Finding Forever (Living Again #4) (16 page)

Brant paced the floor, waiting for Lacey’s call that she was out of the doctor’s office. He wished she would’ve let him go with her, but he understood. She wasn’t quite in that place yet. Even though they had come a long way in the last few weeks, there were some things that were still hard for her to let him in on.

She had shaken him to the core the day that he had walked into her office and found her on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The sheer number of hours that she sat, unable to even speak, still haunted him. It truly was her worst nightmare to have this happen to her, and he just prayed that she would get the reassurance she needed today.

He had thought about it many times. What if she
was
sick? Would that change anything about the way he felt? He didn’t have to think about that for long to know the answer was no. If she was sick, he would help her deal with it. He’d be there for her because you can’t plan out your life and know what’s going to happen. All you can do is try to withstand it next to the one person that makes your heart beat. For him, that was her.

He was supposed to be heading out to Miami in a few days for a part photo shoot/ part guys’ trip, but he had told Evan that he wasn’t a hundred percent sure if he was going to do it. The photo shoot could be rescheduled and the boys’ trip wasn’t important if Lacey was sick. She would need him, even if she didn’t think she did.

When his phone rang, he almost jumped out of his skin. “Lacey, what did they say?”

There was a slight pause, and his heart dropped. “I’m fine, Brant. It was just an error in the machine and they needed to see it again.”

Relief so strong flooded him, almost knocking him over. “Thank God, Lacey. I’ve been a wreck waiting for you. You’ve been gone forever so it made me more and more nervous the longer it took.”

“They were just backed up, so I had to wait a long time,” she answered. God, he was so happy he felt like running and skipping through the streets. She was okay.

“Let me take you to dinner,” Brant said. He couldn’t wait to grab her and kiss her senseless for all of the worry they had both felt over the past few days.

“I’m exhausted,” Lacey said. “I’m really sorry, Brant. I just want to go home and crash. I haven’t slept in days.”

He felt like a tool. He should’ve thought how exhausted she would be from the stress she had been through the past few days. “I’m an inconsiderate ass,” Brant laughed, and she followed.

“You are not,” she teased. “I want to celebrate with you, just not tonight.”

Did it make him whipped that he wanted to beg her to let him come over and just watch her sleep? Nothing would make him happier right now than to see her at peace. But he couldn’t figure out how to ask that without sounding creepy.

“Can you call me before you turn in? I’m so glad it’s all over, Lacey. So relieved for you that you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“So when do you leave for Miami?”

He hesitated. He should still go, right? She was fine. “Day after tomorrow.”

“You’ll have so much fun,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet Evan, either. As long as he brings you back home, he and I will be just fine.”

Brant laughed. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about, you know that, right?”

“I know, Brant. I trust you. Hey, I’m just getting home and I’m going to shower and get something to eat. I’ll call you in a little while, okay?”

“Sounds good, Doc. Oh, and Lacey?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m so glad everything’s okay, and can’t wait to celebrate with you. I need to see you before I leave, if you can.”

“I’ve been a mess at work so I have to see how much work I have left to do, but maybe you can come by for lunch tomorrow?”

“It’s a date.”

Lacey was a stunning woman. Way beyond any he had ever thought was attractive. But there was something about her, looking at her as they sat across from each other at lunch that rattled him. He would’ve thought after a night of rest and some good news, the dark circles that had been plaguing her would’ve lessened, and she’d have a sort of radiance about her. But that wasn’t the case at all. She looked even more tired than she did before, and her skin looked pale.

He rubbed his thumb over her hand as she picked at her salad. She lifted her eyes to his and smiled, but he knew her genuine smile, and that wasn’t it. She looked to be on the verge of collapse.

“Lacey,” he said softly. “What is it, baby? You look like you’re going to lose your shit at any moment.”

She blinked, looking away as he saw the tears filling her eyes. What had happened now? “Sorry,” she said finally, her throat working to control her emotion. “It’s silly, really, in comparison to what I
could
be upset about.”

“Nothing is silly,” he answered.

“I saw this dog back when I first started who had cancer. We did surgery and he was doing well. He came in today and he had relapsed. We had to put him to sleep. For some reason it just hit me really hard.”

Brant hated that the cancer word seemed to follow her, no matter what. She didn’t know why she was upset about it? Hell, he did. She’d had the scare of her life this week, followed by yet another thing she cared about losing their battle to cancer.

“You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, and I love it.”

“Not really,” she laughed. “I love animals more than most people.” It was so good to see her smile and laugh.

“I’m going to miss you,” he admitted. He’d be gone for five days, and he was already thinking about what he could send her while he was gone and do when he got back.

There was that look again. He saw it before she hid it. What was going on with her? “I’ll miss you, too,” she whispered, fiddling with her salad again. “More than I can ever tell you. Thank you for being such an amazing man, and being willing to give up this trip for me. I’m glad you didn’t have to. I’ll never forget that.” Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye?

