“Those little things make all the difference,” he points out as he drapes his arm over the back of the couch. “Every year on our anniversary, I’d surprise Sela with a gift that she wasn’t expecting.”
I make my way closer to him. “I bet she loved that.”
Sela Abdon was a saint.
She helped Lloyd build their company from the ground up, and during her last days, she held his hand as he wept over the loss of their life together.
I admit, watching them say their final goodbyes tore me to shreds.
I was outside the hospital room as she took her last breath. When Lloyd walked out, all I saw was a broken man.
I still see that now.
“She loved me,” he says quietly. “I loved her.”
I take a seat in a chair across from him. “What you two had was rare, Lloyd.”
His fingers skim over his cheek, chasing away a single tear. “I know it. I see the same connection between Trina and you.”
What he sees is a commitment to make his final wish a reality.
Trina is pissed at me for bailing on her right after she came on my hand in the library. I can’t blame her. It was a dick move. Pizza won’t make up for it, but since I’ve never tried to mend anything between a woman and me, I’m hoping food is a solid first step.
I shift the subject because lying to the man who gave me a second chance at life isn’t on my agenda for tonight.
The guilt gnawing at my gut since I married my assistant is only burrowing a deeper hole with every passing hour.
“I’ve done some research on cardiac specialists,” I say, wading into the water that Lloyd warned me to stay out of. “I can pull a few strings and get you an appointment with one early next week.”
His eyes lock on mine. “I told you not to worry about it.”
Surrendering to the inevitable in this case isn’t easy for me.
I want the old man to be here to celebrate the holidays with me. I want to see the smile on his face at the lighting of the enormous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I want to build more memories that mirror the ones I already hold close.
And, I want my wife to be part of that.
Surely, if Lloyd lives beyond the next three months, Trina will agree to prolong our arrangement.
I’ll take an extra week or two, or a month or six. I want more of this. I want his wisdom and more time with the extraordinary woman who has made him happier than he’s been since Sela passed two years ago.
“Do this for me, Lloyd.” The words sound foreign coming from me.
I’ve never asked a favor of him because he’s always anticipated everything I’ve needed, even when I disagreed with what he believed was best for me.
Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he sighs. “My heart is running out of steam, Graham. I’ve accepted my fate. I need you to do the same. Do it for me.”
He stresses the last two words as if he’s asking a simple favor of me.
He’s requesting the impossible, so I cast my gaze down.
I can’t agree to that. I’ll keep pushing for him to see another doctor. Hell, if I have to, I’ll find one who will make a house call.
Losing him will break me. It will crush Trina too, so I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him alive for as long as possible.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Trina
I’m impressed and puzzled by the fact that Graham knew about my favorite pizza and where to order it. I first discovered this pizza when I was with my sister. Falon told me that our mom clued her into it, so I knew it had to be stellar.
My mom may be the greatest baker alive, but she’s also a pizza aficionado. She once told me that she became an expert when she and her closest friend would buy pizza on their lunch breaks in high school.
I look up and study my husband’s profile as he talks sales numbers with Lloyd.
I won’t ask how he knew about the pizza because I believe I’ve figured that riddle out. It had to have been either Kay or Cecil.
I shared a pie with Kay for lunch one day, and Cecil helped himself to what was left in the fridge in the break room.
One of them must have mentioned to Graham that this is my all-time favorite.
Lloyd breaks free of Graham’s gaze and the work-focused conversation to turn his attention to me. “You’re an excellent judge of pizza, Trina. This is delicious.”
I take credit for the recommendation by smiling as I chew the final piece of crust left on my plate.
“Your wife has exceptional taste,” Lloyd points out to Graham. “In food and men.”