Happy Endings (23 page)

***

J
anie sat with Larissa in the recovery room, waiting until the nurse gave them the all clear to leave.

“I don’t know what’s taking so long,” Janie complained. “They didn’t even knock you out all the way. They can’t take five minutes to discharge you?”

“Already met a hottie you need to get to?” Larissa asked, frustrated at her friend’s impatience.

Janie shook her head. “Hospitals scare me, if you must know. The last time I was inside one was when my mom died.”

Larissa squeezed Janie’s hand, feeling like a jerk. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have asked you to come along.”

“Oh, no. I’m not saying that.” Janie shrugged. “I want to be with you. Nothing could keep me away, but sitting here waiting is horrible. And I’m hungry. I get bitchy when I’m hungry.” She winked, obviously trying to make Larissa laugh.

In order to humor her, Larissa did laugh, but she didn’t find the situation at all funny. Janie, a friend, was willing to go some place that made her miss her mom worse and scared her, just to keep Larissa company, and Quinn couldn’t cancel one meeting? It put things in perspective.

A few minutes later, Janie got her wish as the nurse came into the room.

“Dr. Akana is working on the pathology report right away,” she said, handing a clipboard to Larissa. “Here are your discharge papers. Don’t shower tonight or do anything too strenuous. If you have discomfort from the biopsy site, you can take up to a thousand milligrams of Tylenol. No alcohol and take it easy for the rest of the evening. The doctor wants to see you back here tomorrow at three o’clock.”

Larissa signed the bottom of the paper stating she understood what the nurse said, and the woman left the room. Now all that was left was the worrying until tomorrow.

“Looks like no hot, sweaty sex for me tonight,” Larissa said as she stood up. “If you find someone, you’ll have to go back to their place.”

“Nah. You’re stuck with me. Let’s go check into the hotel and then grab some food. Maybe we can catch a movie or something. That’s nice and relaxing.”

Larissa knew Janie was doing what she could to keep her mind busy so Larissa wouldn’t worry. It wouldn’t work, but it was nice of her to try.

As they exited the building, she pulled her phone from her purse and turned it on. It beeped to alert her that she had missed calls and voice mail awaited her. She checked the caller ID.

“Uh oh.”

“What?” Janie asked, leading the way to their rental car and pulling the keys from her pocket.

“I have five missed calls from John McCallister,” Larissa answered. “I wonder what Quinn told him.”

“He would talk to his dad about your lump? That’s shitty.”

“It might not be that.”

After all, Quinn was more concerned about his precious Project Green than he was about Larissa’s doctor appointment. Only one way to find out. She accessed her voice mail and typed in the password, listening to the single message the elder McCallister left.

“Larissa, this is John McCallister. Call me as soon as you get this.”

Not very helpful. She dialed his number while holding her breath, wondering if she was about to lose her job for breaking up with Quinn. That would be disaster. She needed the insurance now more than ever.

“John McCallister,” he said, answering on the second ring.

“It’s Larissa Benner,” she answered. “You tried to call me?”

“I wanted to check on you. Quinn said you were off the island, but wouldn’t tell me why. Is everything okay?”

Hmmmm... not quite what she expected. “I’m not sure. I won’t know until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? You said something about really needing health benefits when I first hired you. Has something happened with that?”

If Quinn really didn’t tell him, then John was good at what he did for a living. It was his job to read people and know what they needed, so Larissa wasn’t entirely surprised that he guessed. “If things are as bad as I fear they could be, I’m going to need to take a leave of absence from work,” she said instead of answering him directly. “I hope we can work something out so I can keep my job.”

“Don’t worry about that,” John said, easing her anxiety somewhat. “There’s paperwork for that, and you always have a place in the McCallister family.”

Larissa held in her sigh. Maybe the family of workers, but not with his son. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I’ll tell you everything when I get back tomorrow, okay?”

“Take care of yourself, Larissa. We’re all waiting for you back here.”

