The Saint's Wife Read Online Free PDF Page B

time, no see.”
    His voice sent a shiver down her spine. She tried not to read too much into the comment. There wasn’t really an undertone of it’s about fucking time . The triumphant but unspoken I knew you’d come back eventually was just her imagination.
    He looked well enough. He’d lost some weight, especially in his face, but his blond hair was still thick and his eyes were still clear. Nothing about him gave away the presence of the microscopic cells that would, little by little, shut his body down and eventually kill him.
    Joanna set her laptop case on a chair. “How are you doing?”
    “How much did David tell you?” With a dry laugh, he added, “Besides enough to convince you to come home.”
    “I meant how are you feeling?” she asked quietly.
    He shrugged. “As well as can be expected.”
    Right. Because that said a lot.
    She shifted her weight, struggling to hold eye contact with him. “What’s the treatment plan?”
    He studied her, and she didn’t bother trying to read into his expression. If he wanted to nonverbally condescend to her, or silently and sarcastically ask if she actually cared, that didn’t mean she had to absorb it. She was too damned exhausted to deflect or even care about his unspoken criticism.
    Finally, he said, “There aren’t a lot of options at this stage.”
    Stage four. The last stage before he exited stage left.
    Her throat constricted. This was real, wasn’t it? “What…what are the options?”
    He shrugged again, and it was a taut gesture this time. “Surgery. Again. More immunotherapy and maybe some chemo.”
    “Do they…” She bit her lip. “How optimistic are they that those will help?”
    “It’s not going away.” His voice edged toward a low growl.
    “I know. But…” Joanna swallowed. “Do they think the treatments will help enough to be worthwhile?”
    “I wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t.”
    His lips were thin and tight, his eyebrows pulling together over slightly narrowed eyes. The unspoken you would know all of this if you’d been here came across loud and clear.
    Joanna dropped her gaze and reached for her laptop. “They said before that chemo didn’t do much for that type of cancer.”
    Chris flinched, and Joanna cringed, instantly regretting the seemingly benign choice of words. She’d forgotten how much it stung him to even hear the name of the disease. Calling it by its name was like mentioning an ex-girlfriend whose memory still hurt. A kick in the balls when he wasn’t strong enough to take it.
    She absently ran her thumb along the laptop case’s shoulder strap. “How much do the doctors think it’ll help?”
    He gave a tight shrug. “It’s hard to say.”
    Silence fell, and they locked eyes across the expansive kitchen.
    His lips thinned. “Well, it’s good to see you.” With a humorless laugh, he added, “I wondered if something like this would be enough to finally bring you home.”
    She bit down on a snide remark and forced herself to speak calmly. “I’m going to go settle in.”
    “All right.” He looked her up and down, and his lip curled slightly. “I assume you’ll be back to your gym regimen now that you’re home?”
    Jesus, Chris. Already?
    Joanna gritted her teeth. “Apparently I will.”
    The curled lip became a “that’s a good girl” smile. “I’ll call Kevin this afternoon.” He gestured down the hall. “Everything is right where you left it. The housekeeper cleaned everything in the gym this morning.”
    Of course she did.
    Chris shifted a little. “One more thing.”
    Joanna raised her eyebrows.
    “I’m holding a press conference tomorrow,” he said. “To make the formal announcement to the shareholders and the media. I’d appreciate it if you would join me.”
    After fifteen years, she knew damn well that “I’d appreciate it if…” meant you’ll be there unless you want to hear about it for a while .
    “Of course.” She gestured back toward the garage. “I’m, uh,