Page 5 of Falling for the Knockout (No Mercy #1)

T ony knew that his grandfather was going to give him news that he didn’t want to hear. It was the same with his grandmother when she told Tony that she was sick. He sat there, holding Aurora’s hand, taking the comfort that she was offering. He could tell that she was just as nervous as he was and he wanted to tell his grandfather to just get on with what he needed to tell them.

“I’m sick,” he breathed, his shoulders slumping as though he had just released a big burden that had been weighing him down.

“Well, we kind of figured that, Elio,” Aurora said. He smiled at her and nodded.

“It’s nice that you both came together,” Elio said. “I didn’t know that you two were dating.” Tony knew that his Nonno was stalling, and he wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of thinking that he and Aurora were a couple. He knew his grandfather would enjoy taking credit for putting the two of them together.

“We aren’t dating,” Aurora said, beating Tony to the punch.

“Oh, I just assumed,” Elio said looking at where their hands were joined. Tony saw the flash of disappointment and he actually felt bad for wanting to take away his grandfather’s joy.

“Nonno, can you please just tell us what’s wrong?” Tony asked.

“I just told you,” Elio said, “I’m sick.”

“Right, but what kind of sick?” Tony asked. “I mean do you have a cold or something else that you’ll need medicine for?”

“I’m afraid that medication won’t do me any good at this point,” Elio said. “I guess I waited too long, and now, it’s just no use.”

“What’s no use?” Aurora asked. Tony had a pretty good idea of what his grandfather was talking about. His grandmother tried the treatments that the doctors offered. She suffered through chemo and radiation and when her cancer got worse, she refused their medications and died on her own terms. Having to watch her waste away broke his grandfather’s heart—he knew that because it had also broken his too. But his Nonna got to die at home, where she wanted to be, and for that, he was grateful.

“Treatment,” he whispered as though he didn’t want anyone to hear him say it. “I won’t let them pump me full of their toxins for no good reason. I’m dying, Aurora,” he said. She gasped and started crying. Tony pulled her into his arms and told her that it was going to be okay. She was the one who had offered him comfort, but now it was his turn to give her the same right back.

“He’s right you know?” Elio asked. “I will be okay. I’ll be able to see my beautiful bride soon, and that’s more than okay with me. I’ve had a good run,” Elio said.

“You can’t just give up,” Aurora insisted.

“It’s stage four pancreatic cancer. Even if I take the treatment that they want me to, it won’t help. I’ll be sick as a dog during my last weeks, or even days, and will probably die in a hospital. I don’t want that, and I won’t put you through that either, Tony.”

Tony nodded, knowing that once his grandfather made up his mind, there was usually no changing it. “Are you sure that this is how you want things, Nonno?”

“Yes, I’ve been sitting here talking to way too many doctors and nurses today about options, and as far as I can see, there is only one choice—a peaceful death. They’ll give me something for the pain, but in the meantime, I’m going to live the rest of the life that I have left with the people that I love.”

“Okay then, let's get you out of here. I’ll go find the discharge nurse and we’ll be on our way,” Tony stood, letting go of Aurora’s hand and she looked up at him as though he had lost his mind. He couldn’t deal with that right now. Tony needed to keep his head on straight and get Elio home. Then, he’d break down, but not in front of his grandfather or Aurora.

He walked into the hallway and took a deep breath. He needed to find the nurse who had helped him earlier. She seemed to know where they were on his grandfather’s release.

“Hey,” Aurora called after him. He didn’t bother to turn around until she grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her. For such a tiny woman, she sure had some muscle. “I was talking to you, Tony,” she said.

“Okay, so talk,” he said. He was acting like an ass, but his grandfather had just told him that he was dying, so he guessed she’d give him a pass this time.

“Why the hell did you give up so easily?” she asked.

“Give up,” he shouted, “that wasn’t me giving up,” he insisted.

“Then what was that?” Aurora asked, pointing back at Elio’s room. He was pretty sure the old man would be able to hear them. His grandfather liked to tell people that he was hard of hearing, but it seemed to be just fine when he was eavesdropping.

“That was me trying to get out of there before I lost it because that’s the last thing that I want to do in front of you and the last thing that my grandfather needs right now.”

“Tony,” she whispered, “you don’t have to hide from me. I’m upset about this too.” She swiped at the tears that spilled down her face and he felt like a first-class ass. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry. He’s not even my grandfather—he’s yours.”

“Yeah, but he likes you better,” he teased, pulling her against his body and wrapping his arms around her. She giggled against his chest.

“You’re just being nice,” she mumbled into his shirt.

“Now, when have you known me to be nice?” Tony asked.

“Hey, you’re very nice,” she argued.

“Yeah, and just this morning, you told me that you thought that I didn’t like you,” he reminded.

“Yes, and then, you told me that you did like me and kissed my cheek,” she said.

“Yeah, I hope that you were okay with that because if not, we’re going to have to hire someone to head up the HR department at the bakery,” he teased.

She giggled and it sounded magical. What was it about Aurora that could make him forget that his grandfather had just dropped the news that he had terminal cancer? “Well, we aren’t at the bakery right now. You can tell me that you like me again and HR won’t have to get involved this time.”

“How about I show you instead?” Tony asked, tugging her snuggly against his body. He sealed his lips over hers and this time, it wasn’t gentle or just a kiss on the cheek. It was hard and passionate to the point that he almost forgot that they were standing in the middle of a hospital with people rushing past them.

“That was,” she said after he broke the kiss. She stopped mid-sentence, and he worried that he had overstepped.

“It was what?” Tony whispered.

“It was awesome,” she said. Her cheeks turned the cutest shade of pink, and he smiled down at her, taking her hand into his. “That sounded stupid, didn’t it?” Aurora squeaked. Tony usually looked at her and thought that she was the sexiest woman that he had ever laid eyes on, but right now, he couldn’t get over how cute she was. One thing that he learned over the years was not to call a woman cute, but damnit, Aurora was.

“I like the way your cheeks turn pink when you’re embarrassed,” he said. She raised her hand to her face and shook her head.

“I guess it’s my tell. When I’m embarrassed, I turn bright red and my cheeks heat. I used to get teased a lot when I was a kid.” He couldn’t imagine anyone teasing Aurora; she was perfect.

“Well, if anyone teases you now, you just point them in my direction and I’ll take care of them,” he said.

“I don’t think that will be a very fair fight—you know, with you being a boxer and all,” she said. He still had her in his arms and not stealing another kiss wasn’t an option for him. Now that he had gotten over being tongue-tied around Aurora, all he wanted to do was touch her and God help him, kiss her.

“Are you sure that you two aren’t going out?” His grandfather asked. Tony looked down the hallway to where his grandfather was watching them with a shit-eating grin on his face. Yeah, he was going to give Tony hell about kissing Aurora, but he really didn’t care. He’d do it all again if given the chance.