How Much I Feel - Marie Force Page 0,45

says.”

“Will do. Later.”

“If we can pull off TV coverage,” Carmen says to me, “that’d be amazing.”

“Yeah.” I grip the wheel tighter, my gaze fixed on the road.

“You don’t think so?”

“I do. Of course I do. It’s just . . . In my normal life, courting that kind of attention for a volunteer gig would be unheard of.”

“I have no doubt your humility will come through in an interview, or I’d never agree to let you do it. People will love you for stepping up for the less fortunate in the community you hope to call home. It’s a great story.”

“It’s a better story when it’s someone else on the camera.”

“You’ll be a star.”

“Great,” he says, grimacing. “Will they dig up the crap in New York?”

“I’ll come clean about what happened, and do my best to keep the focus on what you’re doing here.”

“Is it always going to follow me? Will it be the opening line in my obit?”

“You’ve got a lot of years left to do amazing things that’ll push that further down on the list.”

She makes me feel optimistic when I’ve had no reason to for weeks.

“If you get to do the interview, you should talk about your tumor research and how close you are to a major breakthrough. That’s the kind of thing that’ll resonate with regular people. Everyone knows someone who’s battling a serious illness. Being reminded there’re dedicated doctors out there working on these challenges is comforting.”

I hang on her every word, soaking up her insight and wisdom. “You make me believe we might just pull this off.”

“Stick with me, kid.”

CHAPTER 12

JASON

I love the adorably cocky grin she flashes my way. I love that she’s fully embraced my situation and made it hers. She makes me feel less alone with my problems than I was before I met her.

“Park over there.” She points to a public lot as she gets busy on her phone again.

After I pull into a space, I start to read the sign about how to pay through an app.

“What’s the deal with paying at this lot?”

“It’s all done on an app. I took care of it. I’ll set you up with the app on your phone. You’ll need it to park around here.”

“You’re very good to have around.”

“Why, thank you. Let’s walk.”

We stash her purse in the trunk before she leads the way to a boardwalk that runs the length of Miami Beach.

“My parents honeymooned here in the early eighties,” I tell her.

“Where did they stay? Do you know?”

“The Fontainebleau, I think.”

“Let’s go check it out. It’s changed a lot since they remodeled it. Personally, I don’t love it. I liked how it looked before when it was more in keeping with the art deco feel of Miami and Miami Beach. Now it just looks like every other modern, sophisticated hotel. But it’s still a cool spot to grab a drink and people-watch.”

To our left are dunes and lush vegetation that block our view of the beach on the other side. I catch sight of bits and pieces of the ocean as we make our way to the pool deck of the Fontainebleau, which is hopping with mostly young people. Skimpy bikinis are everywhere I look, not that I want to look at any woman other than the one I’m with.

She’s got me completely captivated, especially since she admitted to being as attracted to me as I am to her. The disaster with Ginger might’ve never happened for all it matters to me now that I’ve met Carmen and managed to catch her interest.

I understand it’s a big deal for her to admit that she’s attracted to me. I’m honored and humbled to be spending this time with her. We take seats at a bar called Glow, located in the middle of the action at the vast network of pools and bars. Dance music plays loudly—too loudly for my liking—over speakers positioned for maximum coverage.

One of six bartenders puts drink and food menus in front of us. I peruse the offerings, noting the prices are in line with what I’d expect to see in Manhattan. “I can’t picture my parents here.”

“It was nothing like this when they were here. When I was younger, my parents would take one Sunday a month off from work, and we’d play tourist in our hometown. We’d take turns picking what we were going to do, and my mother always wanted to come out to the beach. We’d have lunch here and play in the pool. They