Larissa hung up, trying to figure out what John was telling her. Did he mean that Quinn was sorry or was it just a pleasantry people said when others faced tragedy? Either way, it didn’t matter. Regardless of what John might think, they weren’t
all
waiting for her. If she really mattered to Quinn, he would have called himself.

Q
uinn pointed out the guest cottages to Kathy, the assessor from Project Green. “These are the only things I’m not sure about using solar panels for. They’re private units, and I don’t know if it will be as useful as the hotels or the employee housing having them installed.”

Kathy tossed her thick red hair over her shoulder and smiled at Quinn in a way that felt more flirty than professional. “I’m sure I can find a plan that will fulfill all your fantasies and expectations. How about you show me your room? I bet I can make improvements there too.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes. He’d dealt with Kathy for months now, talking to her on the phone most days and hashing out the details before her arrival. He never realized she’d been flirting with him—he just thought she was overly friendly. However, it was hard to ignore after the tour this morning.

“Kathy, I’m not sure if we’ve had a miscommunication or something, but I have a girlfriend.” Guilt stabbed at Quinn. He hoped he had a girlfriend. He wouldn’t know for sure until the plane landed this evening and he could talk to Larissa. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to call her. If she broke up with him over the phone, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to convince her to reconsider.

Beside him, Kathy went silent as the flirt drained right out of her.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn said, realizing he was apologizing an awful lot lately. “I didn’t mean to mislead you. I’m not a free man.”

Even if Larissa did break things off, his heart belonged to her and always would. Quinn didn’t know why he’d been such an idiot. He should have dropped this project in Sydney’s lap and hopped on the plane yesterday. All his life, he’d been making the wrong choices. First, he gave up spending much time with his horse, then he gave up his art, and now he had lost his most important love of all. He had to make it up to her.

Kathy pouted her lower lip out. “I should have guessed you’d be taken, a great guy like you. I just thought when you invited me here and said you were mine for the weekend...”

“I meant professionally, to plan out the island’s transition to green energy.”

What a miscommunication! He couldn’t believe it. A part of him felt guilty. Lately, half his mind had been on his work and half on the things Larissa did to him in the bedroom. He very well could have sounded sexier than he meant to while talking to Kathy, all because he was picturing himself with Larissa.

He was screwing everything up. That was for sure.

“I’m so embarrassed,” Kathy said. “I don’t need the entire weekend to get you final price quotes. I just thought we had plans.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I didn’t realize what was happening. It’s my fault too, but will you still work on the project?”

She laughed, seeming to relax. “Of course I will. I’m not going to screw myself out of a huge commission over a misunderstanding. I like money more than sex anyway.”

Knowing it would be best to ignore that comment, Quinn just nodded. “Why don’t you spend the weekend regardless? There are many things to enjoy on the island, even in the rain. When you’re finished with the estimates, we’ll get together with my dad and go over everything.”

The realization that there was absolutely no reason for him to have stayed on the island hit Quinn like a sledgehammer.

“I’m such an idiot,” he muttered.

***

L
arissa’s stomach turned and she eyed the garbage can in the corner of the room. Eating lunch had been a bad idea. She wished the doctor would come in the room and get this over. Despite Janie’s attempts at making it a fun night on Hawaii, Larissa was tired of not knowing. It was worse this time than before.

Last time while she waited for the pathology report to return, she was able to console herself with all the assurances that she was too young for breast cancer and most lumps were benign. Now, she knew better. Breast cancer was possible for her. More than possible—it was likely.

“It’s going to be okay,” Janie said, once again taking her hand. “No matter what that doctor comes in and says, you are strong and a fighter. If it’s cancer, you’ll get treatment and move on. It’s going to be fine.”

Larissa nodded. “I know. Don’t worry. I’m not going to stop fighting or doing what I have to in order to be healthy.” She’d beat cancer once. This time, if she had to, she’d have her breasts removed. There was no longer a jerk around convincing her to keep them, making her feel like it would save her relationship if she had breasts. Such lies. She never should have listened to that poison.

