Listed: Volume II Read Online Free PDF

in a hug.
    She
was evidently quite a hugger, since, in their short time together, she’d hugged
him more than anyone ever had except his mother. Paul wasn’t sure what to do
with such open, unconstrained displays of affection, and her first hug had made
him feel too awkward to enjoy. But the more she hugged him, the more he liked
it.
    He
hugged her back, breathing in the herbal scent of her shampoo and the feeling
of warmth, closeness, fondness that her simple embrace conveyed.
    After
a moment, however, he became aware of the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Her soft breasts were pressed up against his chest, and her camisole seemed to
be tissue-thin.
    Paul
pulled away from her gently, making sure to keep his eyes from slipping down to
see how much of her breasts were visible through the thin material.
    She
beamed at him, completely unaware of the inappropriate detour his mind had
taken. “I didn’t think we’d be able to go so soon!”
    He
forced his brain back to the topic at hand. “There’s no reason why not. I’ve
made all the arrangements.” He recovered the itinerary he’d put together and held
it out for her see. “We can go to New York on Friday—it’s less than a two hour
drive—and spend the day there on Saturday. We can do the Empire State Building,
since that was on your list.”
    She
curled her lip. “Don’t scoff. I was twelve and that seemed exciting.”
    He
chuckled. “I’m sure it did. I did some research, and there’s a production of Henry
V running that’s supposed to be excellent. It’s the entire play, so it’s
long, but it might be more fun than reading—”
    His
explanation was interrupted with another hug.
    Torn
between amusement and concern over his body's responses, Paul was briefly
paralyzed, not sure whether to hug her back or pull away.
    She
didn’t seem to notice. “I can’t believe you’re doing all this for me. Thank you
so much.”
    He
shrugged off her gratitude and tried to refocus on the itinerary.
    When
they finished going over it, Emily set the movie to begin again and they
watched Casablanca together, since Paul wasn’t getting any work done
anyway.
    After
it was over, Emily turned on the news.
    Paul
glanced over at her a few minutes later and was surprised to find she was
asleep, curled up in a little ball on the couch.
    She
looked young and incredibly innocent, with the intelligence, humor, and
tenacity in her eyes concealed by her closed eyelids. Her lashes were long and
thick, fanned out against her smooth skin. The outline and shading of her
nipples was clearly visible through the thin, white cotton.
    Her
arms were bare, and it was cool in the room, so he pulled the cashmere throw
farther up to cover her.
    Paul
had spent most of his life lashing out against everything he hated about the
world, searching for anything that might numb him against wounds that wouldn’t
heal.
    He
had no practice in focusing on someone else. And, despite his vast experience,
he hadn’t really lived —anymore than Emily had.
    She
didn’t look sick, but she was. And two weeks of her last three months had
already passed.
    Sitting
on the couch with a growing ache in his chest, Paul realized something he
hadn’t consciously been aware of before.
    He
was going to miss her when she died.

Five
     
    Paul was really busy
for the two days before they went to New York.
    Emily
didn’t see much of him at all on the Wednesday and Thursday after their
skydiving expedition, since he was gone from the apartment for most of the day,
working in his company office or having meetings or something, and then he
didn’t leave his home office most of the evenings.
    Emily
didn’t complain or even mention his absence. She missed him a lot after
spending so much time with him for the last couple of weeks, and she found
herself quite lonely in the apartment by herself. But Paul had gone to
incredible lengths to make wonderful things happen for her, and she could
hardly begrudge him the need to