The Replacement Wife by Eileen Goudge Read Free Book Online

developing each new drug. Even if there were one shown to be effective for her type of cancer in the trial phase now, approval from the FDA could still be many months or years away.
    “Good thing you’re not a gambling man, or we’d be bankrupt by now.” She shook her head, wearing a wobbly smile. Then the smile broke and the tears in her eyes spilled down her cheeks. “Oh, God. I don’t think I could bear it—holding on to hope. Maybe I just need to work on acceptance.”
    Nowhere in Edward’s vocabulary were the words I can’t. And until now he’d never expected to hear those words out of his wife’s mouth. For Camille, the proverbial glass had always been seven-eighths full. It was one of the reasons he’d fallen in love with her. A memory surfaced, from when they were first engaged. They’d been on their way to grab a bite to eat one evening and he’d apologized for not being able to afford to take her someplace nicer than the neighborhood kebab joint, at which, she’d smiled and said, “I get to be a part of your future. Believe me, that’s way better than beef Wellington and a bottle of a fancy wine.” She tucked her arm through his as they strolled along the sidewalk near the Morningside Heights walkup he was sharing with a classmate until he and Camille could afford a place of their own. “As for that other stuff, we’ve got all kinds of time.”
    “I won’t let you die,” he said now through gritted teeth.
    She caressed his cheek, saying in a choked voice, “My darling. I know you’d move heaven and Earth if you could. That’s why I love you so much. Who else would’ve thought to take snapshots of the tulips along Park Avenue so I wouldn’t totally miss out on spring?” A smile touched her lips at the reminder of the last time she’d been confined to a hospital bed fighting for her life. “But even you can’t perform miracles.”
    Desperation set in. “You can’t just give up,” he insisted.
    “Oh, Edward.” She wiped away a tear. “I may not have a choice.”
    A dozen arguments howled through his head, like the storm gathering force outside, but he didn’t voice them. She looked so spent. She’ll come to her senses after a good night’s sleep, he told himself. “We’ll talk in the morning,” he said. “Everything always looks brighter in the morning.”
    “Come lie next to me.” She scooted over to make room for him.
    Edward stretched out beside her, still in his suit and tie. How many evenings had they lain together like this, discussing the events of the day or venting some work-related frustration? It was generally run-of-the-mill stuff—a cranky patient or a demanding client, or one of the children acting up—complaints he’d have welcomed now. Instead, he could only stare up at the ceiling, taking shallow breaths to keep from reminding himself, and her, of his own disgustingly robust health. Neither of them spoke. It was several minutes before he felt Camille stir beside him.
    “Kyra has a crush on a boy in her class,” she informed him. Her voice had a soft, dreamy quality. “His name is Jan.” She pronounced it “Y ah n.” “He’s an exchange student from Norway.”
    “Tall, blond, and strapping, no doubt.” He wondered why he was just now learning of this. Since when did his little girl have crushes on boys? Wasn’t it only yesterday she’d been playing with dolls?
    “I have no idea what he looks like. I haven’t met him yet.”
    “Will anything come of it, do you think?”
    “Hard to say. According to her, he doesn’t even know she exists.”
    “Good. Let’s keep it that way.” Edward used to think he’d be open-minded, even liberal to a point, when his daughter was old enough to date. But that was before his baby girl blossomed into a fetching fourteen-year-old who could easily get her heart broken.
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Camille said. “I was thinking she should invite him over.”
    Edward frowned in confusion. “Am I missing