I chuckled and sniffed away my tears. “You’ve been anything but stressful. You’ve been my whirlwind romance. You’ve given me more than many people have. I crossed off things on my bucket list because of you.”
“Sam, you talk like you’re giving up. Don’t you do that.”
“I said I was going to do everything the doctors told me to do, but asking me to have hope isn’t fair. I did that once, and it didn’t work.” Anger mixed with sadness as I looked into Lukas’s purple eyes drowning in sorrow.
“I can help you, Sam.” He gripped my hand just tight enough to brand his words as a promise.
Bubbles jumped off my lap when I moved my legs. Lukas sat back and I straddled him. “You already do help me, Lukas. Being here, wanting to know what has been wrong, wanting to help.”
“No, Sam, I mean I can help you.”
I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. He quickly returned the kiss, his arms wrapping around my waist pulling me closer to his chest. Our tongues tangled, and our breaths mingled. I leaned away, my face hot.
“I won’t ask you to stay for everything I’ll be going through—you didn’t sign on for that.”
Lukas frowned, and his eyes darkened, an anger I’d never seen overtaking his face. “You think I’d run from this?”
My answer was cut off by a knock on the door. “That’s the pizza I ordered, hang on.”
He let me go to deal with the pizza guy. I dropped the box onto my kitchen table and returned to the living room. Lukas’s expression had softened but not by much.
“Sam.” He glanced up at me. “You won’t say things like that to me again.”
“I’m not going to guilt you into watching me die!”
He stood and gently gripped my arms. “Stop saying you’re going to die. You’re not. Let me help you.”
I’d seen this happen a lot. My parents, Natalie, Ben—they all needed the power to fix what was out of their control. Each person convincing me they had some magic in their veins that could change my diagnosis or take it away. Lukas still had hope, and I didn’t want to take that from him.
“Okay, Lukas.”
He nodded once and let me go. “Eat your pizza before it gets cold.”
“Want some?” I moved to the kitchen and went to get some plates.
Lukas chuckled. “No, thanks.” I didn’t understand why that was funny but didn’t push.
“How about you come stay with me for a few days, and I can explain how it is I can help you.”
He really believed he’d come up with ideas in the short time he’d found out about me? My parents had scoured the world, had even talked to Swiss doctors. Natalie had researched alternative medicines for years. I was sure I’d already thought of anything Lukas came up with.
“I need to talk to Ben and Natalie.”
“Okay.” He sat at the table with me as I ate my pizza. “You can invite them to the island.”
Good thing I’d swallowed, or else I’d have choked. “What? You want them in your home?”
“I could have Winston organize a dinner for the three of you, and you can talk to them about whatever you need to.”
“The three of us?” I sipped my water. “What about you?”
“This is a conversation for the three of you. Afterward, if you’d like, I can sit and have a drink with them.”
I took a moment with that, chewed on my pizza. “Once you’ve done that, I can tell you my plan.”
“Your plan…”
“Don’t look so disbelieving. You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
