Page 28 of Bare
“What’s not yours?”
“My hair. It’s not my hair.” A quavering breath left her lips. “My last cancer treatment was a drug called Remiza. It saved mylife, but it took every bit of hair on my body. It will never grow back. I’m bald. And I always will be.”
Chapter Nine
“Your bravery shames me.”
Aleksei’s words brushed against her mind, but she couldn’t process them. Her heart was as loud in her ears as the walk-through heart at the Franklin Institute, but beating a hell of a lot faster.
Cancer had taken her hair, but without cancer, she wouldn’t be the person she was. She wouldn’t embrace the joy in the little things like taking Thor for a walk, watching the leaves turn, sipping the first pumpkin latte of the fall season, or skipping the theater to spend a crazy night with one of the sexiest men she’d ever laid eyes on. A man whom she’d just told that she was bald. A man who was sitting next to her, looking at her like she was a teacup being juggled over a concrete patio—ready to fall and shatter at any moment.
She’d been forged by fire. She would not shatter.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“Your bravery shames me,” he repeated.
“I’m not sure it counts as bravery since I didn’t really have a choice.”
“Most people in difficult situations don’t choose to be in them. It’s how they respond to that situation that shows their character. You. Are. Brave.”
Silence settled between them. Slightly awkward. Slightly expectant. She knew it was better to wait for him to speak, but fear of rejection sat in her stomach like a greasy meal. She hated the idea of him sitting next to her, trying to think of how to let her down gently. Trying to find the nicest way to tell her that he thought she was a great person, but that the bald thing was too much to handle. Admiring her didn’t mean he would accept her. She came with baggage. It might be too heavy for him to help carry.
“It’s okay if you want to stop seeing me.”
Lightning flashed in his eyes. “If I were the kind of guy who would walk away because you wear a wig, thenyoushould want to stop seeingme. You’re way too good for someone who thinks like that.”
“But you haven’t seen me without the wig. Not even my sister has.”
The storm clouds in his eyes became a tornado. “I like you, Rosemary. You. Yes, I think you’re beautiful and sexy as hell, but if I were only attracted to your looks, I wouldn’t be sitting here. So, you wear a wig. Lots of women wear wigs.”
Damn him.Sage had tried this same argument on her.
“This isn’t a fashion thing. I amcompletelybald. I had to have a treatment to replace my goddamn eyebrows!”
His hand settled on her shoulder. The fire was dying down, and although her head was still prickling, her body had cooled. The weight of his palm was soothing.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel nervous or worried about me knowing you’re bald. You’ve been through hell and survived. You deserve to feel however you want to feel. What I’m saying is, I can’t imagine thinking you’re anything other than perfect withor without hair. You’re a warrior. Any man should be honored to be with you.”
This man was going to be her undoing. His kindness. His sensitivity. His honesty. And then there was the way he spoke. Part cop, part old-fashioned gentleman, and part motivational speaker. It was probably a mix of his job and all those old movies his mom made him watch. It didn’t matter. The substance of his words spoken in that deep, sexy, slightly accented voice made her skin tingle.
“You’d make a great narrator for spicy romance.”
“What?”
Her neck heated. Why had she said that out loud? Now he knew she read spicy romance.
“You have a great voice. I sometimes listen to novels when I’m walking or biking at the gym.”
Novels. That made her sound well-read and intelligent.
“Got it. So, if I need some extra cash, I’ll give Audible a call.”
He slid the hand that had been resting on her shoulder down her arm to her wrist, where he started making circles with his thumb. How could such a small motion be so soothing and distracting?
“So, are we good? Do you believe that I’m okay with you being bald?”
He’d used the wordbaldintentionally. She was sure of it. Who knew what would happen when he saw her without her wig? But right now, he wasn’t mincing words. He was facing the fact of her hair loss head-on. She couldn’t ask for more than that.
