Page 271

Cullen stares at me in surprise.
“We can’t afford steak and wine right now.”
Cullen frowns.
“You said you spent most of your capital on medical expenses.”
Looking back, it’s probably why Whitaker couldn’t hand over any of Cullen’s assets to me. He’d borrowed against them to get treatment.
“It was only sixty percent of my assets,” Cullen argues. “The forty percent left is still significant.”
“With that forty percent, you need to buy medication, keep up with your doctor’s visits, and invest in air purifiers.”
“The air purifiers were a suggestion,” he corrects me.
“You told me the doctors wanted you to move out of the city completely because the air is so bad for your lungs. It’s air purifiers or you die faster.”
He grumbles under his breath, but I pretend not to hear.
“I know you still have the assets that you put in our name, but we’ll go bankrupt if we continue living like we did before.”
“I understand, Nardi. But it’s just one meal. One meal isn’t going to empty my bank account.”
It’s impossible to look into his moonlight-silver eyes and say no. Grudgingly, I give in—though I place Cullen under budget.
As we eat our chicken pasta in bed, I bring up an idea that’s been rattling around in my brain since I heard the details of Cullen’s diagnosis and treatment plan.
“Cullen.”
“Taste this,” he says, offering me his fork.
I nibble on the pasta. “Mm,” I say with forced enthusiasm. “It’s good.”
“I really like what they did with the sauce. I wonder if I could get my pasta to taste the same way,” he says.
After chasing down the pasta with some water, I venture the topic. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t agree,” Cullen says, not looking at me as he pushes his fork around the pasta.
“You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet!”
“I know it’s something that worries you. You’ve been chomping on your bottom lip for ten minutes now.”
Quickly, I free my bottom lip from my teeth and say, “At least hear me out.”
“Whatever it is, it’s either going to hurt or inconvenience you. I can already tell. My answer is no.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and blurt out anyway. “I think you and I should move to Belize.”
Thunder claps outside.
I open my eyes and see that rain is starting to fall on the window.
Cullen takes a deep, patient breath. I expect him to say something profound with all that deep breathing but all he ends up uttering is… “What?”
“Think about it.” I push to my knees and sit facing him. “The air in Belize is refreshingly clean. We have more trees than buildings in the country. And our food isso muchbetter for you.The vegetables are fresh, the animals are raised on sustainable farms and everything isn’t laced with preservatives and sugars. Not to mention, all the healthy activities you can do. Like hiking in the jungle or swimming in the Belize river. And the lifestyle is way slower than here in America. The people are friendly and warm?—”
“Nardi. Nardi.” Cullen grips my shoulders and stops me. “I love you.”