute.”

“Okay. Where’s Rowan?”

I point to his room. “Probably plotting out more ways to use my relationship with you against me.”

She chuckles, but there’s something off about it. Something I can’t place.

Nova heads inside and I start to follow her when I hear the pizza guy’s motorcycle coming up the lane.

I collect the pizzas from the teenager, set the steaming pie on the counter and take out some plates.

“Rowan! Nova!”

No response.

“Rowan?” I thought for sure my son would be the first to come hurtling out when he smelled the food.

Curious, I tiptoe to Rowan’s room.

He and Nova are deep in conversation.

The eavesdropper in me comes alive and I quietly listen in.

“Adam asked me to make a list of the things that’ll make mom happy,” Rowan is saying.

I tilt my head back, my heart twisting. The way I left things with Alexa was the opposite of honorable. I’m glad I get this chance to make it up to her. Even if I don’t love her and I don’t feel the attraction I did when I was in college, she’s Rowan’s mother. I want her to have a good life, as short as that life may be.

“Wow,” Nova says. “These are a lot of interesting things.”

“If it’s too expensive, he doesn’t have to do it,” Rowan defends.

I chuckle silently. No matter what’s on the list, it’ll happen. I plan to hire someone whose job is exclusively to help us make those wishes come true.

“This is number one?” Nova asks, sounding astonished.

“Every time that scene comes up in movies, mom said she wanted that. She said she’d give anything to have it.”

Unable to hide my curiosity, I step into the room. “What are you guys talking about?”

Nova stiffens guiltily.

Rowan seems eager to rope me into the conversation. He shoves a paper at me.

“Is this the list?”

He nods.

My eyes skim the paper and then freeze on number one.

I glance nervously at Nova and then I look at Rowan. “Thanks for your help, bud.”

“You’re going to do it, right?” Rowan asks. “You’re going to help mom like you promised?”

Nova’s not looking at me.

The knots in my stomach get worse.

I choke. “Yeah, bud. Like I promised.”

Later that night, after Rowan goes to sleep, I massage Nova’s feet while we watch a movie.

Honestly, it’s more like the movie’s watching us.

Neither of us seem to be paying much attention.

After it’s over, I turn and find Nova eyeing me studiously.

“Like what you see?” I tease, shifting my head and showing off my jawline.

Her smile barely sticks the landing. She drops her gaze to her hands. “Have you visited Alexa lately?”

“Not really.”

Tension lines her shoulders. “Have you at least gone the hospital?”

“I don’t think I need to visit Alexa too much.”

Nova frowns. “Why not?”

I sigh heavily. This is one of the few moments I get to spend with Nova without Vision Tech or Rowan or something else distracting us. I just want to enjoy my time with her.

Nova pulls her leg out of my lap and sits straight up. Given the fire in her eyes, I know this will not be a relaxing conversation.

“You can’t just put Alexa in a private room, pay for a personal nurse and then just… forget about her.”

“I haven’t forgotten about her, but I’m not going to act like there’s a relationship between us when there’s not.” My voice is rising with frustration. I don’t understand why Nova is so obsessed with this.

“She’s dying,” Nova hisses.

“You think I don’t know that? I’m doing everything I possibly can to help her.” A muscle in my jaw clenches. “But I won’t do it at the expense of us.”

She goes still.

“Alexa is Rowan’s mother. We had something of a relationship and now she’s in a bad place, but she’s not my priority. You are. And in all of this, I don’t want to give you a reason to feel insecure.”

Nova’s lips fall into a thin line. “So the reason you’re holding back on being there for her is because of me?”

“I didn’t say that.” I scrub the heel of my hand over my face.

“You just did, Adam,” she answers hotly. “Fine. Let’s say there was even a reason for concern. Let’s say I was such an insecure person. Why would I worry about you and Alexa? What could you possibly do with someone in such poor health? It would make more sense that I’d be jealous of you falling for one of the nurses than for her.”

“Dammit, Nova. What do you want me to do? I can’t share my heart. I only know how to love one person at a time. I only know how to focus on one. And that person isn’t Alexa.”

“Maybe she doesn’t mean anything to you, Adam. But she’s the most important person to your .”

Nova starts putting her shoes on.

Groaning, I push off the couch. “Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“I’ll take you.”

She looks like she’s about to argue, but I grab my keys and holler for Rowan.