Quinn would never judge her. He said as much their first date and she knew he meant it. He never commented on the slightly dimpled patch on her left breast or the scars. He loved her, not her boobs. If only he were still around to appreciate her breasts... or lack of them. However, he’d be too busy with the island. Larissa was on her own.

She glanced at the clock again. 4:00. “Why do doctor’s always run late when you’re desperate to see them?”

Janie shrugged. “They get a kick out of it?”

Larissa smiled, hoping Dr. Akana was out getting his kicks and not trying to find a way to break the bad news. “At least I have good health insurance this time.”

“And if you get mastectomies, then you can get a boob job after,” Janie pointed out with a gleeful grin. “You could make ’em much bigger, and once you’re all healed up, we’ll really go get the hotties in Hawaii. Reel them in with the promise of the mother land that will reside in your fun-filled bra.”

Larissa giggled, once again glad Janie came along. “Don’t you think they’ll care that they’re fake?”

“Seriously?” Janie widened her eyes. “Men don’t care. Maybe I’ll get my boobs done too so I can compete with you.”

Larissa giggled again. “Fake boobs would make your lifeguard job a little hard. I can just see you out there, unable to dive because the buoys on your chest keep forcing you to the surface.”

Janie started laughing too. “Waves hitting against my face, boobs forcing me up. I’d have to take up a job as a stripper or something instead. I bet the money would be better.”

Larissa laughed harder, imagining it, until suddenly she wasn’t laughing. The sobs came on unexpectedly and tears began flowing once again. “What am I going to do if it is cancer, Janie?”

Janie’s arms circled her and she hugged her tightly. “You’ll kick cancer’s ass.”

A firm tap sounded on the door and Dr. Akana walked in. Although he’d been all smiles yesterday during the procedure, the tall Hawaiian had a frown on his dusky face. “It’s stage two infiltrating ductal carcinoma,” he said without preamble. “I’ve sent off tests to see if it is HER2/neu positive.”

“What does that mean?” Janie asked.

The bottom fell out of the universe and Larissa struggled to control her rebelling lunch. “It means I have cancer again, and it’s aggressive.”

***

Q
uinn paced the small airport building, waiting for the last flight of the evening. He held a bunch of red roses, but was sure they wouldn’t cut it this time. He was going to have to make some changes in his life, and fast, if he wanted to get Larissa to forgive him again.

The best he could hope for was the lump wasn’t cancer. Then she might be angry she had to go through the test without him, but at least she wouldn’t be remembering what a jerk he was all through treatment as well.

The plane finally landed and taxied up the runway. Quinn ran to the window, watching the passengers disembark.

Seven people walked down the steps before Janie’s dark head appeared at the doorway. Quinn strained his eyes, watching for Larissa to exit behind her. Janie was all the way down the stairs and no one else stepped off.

Panic clawed and scraped away at him. Where was she?

As soon as Janie walked inside, Quinn stepped in front of her. “Why isn’t Larissa with you?”

Janie folded her arms and raised a thin eyebrow. “You have the nerve to come in here and demand answers? Your ass should have been with her this whole time.”

She was right, which made her words sting even more. “Is she okay?”

Janie licked her lips and looked away from him, which was all the answer he needed.

“It’s cancer?” he asked softly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

“You should have been there,” she repeated. “You’re a bigger asshole than her ex. At least he pretended to support her while she got through treatment. You couldn’t even be bothered to help her through the first flipping appointment.”

“That’s not fair.” Quinn felt heat flood to his neck and face as anger built inside him. He crushed the roses against his chest to keep from lashing out. “I have a job to do. People count on me.”

“Larissa knows that, which is why she’s not coming back. Congratulations, boss. You’re free to concentrate on your precious business.”

Janie stepped around him, wheeling her carry on behind her and not giving him a backward glance.

That was it, then. He’d ruined everything. Maybe he didn’t deserve to be happy. He was so obsessed with his problems that he hadn’t given a second thought to her needs. Their whole short relationship, Larissa had been the one giving while he did the taking.

The best thing he could do for her now was honor her wishes. She didn’t want to see him anymore. He’d only make things worse during an already difficult time if he didn’t keep his distance.