“I need to get back,” Lacey announced, her eyes not meeting his. When they walked out, she stopped next to his truck. “Have fun,” she said, pressing her body against his in a tight hug. “Call me when you get there. And don’t worry about Max. He’ll be just fine with all three of his girlfriends while you’re gone.” Max was never going to want to come back home, he knew that much. Between Lacey and her two female dogs, Max would be in dog heaven.

He tipped her head back and looked deep into those blue eyes he loved, wishing he could read her mind right now. When he pressed his lips to hers and she responded, he wanted nothing more than to stay there with her and forgo the trip he had been planning on.

“To guys’ weekend,” Evan said, clinking bottles of beer with Brant. They were sitting on the porch that overlooked South Beach. Brant had spent the last two days on the beach doing a shoot for a bathing suit company, then a potential book cover. Now, he was ready to enjoy the rest of the time he had here in Miami with Evan and his other friends Jesse, Caleb, and Taylor, who had been here with him for the shoot. Evan came along to enjoy the Florida sun and guy time, needing a break from his high stress corporate job in Nashville. Brant had met the three others last year when he had been in LA modeling, and they were from New York City.

“Cosmo, check out the hottie at three o’clock,” Evan said, indicating down the beach. Brant shook his head at his friend, the insufferable ladies’ man.

“Cosmo?” Taylor scoffed.

Brant looked at Evan. “Thanks, man.”

The three others roared with laughter at his nickname, so then of course they had to tell the story about why he called him that.

“Group of hotties, nine o’clock,” Evan announced again.

Brant rolled his eyes. “Seriously.”

“Oh I forget that you’re all
whipped
now,” Evan joked. The three men turned to Brant, questions in their eyes.

“I’m seeing someone,” Brant explained.

“Too bad,” Jesse said, indicating the beach. “Sure seems to be a plethora of choices down there for us handsome guys.”

Brant laughed, settling back in his chair. He really enjoyed hanging out with these guys. They acted like they were players, but they weren’t. Well, maybe Taylor was. The rest just liked to talk about it. A lot. Evan had been in a serious relationship for several years that had just ended within the last few months, and Brant was convinced he was still hung up on her.

“So, don’t leave us hanging,” Jesse said. “Tell us about her.”

“Yeah, we must know who the woman is that took Mr. Nashville off the market,” Caleb joked. Brant groaned. He hated that ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’ thing that he had been dubbed at home. Who came up with this stuff?

“Well, my dog Max was hit by a car a few weeks ago,” Brant began, explaining for Jesse, Caleb, and Taylor.

“Shit man, that stinks,” Taylor commented. “I love my dog. Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he is, thankfully. Anyway, she was one of the vets that took care of him.”

“Oh, hot
damn!
She’s a doctor?” Taylor lifted his glasses to look at Brant. “Please tell me you have a picture of this said doctor.”

Brant did, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to share it with him. He snapped pictures of her all the time, much to her chagrin. When he didn’t answer, they all started ribbing him again.

“Come on, Cosmo, just show us,” Evan joked. Not even Evan had met Lacey at this point. He had been keeping her under wraps, wanting her all to himself.

Unable to resist showing her off, he clicked through his phone until he found the one he was looking for. He had taken a picture of her on one of their many outings over the last few weeks. She was standing outside his house on the porch, wearing a hot pink sundress. Her hair was straight down her back, and her eyes were bright. She looked better than any supermodel he had ever seen.

“This is her,” he bragged. The four men leaned in to see the screen of his phone.

“Damn,” Caleb said first. “You hit the jackpot, buddy.”

“Agreed,” Jesse said. “She’s beautiful.”

“I’d hit that,” Taylor commented, and Brant smacked him upside the head, making them all laugh again.

“Nice work, Cosmo. She’s way out of your league, with that ugly mug you have and all.” Evan, always the jokester.

“What’s her name?” Taylor asked, still staring at the picture. Brant wanted to hide it from him at the way he was looking at her.

“Lacey.”

“Hmmm… Lacey. Well when she tires of your ugly self, tell her you’ve got this friend…” Taylor waggled his eyebrows up and down at Brant.

“No way, man. She’s too good for you. Hell, she’s too good for me.”

Evan gave him that
look
, the one that only the friends that have known you the longest can give you when you can have a whole conversation without saying a word. He tucked his phone away, all the talk of Lacey making him miss her and hope she was okay. He hadn’t talked to her much over the last few days, since he had been busy at the shoot and she had been working a lot. They had mostly texted late at night. And even though he was having a blast relaxing in Florida with the guys, he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms again.

She thought she might throw up. Again. She couldn’t do this, but she had to. Her hands shook as she took out her car keys. Her nerves were shot. Thank goodness Brant was out of town and she could avoid conversation with him for the most part. Sam was also busy, working in the studio on her new album. Aubrey was dealing with the beginning of the school year, and that meant that everyone had left her alone to fall apart over the last few days.