Nova allows me to take her home, but we don’t say a word to each other on the entire ride.

I never used to fight so much with Nova when we were just boss and employee. It’s inconceivable to me that we seem to be clashing so much now, and over my ex no less.

Last night, I went to bed frustrated, annoyed and promising myself that I wouldn’t cave.

I’m right. Nova’s wrong.

And that’s that.

Then I woke up this morning and I realized that I’d rather be wrong than live without her.

Besides, it’s a given that, between the two of us, I’ll have to apologize first. Nova’s cold shoulders are legendary. I’ve seen them unleashed on other people. She has sharp scissors that she uses to cut off anyone who needs to leave her life.

They’re gone.

To save myself from a similar fate, I swallow my pride and drive to Vision Tech to apologize.

Rochelle waves from her desk. She’s been extremely helpful these days, always sliding me Nova’s schedule and giving me a heads-up if Nova hasn’t eaten for the day.

She seemed to dislike me before, so I appreciate the fact that she’s mysteriously switched sides.

“Nova’s in a meeting right now,” Rochelle says the moment she sees me sauntering down the hallway. “But she’ll be out soon.”

“Thanks.”

She smiles like she knows something I don’t.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Okay then. I frown. “How has Lyra been doing?”

“Lyra?”

“Your assistant.”

“Oh, er… she’s doing fine.”

I scowl. “What’s wrong? Is she giving trouble?”

“She’d have to show up to give trouble,” Rochelle mumbles under her breath.

“Lyra hasn’t been coming to work?” My eyebrows arch. With all the things I’ve had to deal with, checking up on Nova’s sister slipped my mind.

Rochelle shakes her head. “Miss Delaney told me to give her walking papers the next time she shows up.”

I cringe. I guess Nova was right about Lyra. She’s not dependable at all.

Just then, Nova’s office door opens.

She walks out with the finance director, the PR director and the HR manager. Shaking their hands, she opens her mouth to say something when she sees me standing by Rochelle’s desk. Her dark skin turns blotchy and a guilty expression crawls over her face.

“Mr. Harrison!” Roberts waves. My jaw drops to the floor when he rushes over, grabs my hand and shakes it profusely.

I pull my arm out of his reach.

The other directors give me curious looks. I press a hand to the back of my head, wondering if I’ve suddenly sprouted antennas.

I haven’t. I’m still just a regular ole’ human.

“You can return to your desks now,” Nova tells them, not-so-subtly shooing them away.

“Sure. Sure.” Roberts pats me on the back and laughs. “Looking forward to working with you, Harrison.”

Working with me?

Don’t we work together now?

I follow Nova into the office and shut the door. Hooking a thumb over my shoulder, I ask, “What was that about? And since when do you meet the directors in your office instead of the conference room?”

She shuffles a bunch of files together and sweeps them into a folder. “They’re not mere directors anymore. They’re my replacements.”

The air in the room turns tense.

Nova meets my gaze and we share a private exchange of words without opening our mouths at all.

My heart thuds. Dread pours out in my voice. “Nova, what did you do?”

“I tried to be discreet. They know you’ve got more power than we originally let on, but I tried my best not to reveal that you were the owner. I think your secret is still safe, but it’s tenuous. We’ll need a better story about who the owner is and why he gave so much power to you.”

“Nova.”

“Not that it matters whether they know or not. Their job is to do one thing—assist you in all the day-to-day tasks. They’ll report all big decisions to you. Just like I do. You have the ultimate say. It’ll be a little awkward at first, but I believe you’ll find your own rhythm—”

“Nova, what the hell did you ,” I say more firmly.

“I told you I was leaving, Adam.”

Her words are softly-spoken, but they pierce me like a slap by a glove of nails.

I curl my fingers into fists.

“It took a while, but I’ve finally gotten all my task templates organized. I’ve also fragmented all my duties and matched them up according to the directors’ respective areas of work, strengths, and expertise.”

“No,” I bite out.

She glances up, an eyebrow arched in defiance. “No?”

“You’re not leaving.”

She tilts her head and studies me.

“You can’t leave. You… I thought we’d fixed that. I thought the reason you had to resign in the first place was because of—”

“Of what? My feelings for you?” She gives me a frigid look.

I don’t want to believe that’s my Nova.

It can’t be.

It has to be someone else.

“I thought that too.” She straightens and faces the window.

I don’t recognize her.

Not her.

Not this moment.

