His eyes light up. Even though I’ve lost my memory, I know it’s the first time I’ve felt happy in a very, very long time.
Chapter 43
Graham and I come up with an arrangement. We’re going to have a contract drawn up by a lawyer to make it all official, but we hashed out most of the details:
Graham will keep the house. I don’t want to stay in one place anymore, anyway.
Graham will make sure the restraining order against Harry is dropped, as well as the current charges against him from last night.
Graham will remain CEO of My Home Spa and keep it running while I’m gone. As much as I loved it, I’m not capable of running it anymore. And that’s not how I want to spend my last months. When I’m gone for good, the company will be his.
Camila will get a generous severance package.
Ziggy will stay with me.
As soon as I’m done packing, I will leave with Harry and never return.
Graham is on his phone with his lawyer right now, eager to get the papers drawn up today. He says that his attorney can email him the documents and we can take care of it right away, although I feel like it can wait till tomorrow—now that tomorrow will exist. But I also feel like it will be good to get it done with. I want to leave this house and start living the rest of my life. Now that I know how little is left, I don’t want to waste any time.
While Graham is in his office, my father kisses me goodbye while Harry and I relocate to the kitchen. I get some coffee brewing, then we go to sit at the kitchen island, waiting for it to be done. While we wait, Harry holds onto my hand like I’m his life preserver.
“Hey,” I say. “What’s with the beard?”
He rubs the stubble on his chin. “Do you like it?”
“I can’t decide. When did you decide to grow it?”
“Right after you contacted me.” He grins at me. “It’s kind of mydisguise.”
I laugh. “It’s a good one. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Yeah, I was considering an eyepatch too. And a fake scar. But then I was like, maybe too much.”
“I prefer being able to see your face.”
He rubs the beard again. “I’ll get rid of it then.”
“Just like that?”
“Sure. Why not?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is this what it’s going to be like? Anything I ask, you’re going to do it without question?”
He smiles at me, but a bob of his Adam’s apple betrays his true feelings. Everyone else has had a long time to dealwith the reality that I’m dying. Harry found out today, just like me. For a moment, it looks like he’s fighting back tears. He wins the battle and his eyes stay dry. “What can I say? I’m crazy about you. I always have been.”
“Always?”
He squeezes my hand. “I don’t know if I ever told you this, because I thought you might find it weird. But the second I saw you at that computer store, I thought to myself, ‘This is the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.’ I’m glad I was right.”
“Well,” I say, “the rest ofmylife.”
And now it’s my turn to be blinking back tears. I never wanted to end up like my mother. I never wanted to have that feeling like the end is in sight—at least not for another forty or fifty years, when I’m old with a pile of grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren. But that’s not my fate. Yes, I’m back with the love of my life. But my time with him is limited. Just a few short months.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the kitchen. I glance at the stairwell and drum my fingers against the table. “I wonder how long it will take to get that contract drawn up.”
The sadness vanishes from Harry’s face and is replaced by a sneer. “I can’t believe you’re agreeing to this. I can’t believe you’re letting that asshole run your company.”
I lift a shoulder. “The company isn’t what’s important. I don’t want to waste another second on it.”
