“We’ll see.” I forced myself to pull away. “Come on.” I reached for her hand.
“What are you doing?” She stayed put.
“I’m taking you back to the clinic to make sure you’re alright.” I wasn’t taking any chances.
“Stewart.” She still wasn’t moving.
“Rita, I’m serious.” I warned her. “I will pick you up and carry you if I have to, but you’re going to get checked out.”
She bit the side of her lip. “I think I might have made a mistake.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t think this through.” She turned and walked back inside her apartment.
“Didn’t think what through?” I came up behind her.
“I wanted to get you back here, and you said you’d be here if I needed you, so I called Nate and had him tell you I needed you.” She pulled at her whole bottom lip with her teeth.
“I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t get hurt.” She explained. “I just…well…I knew you were mad, and I didn’t think you’d come if I simply called and said I wanted to see you.”
My eyes kept blinking as I tried to work out what she was saying.
“Let me see if I got this straight.” I had to have missed something. “You had the guy from the clinic tell me you were hurt in order to get me over here instead of just calling?”
“Yes.” She looked nervous.
I wasn’t sure whether to scream or laugh. I took a deep breath trying to get my heart rate to calm down. I ran my hand over my face and back through my hair.
“You realize I broke about seven traffic laws trying to get to you in time.” I told her. “I think I might have caused an accident, and I wasn’t kidding about kicking in your door. I thought you were really hurt.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why did you think I wouldn’t come if you called?” I went over and closed her front door.
“Because I know I messed up. I should have never let you leave. Not without telling you I feel the same way.” Her words stopped my heart.
“Feel the same way about what?” I needed her to say it.
She took a long breath, and her eyes locked with mine. “I love you.”
I stared at her, waiting. Hoping that this was real. When she didn’t move or take it back, I let myself believe.
“Do you mean it?”
She walked toward me, not stopping until we were chest to chest. Her arms went around my waist, and her lips brushed the underside of my chin.
“I mean it.” She kissed the side of my neck. “I love you, and I’m sorry. You’re not a patient to me. You’ve never really been a patient to me. You’ve always been Stewart. Just Stewart.”
I wrapped her in my arms. “Really?”
“Really.” She rose up enough that we were almost eye level. “And I’d love to go home with you to meet your family.”
It was almost too much. I was glad I could use the door to keep us standing.
“You want to come home with me?”
