Lily had a desk in the corner. Sean went over to it and picked up a pen and paper.
What to write…
‘It's me, not you. You see, I’ve fallen in love with you, but I'm an undercover police officer and I can never see you again’ was probably a bad idea.
Instead, he wrote,
Lily,
You are the woman of my dreams come to life. Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to be the man you deserve. I wish things were different, and these last weeks have meant more to me than you'll ever know. Please forgive me.
-Gene
He folded the paper and set it on the empty side of the bed.
Every cell in his body screamed to climb back in bed with her. At a minimum, he wanted to kiss her one last time.
If he did that, he'd wake her, which he couldn't allow. She'd ask questions, want to know why, and she could never know the truth.
He knelt by the bed and gathered his resolve. The note was ready. All he had to do was walk away.
She shifted in her sleep, and he wondered what she was dreaming. There was no way he’d ever know.
He ran his hand over the edge of her comforter, allowing himself a final touch as if the covers could capture her heat.
“If you only knew, how much I loved you,” he whispered, an echo of the song he’d given her.
Then he gathered his clothes and left, letting her dream on alone.
PART THREE
A Lesson in Submission
MetroGen Hospital
The day before Thanksgiving
Chapter19
Wednesday rolled by, and Lillian was still pissed. She’d fallen asleep in Gene’s arms in the early hours of Saturday morning… and found a note by her bed upon waking.
He broke up with her by note. So much for her amazing sexual awakening and connecting with him. What had she been thinking? Falling head over heels for some guy who never told her his last name had expressed concern about sleeping with her.
Please forgive me.
She’d numbly crumpled it up and cried for an hour. The Spanish Free Clinic was the only reason she’d even gotten out of bed. Then her latecomers showed up to her apartment for ear checks, interrupting her plan to live the rest of her weekend her bathrobe.
Worse, when she got to work, she’d found out the hospital decided Murph wasn’t necessary anymore.
At least she wouldn’t be tempted to admit to him her unbelievable stupidity and naivety. No wonder she hadn’t been picked for chief resident.
She had just finished her last patient of the day when she ended up at her desk. There was a bouquet of carnations waiting at her desk, and her heart leapt with the thought that they might be from Gene.
Stupid thought.
She hated him.
It didn’t matter what he said when he was tied to her bed. Whether or not he told her several times he loved her or the times he’d screamed her name and begged. He’d torn so hard at the ropes, his wrists were scraped raw, but he’d never asked to be released.
