Love Like Her (Against All Odds #3) - Claudia Y. Burgoa Page 0,43
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When I reach the main entrance door, I do a double take. Through the glass, I spot Eros. He knocks on the window.
“You’re here,” I state as I swing the door open.
He takes me into his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he assures me.
My throat has been clogged with tears since Mom gave me the news. I’ve been holding it together up until now. I begin sobbing. One moment I’m downstairs, and the next, we’re on my couch. I let out everything I’ve been repressing. He mumbles soothing words. I’m not sure how long I stay in his embrace or when I fall asleep.
“Hey, sleepyhead, it’s time for dinner.” Eros’s deep, husky voice wakes me up.
“You’re not a dream,” I mumble with a raspy voice.
“Did you rest?” He dusts kisses around my face.
I nod. “Thank you for… Why are you here?”
“You’ve been weird for the past few weeks. I put two and two together. On my way here, I decided to text because what if you weren’t in town.”
“Wait, did you say dinner?” I ask, worried about Mom.
He nods. “Your mom and I decided not to wake you up until dinner was ready.”
“You met Mom?” I flinch.
“Yes, I met Beatriz. She’s a lovely lady,” he answers. “She’s inquisitive, though.”
“That’s a nice way of calling her nosy.”
He grins. “You haven’t met my mother. Your mom is nothing compared to mine,” he says as if warning me.
“So why were you avoiding me?”
I shake my head.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the lady was trying to handle this by herself,” he states. “Why would you do that?”
“Saying it out loud makes it real.” I almost choke. “Mom’s sick. Do you know how many women die of breast cancer?”
I press the heel of my hands against my eyelids. I don’t want to cry again.
“It’s okay to cry,” he mumbles, hugging me. “You’re afraid to lose her. She’s going to be fine, but I understand your fear. No one wants to lose a loved one.”
“I’m trying to be strong for her,” I sob.
“You’re doing a great job,” he says encouragingly. “She told me that you brought her to Boston within days of learning about her diagnosis. You got her the best care, and she’s having surgery tomorrow. You’re taking time off from work to look after her.”
“It’s the least I could do for her.” I sniff.
“Sometimes, I feel like you don’t like people to notice that you’re a loving person.” He presses a kiss on the top of my head. “Let’s go have dinner. Tomorrow will be a long day. We need to rest. The next eight weeks are going to be daunting.”
“You say it like you’ll be here.”
“I’m staying by your side.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Eros
Looking at Olivia’s family life, I’m thankful for my crazy family. I can’t fathom what it’d be like to have a sick parent and be alone in a waiting room. When my parents are sick, Nyx, Persy, and I look after them. Since Nate and Ford joined the family, they love and treat Mom and Dad as if they were their parents too.
For the past twenty-four hours, I’ve been tempted to ask her why she didn’t reach out to me. I don’t understand Liv. When my sisters need anything, they call me no matter the time of the day. I do the same. The day her father had a heart attack, it was the same. She called to cancel our dinner, not to ask me to be with her.
How can I make her understand that she can count on me? She’s not alone.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
“I wish I had been here for you from the beginning,” I state.
“When are you heading next to Costa Rica?”
“Probably by the end of the year,” I respond. “Everyone knows I’ll be here for the next few weeks.”
She tilts her head, giving me a strange look between confusion and delight. “You are?”
“I’d like to stay and make sure you and your Mom have someone helping out,” I state. “This isn’t going to be easy for either one of you. It’s going to take some time for her to recover from surgery. Chemotherapy is draining for the patient and the family.”
Liv rests her head on my shoulder. “I should say that you don’t have to, but honestly, I feel a lot better now that you’re around.”
“I’ll stay under one condition.”
“That I don’t steal your T-shirts?”
I chuckle. “No. That you call me the next time you need me.”