She looks like she wants to argue, but she bites back whatever it is she wants to say. We pull up to the hotel, park quickly, and take hurried strides toward the side entrance. The banquet hall was donated for this, and it's absolutely beautifully decorated. Gold glimmers on every surface—curtains, tables, chairs... all of it. For this morning, everyone will feel like royalty, which is something these women deserve.
A girl rushes over to me, tugging at my hand, and scaring me a little when she starts dragging me away.
"We were starting to worry you weren't going to make it."
Am I that late?
I glance over my shoulder to see Tria smiling softly while sitting down in an open spot. I'm glad I invited her to this, especially since I'd have forgotten about it without her. Viv always handled my schedule when I lived in New York. Now she just handles my professional stuff.
"Most of you know Rain Noles and the challenges she's faced because of breast cancer. This morning, she's here to talk to you, to remind you how good life can be even when it seems there's no way it can ever get better," the lady at the podium announces.
I swallow hard as I make my way to her spot, taking a shaky placement. I've always hated public speaking, but my name on the docket was to draw in more benefactors for the cause.
Looking out at the sea of faces, I'm met with eyes that have more scars than I do. I was lucky—one of the few who survived without having to endure the life of chemo—but cancer has taken more from me than any one person should ever have to give up.
With a nervous breath, I pull my notes from my purse and set them down in front of me.
"Everyone here has experienced loss in some form because of breast cancer. Whether you've managed to escape it or not, it has left its mark on you in some way. I lost my mother when I was just thirteen. Endometrial cancer had snuck into her system as well, but the breast cancer had already signed her passage to the other side. The uterus cancer just sped things along. My grandmother died from breast cancer and uterus cancer before that, so I knew there would be a day when cancer came for me.
"When I was eighteen, the blood work came through, announcing I was next in line to die from it if I didn't act quickly. Through several preventative measures, I was fortunate enough to dodge the cancer, though we all know it's a day by day thing. But in the process, I lost my breasts.
"How could I be a woman without my breasts? It seemed impossible to live a normal life without one of the things that made me feminine. Even after they were reconstructed, I felt insecure, undesirable, and more importantly, I was scared. Scared that no man would ever want to touch me if he knew the truth. But mostly, I was scared that I'd never feel whole.
"To be honest, I still have some insecurities, but they don't cripple me or hold me back, because I refuse to let cancer steal my life when I've spent my days beating it. There are women here who've gone through more than I have—women who've been on death's doorstep and flipped the Grim Reaper the bird. Those women are my heroes."
I pause as everyone smiles and laughs a little. Some are even wiping tears because those are the women who've gone through hell. The ones here wearing scarves on their heads instead of hair. Those women are the ones who should be standing up here. Not me.
"Cancer will take it all from you if you let it. It doesn't just want your body, it wants your smile, your laugh, your hope, and it wants to leave you with nothing but emptiness. It's a pit of despair, and it wants to suck you into it. That's why it's so important to have a support system around you. No one should ever try facing it alone."
I suck in a breath as I think about my latest loss. No one knows besides the doctors and nurses. I'm preaching about support systems, and yet no one knows that cancer has just stolen my future for children. I haven't even talked about it aloud since the day I found out.
Shaking away those thoughts, I continue. "People always tell you to be strong, but what does strong really mean? What makes a person strong? Is a person strong when they don't break under pressure? If they never show their pain, does that make them strong?
"What makes a person weak? If they cry, are they weak? Are they considered fragile if they fall apart when the world crashes down on them? Does vulnerability make them weak?
"My definition of strong may not match everyone else's, because I believe no one can be strong if they've never been weak. Because if you've never once found a point in your life where it was a struggle to meet the next day, then you've never been challenged; therefore you don't know if you're strong or not.
"I think being strong means you get up when you've been knocked down. You cry your tears because those tears will help you heal. And you move on, because you're worth it, and you owe it to yourself. You'll take the punches when they come, and you'll know a stumble never makes you weak; it only gives you character."
A standing ovation surprises me, considering my personal journey pales in comparison to some of theirs. But tears are in the eyes of every woman who knows exactly what I'm talking about. These strong, beautiful, unstoppable women are applauding for me, and in this moment, I don't feel worthy.
I shake the hands of everyone here, smiling and hugging women who share their battle stories. Then I sit down to listen to the next speaker, hoping maybe she can give me what I need right now.
***
DANE
"That's the one," I say proudly, unable to wipe away the stupid grin on my face.
"The teardrop one?" Maverick asks, looking into the glass case.
"You say teardrop, I say raindrop."
I laugh as he rolls his eyes, and I offer him an unapologetic shrug while returning my eyes back to the perfect little thing in front of me.
"I think I'm lactose intolerant," Maverick says randomly.
I cock a brow as the short man behind t