None of what’s happening—the conversation, the frostiness in the air—none of it makes sense.

I picture the night I held Nova in my arms and kissed her for the first time. That night, she said she was consumed by me. That she waited for me. That she needed me as much as I needed her.

Right now, it seems like whatever hold I had on her is gone.

Not just gone.

Decimated.

“I thought,” Nova speaks to the view of the city, “that being with you would make the noose go away.” She slides a hand over her neck. Her fingers are slender. They move smoothly over her throat. “But it hasn’t, Adam. It’s only gotten tighter.”

“Nova.” I launch forward.

She holds up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. Her words are slow and measured. “You don’t just consume me. You me. You make it worse. I don’t want someone who’s always looking at me, who’s always there.”

My chest rises and falls in a panic. I suck in more and more breaths of air, but none of them seem to be hitting my lungs. It’s like the room is devoid of all oxygen and what little I have is running out.

“I want freedom. From Vision Tech.” Her eyes wander over to mine. “And from you.”

It hurts, but I keep fighting because that’s the only thing I know how to do. “Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re trying to achieve with this stunt, it won’t work. I won’t let you go.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Every choice I’ve ever made has been you. Only you, Nova. That’s not going to change because you’ve suddenly decided—”

“This wasn’t sudden, Adam. I gave you my resignation letter a long time ago.”

“Fine.” I shake my head, grasping at straws, struggling like a fish out of water but desperate to keep her close. “Fine. You don’t have to work at Vision Tech. You can… take a break. You deserve it. I’ll work with the directors. I’ve been training and studying to take more of the load anyway.”

Nova sashays behind the desk, her hips swaying lightly. Expression, calm. Voice, calm. Cold as an ice queen. “Didn’t you hear me, Adam? When I leave Vision Tech,” her eyes pierce mine, “I’m leaving you too.”

It feels like a punch to the gut.

“I hope you don’t make this difficult. We’re both adults and we’ve worked together for a very long time. I don’t want either our personal relationship or our business one to end on a sour note.”

I wince at her clinical evaluation.

“I’ve agreed to stay here for my full month, and that time is drawing to a close. However, now that we’ve found the replacements, I’m willing to stay a little longer to hand over my duties properly.”

“Nova—”

She lifts a hand, her voice sharp. “I could use my vacation time and leave early. Without any other systems in place. But if you agree to stay away from the main Vision Tech office while I’m still here, I’ll prepare the staff well.”

The silence is stiffer than dried mud on jeans.

My phone rings, shattering the tension.

It’s the hospital.

“Go ahead and take that,” Nova says. Moving smoothly behind her desk, she taps on her computer. “I have work to do anyway.”

Backing away from Nova feels like I’m ripping my skin off with cheap razors, but I leave Vision Tech, get into my truck and drive to the hospital.

I have no idea how I avoid getting into an accident because I’m barely paying attention to the road. By the time I stumble through the hospital doors, my head is reeling and I think I’ll be the one needing emergency care.

Alexa’s doctor is standing outside her room. He greets me somberly.

“How is she?” I ask, not as focused as I’d like to be.

“I’m afraid she’s not doing well. Even in the most optimistic case, she has less than a month left.”

I swallow hard. All I can think about is Rowan and how devastated he’ll be to hear this.

“Is there nothing you can do?”

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Please, just…” My fight with Nova is clouding my mind and this news feels like another blow. I can’t even think straight. “Can you make her more comfortable? Anything will help.”

“About that, Alexa has expressed that she’d like to leave hospice care and receive outpatient care, but—”

“No buts. If that’s what she wants, that’s what she’ll have.” I promised Rowan. I can’t go back on my word now.

“Unfortunately, we don’t allow patients in her state to leave unless it’s in the care of a family member. And we can’t let her go under the authority of an eleven year old.”

“I can do it.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re not considered family, Mr. Harrison. At least not in the legal sense.” He shakes his head.

My eyebrows sink. “But I’m Rowan’s father.”

“It still wouldn’t work. It must be a sibling, a cousin, an aunt, even a husband—”

“A husband?”

The doctor nods.

“Is that the only way?”

“Yes, it is.”

The truth crashes into me and nearly knocks me off my feet. To fulfil her wish, I have to marry her.

It’s the only way to keep my promise to Rowan.

The only way to help Alexa in her last days.

And it’s the one way that will destroy any hope I have with the woman I love.