I unhook my stethoscope and lay it on a filing cabinet and take off the white medical jacket I’ve taken to wearing here before walking over and placing my hand on her back.
“Bri?” She doesn’t move, so I rub her shirt with my hand. “Hey, beautiful, wake up.”
“What?” Startled, she jumps in her seat, her entire body jerks upright, and she twists her head up to meet my gaze. “Hudson! Jesus, you scared me. I must’ve fallen into a really deep sleep.”
“Apparently,” I say with a chuckle. “How long have you been here?”
She blinks and glances at her watch. “Three hours. Nikki didn’t tell you I was here?”
I shake my head. “Her mom had an accident, and she rushed out. Sorry about that. But it was an insane day. I just locked the place up before coming in here.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t mind waiting.” Now that the fright has passed, she looks wary of me, and I don’t like the feeling.
I pull Braden’s chair over and settle in beside her.
“Your eye looks better.” Obviously she isn’t ready to jump into the heavy conversation.
“It’s fading to a nice shade of puke yellow.” Damon has a mean punch, but I refuse to out which brother hit me.
All three had seen their sister crying, and Damon had got to me first. It had taken Braden and his shrill whistle to calm everyone down and tell them it was a misunderstanding and none of their business. Then Christine Prescott had issued a stern warning to her sons, but the joy of the day had gone.
I had driven Macy and Jaxon to Bri’s house to get her car, and Jaxon remained there, watching, until I got into my car and went home. By then I’d already texted Bri a few times and called twice. I figured out she wasn’t ready to talk to me, so leaving was my best option. I owe her mother a happier birthday party and Bri a lot more.
Bri reaches out, and this time, she allows herself to touch me, gently palpating around my eye. “Does it hurt?”
“Nah. I’m fine.”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course you are. Far be it for a man to admit weakness.”
I take her soft hand in mine. “You’remy weakness, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
She glances down at our hands, and I do, too, noticing how much more tanned and rough my skin is than hers.
“I’m so used to expecting the worst from men, I overreacted. I heard something, and I jumped to the worst possibleconclusion, but that would never have happened if you’d just told me the truth.”
“You’re right. But you have to understand my position. You’d just admitted to me that I was the first guy not to want something from you. I knew how you felt about it, and there was no way I’d ever put you in a position where you didn’t know if I was asking you to marry me for money or because I loved you.” Just the thought makes me physically sick.
“And if I told you what my asshole father wanted, you’d probably have offered to marry me so I could get the clinic money, and then you’d always wonder and be insecure.” I wait until she lifts her head and meets my gaze. “And I’d never do that to you.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I should have stayed and heard you out, but your words were so damning, and on top of saying you loved me just an hour or so before? I thought for sure I’d fallen into the same trap all over again.”
“I made the wrong choice, and though we all know I’ll make more mistakes in the future, I promise you’ll never doubt that I love you again. Do you forgive me?”
She nods, a smile on her beautiful face. “Do you forgive me for stringing this out and making you wait?”
I grin. “I’d wait forever for you, and don’t you forget it.”
“I can promise you I won’t.”
We each lean forward, our mouths meeting in a long kiss that ends too soon.
“Now about that fundraiser.” She’d left the folder in my possession when she’d run from the house, and in the days that passed, I’d been through it over and over. “I cannot believe what you put together in such a short time. The items the guests will bid on will go for thousands each.”
A trip to the Bahamas on Asher Dare’s private plane and a week in his beach house, front-row seats to concerts and sporting events, a visit to a movie set, and more.
I can’t begin to name them all or imagine how much money the event will raise. “You did all that for me?”
She nods. “Because I love you.”
