Patrick has a firm grip on my elbow as we make our way back. A few people are milling about. A nurse, an orderly, a cleaning lady. But I don’t see any doctors, and nobody stops to talk to us.
I stop and stare at theCurtain 2sign hanging from the ceiling, wondering what, or more accurately,whoI’m going to find beyond it.
Patrick sweeps the curtain aside. Trevor is lying on the bed, eyes closed. He’s wearing a hospital gown, a sheet covering the lower half of his body. There’s a blood pressure cuff on his left bicep, but other than that, he’s not hooked up to any machines. I don’t see any blood or bandages. He looks almost peaceful.
I’m not sure what I expected. A battered and bruised face like before. A cast. Stitches and scars. And distant eyes who don’t remember me. It’s that last thing that scares me the most.
There’s a noise behind us as a gurney is wheeled past. The chattering of hospital staff is anything but quiet. Trevor’s eyes open and I hold my breath in silent prayer. Then something miraculous happens. He sees me and smiles.
My mind flashes back to that horrible day over five months ago when he looked at me like a stranger. But these eyes, these amazing intense blue eyes, the ones I’ve loved for decades—they look at me. Theyknowme.
“Ava.”
That word. The way he says it exactly as he has these past months, with the emphasis on the first ‘A’...
He’s still my Trevor.
He’s still my baby’s father. The man I love and will grow old with.
I’m sobbing as I gently sit next to him. “Do you know how happy I am that you know my name?”
He lifts a hand and wipes a tear from under my eye. “As if I could ever forget you.”
We both chuckle at his pathetic joke.
He cocks his head. “I’m a doctor.”
I glance over my shoulder at Patrick, and we share a look, because something isn’t right. Then it dawns on me. “Oh my god, Trev,” I say loudly, wondering if maybe this blow to the head has somehow reversed what the first one did. “Have you remembered? Have you rememberedallof it?”
He winces. “Shhh.” He touches his head. “I have a bit of a headache. I was waiting to tell you.”
“Trevor, you’re confusing me. Waiting to tell me you got your memory back?”
“I got an email late yesterday on shift. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. But I made a few calls. Here—to this hospital.” He waves his arm around the room. “In two weeks, I’llbe working here.” He cracks a smile. “Babe, the medical board reinstated me. I’m a doctor.”
My jaw almost hits the bed. He’s okay. He’s more than okay. He’s a doctor again. He’s even secured a job. My world is not ending. My daughter is not going to grow up without a father. I still have my husband.
Tears stream down my face as Trevor takes my hand, looking slightly disappointed. “You were hoping I’d gotten my memory back?”
“It’s not that.” I shake my head over and over, then sniff back more tears. “Don’t you know by now that I love you just the way you are? Trev, I thought I’d lost you again.” I put a hand on my belly. “I thoughtwe’dlost you. But you’re here. And you’re you.” I reach out and run my hand across his scruffy jaw. “And you’re exactly the you we need.”
With both hands, he cups the sides of my face and pulls me to him. “God, woman, do you know how much I fucking love you?”
It’s hard to laugh through my tears, through my expanding heart, but I do anyway. Because only Trevor 2.0 would curse while making such a declaration. “Tell me.”
“I love the way you’ve accepted who I am. I didn’t know what true love was until I saw it in the way you love me, Ava. And I swear, if you’ll let me, I’ll show you that same kind of love every goddamn day for the rest of our lives.”
My tears drop onto his face as our lips meet.
He pulls away slightly before we can deepen the kiss. “Ava, will you marry me?”
For a second, I think his head injury is worse than we thought.
Then he touches my wedding rings. “I want a wedding I can remember, not just one I’ve seen photos of. I want to see you walk down the aisle toward me and know that you’re going to be mine forever. I want to hear you tell me so in your vows. And Iwant to tell you in mine. I want to sweep you into my arms and have a wedding night I’ll remember until the day I die. So yes, I want to marry you. Ava Criss, will you do it? Will you become my wife again? Now and forever?”
There’s not a question in my mind as to if this man loves me. Because I’ve seen it now. I’ve seen into the depths of his soul. And I’m so glad he waited. Because now, I’m sure. I’m sure of him. Of us. Of everything.
I bring my lips close to his. “I’ll marry you a thousand times over, my love,” I say before sealing the promise with the most delicate, passionate, perfect kiss.
