Free A Taylor-Made Life by Kary Rader

toes.
    He smiled sympathetically. My hands
fisted. Slapping the pacifying expression off his face crossed my
mind.
    “Hey. It won’t be that bad.” He
reached out to brush my arm but let his fingers fall short. “We’ll
talk on the phone, and maybe you and your Mom can come for a visit
in a few weeks.”
    He leaned to kiss my cheek, but I
stuck my fingers over his lips. His mouth was soft and warm. Heat
spread from my fingers into my arm and through my body. I pulled my
hand away so I could concentrate. I was not about to let this end
here. “I don’t want a kiss on the cheek, Gavin.”
    “I understand.” He held out his hand
for me to shake. Captain Oblivious.
    I crinkled my nose and frowned. “No.
You don’t understand. I want a kiss, but not on the
cheek.”
    He rubbed a palm across his forehead.
“Taylor, we’ve gone over this.”
    “No, we haven’t. You’re leaving
and—let’s face it—I’ll never see you again. You know it, and I know
it.” My voice broke. I stood tall and continued, “You came here to
mentor me, take me on a few outings, and give me happy memories.
You’ve done that. But I’m asking for one last thing.” I twirled my
hair and met his gaze. “I want a real kiss.”
    He started shaking his head before I’d
even finished. “No.”
    Crud-ola! “Why not?”
    “Taylor, you know the answer. I told
you from the beginning. It’s not appropriate.”
    He hadn’t said he didn’t want to. I
glared at him and decided to pull out the big guns. “It’s one
harmless kiss, Gavin, and it’s a dying girl’s wish.”
    His jaw twitched. “That’s not fair,
and you know it.”
    “Fair? Are we talking about fair now?
What’s not fair is that I’ll never get married or have children or
even be in love. You’re all I get.” I waved my hand between us.
“ This is all I get.”
    He set his jaw stubbornly, but his
eyes betrayed him. “I’ve offered you what I’m willing to
give.”
    Tears stung my eyes. Damn it. I hated
crying, but I couldn’t help it. He’d hit the nail. “You’re no
better than those doctors offering me another round of chemo,
knowing it won’t do any good and would only make me weaker,
sicker.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I won’t settle for
less. I’m settling for too little as it is.” I swiped at my stupid
tears. My pulse pounded. I was fighting with everything I had. “How
many women have you been with?”
    He squinted in apparent disbelief.
“What kind of question is that?”
    I stamped my foot. “How
many?”
    He almost yelled it at me. “ A
few .”
    “Do you remember how it felt to be
with them? To love them? Would you trade those memories because a
few people said it wasn’t okay?”
    He darted his gaze around the front
yard, shifting his weight from side to side. Even in the dim light
of the porch I could see his mind working through possibilities,
making him uncomfortable.
    “There’s no one out there in the dark
to tell you it’s okay. You have to decide.” I pressed on. “What
memory do you want to leave me with? What memory do you want to
take? Is it really such a sickening thought? Just one kiss.”
    He stared back at me with a wildness
that scared me. My heart drummed a xylophone chord across my
ribs.
    “Taylor.… ”
    I locked in on his gaze and stepped
toward him. “Tonight you get to decide what you can live with—or
without. I’m asking for one moment.”
    Stopping inches from him, I absorbed
the tension like a thirsty towel. Electric sparks flew between us.
The only sounds were our shallow breaths.
    Softly, I went in for the kill. “A
kiss goodnight. Is it really too much, Gavin?”

Chapter 6

    Gavin’s mind muddled. He’d never
wanted anything more in his life than to kiss her. Her little
turned-up nose and sexy dress had his body straining for a kiss and
so much more. When she’d wrapped her arms around his waist at the
hotel, he’d very nearly given in. Then when she brushed against him
while