Page 90 of Perfect Distraction
“No cancer, no opinion.”
That shut her up. For a few minutes, at least.
He really hadn’t had that much to drink. He’d been here three hours and had nursed four beers. He was a big guy, and even though he’d lost some of his bulk over the last few months, he’d never been a cheap drunk. He barely felt anything.
Jeni ordered a drink, and Andrew sat between his best friend and his twin sister, ignoring both of them as they spent the next half hour trying to cheer him up.
Nothing would lift his spirits tonight.
“Andrew?”
Except her.
Just the sound of his name coming from her lips soothed him. The tension in his muscles released, flowing out of him, a river of fear and disappointment. Andrew swiveled on his chair to find Lauren standing there, so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.
She held her hand out. “Are you okay?”
He grasped it with his own and pulled her to him, hugging her close. He’d initially called Logan instead of Lauren, because he’d wanted to shield her from the bad news for a little longer. But now that she was here, he realized she was the only one he really wanted to see.
Damn, she smelled good. And her body felt so good, pressed up against him. Lush and soft, and so deliciously curvy.
He spoke into her hair. “How did you…?”
“Jeni texted me.”
“Did she tell you?”
“About the scan? Yes. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean—”
Andrew shook his head against her neck. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Okay.”
He pulled back a little. Her green eyes met his, and she kept her hands wrapped around his neck.
“Can we leave?” he asked.
“Sure. I’m driving, though.”
When he stood, he suddenly realized how much liquid he’d consumed. “I need to hit the men’s room, then we can go.”
She nodded and edged up onto his vacated seat to wait.
When Andrew came out of the men’s room, he stopped cold in his tracks. Lauren had her hand on Logan’s arm, laughing at something he was saying. Logan was smiling at her and said something else, eliciting a new laugh from her. She leaned over and put her forehead on his shoulder, shaking with laughter.
Red-hot jealousy unlike anything Andrew had ever experienced jolted down his spine like a bolt of lightning. Bitterness swept through him at the memory of the night Logan had proudly boasted getting the phone number from a redhead named Lauren.
It had been a while since he’d thought about that night and the fact that Lauren had talked to Logan—probably even flirted with him and asked him to call her. She’d agreed to go on a date with him, too, even after thinking he’d brushed her off for weeks before contacting her.
Did she regret not having a chance with Logan? Logan was healthy and strong. She wouldn’t see him kneeling on the bathroom floor or touch the raised imprint of a medical device under his skin. She could run her fingers through the thick hair on his head and wouldn’t have to worry about what his blood counts were before they went somewhere.
When he took her number away from Logan, Andrew had taken that choice from her.
Pain clenched Andrew’s heart, and he ground his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. He forced himself to approach the smiling couple, and Jeni, who was chuckling along with them.
Lauren saw him and sat up straight, a twinkle in her eye. “Andrew, Logan was just telling me—”
“Can we leave now?” Andrew interrupted.
