Page 78 of Mountain Struggle

His upper lip quivered. “I was going to choose Jamie. I was going to—”

Is that what this is about?

She wanted to laugh out loud, but knew it would hurt her shoulder too much.

“Of course you were,” she said matter-of-factly. Damien was a protector through and through. She remembered his tortured expression as he’d stepped onto the terrace. It must have killed him to think he might not be able to save both of them. But if this was what was worrying him, they could work through it together.

“Of course you were, Damien. I would have done exactly the same thing.”

“You would have?” He looked confused now.

I should record all these new expressions on his face.

“I would have,” she confirmed. “Because Jamie will always come first … I know neither of us could live with the alternative.”

Fat, heavy tears rolled down his cheeks—he wasn’t even trying to wipe them off. Tess held her hand out to him and squeezed tight, lending him her strength and her support. They sat there together for the longest time, holding each other.

“Marry me, Tess,” he said, so quietly she thought she might have heard him wrong.

Is he really asking me to marry him?

Right now, in the hospital, when I haven’t had a shower in days?

“Not today,” he clarified, smiling softly. “In the fall. When you’re better.”

She lay there, open-mouthed.

“I know you’re young,” he continued. “I know you have choices to make, but Jamie and I—”

“Stop, Damien,” she began. Ignoring the burning in her shoulder, she reached up to kiss him. He supported her back easily. The moment their lips touched was pure magic—she forgot everything, the pain, the fear, and just concentrated on the feel of his lips on hers. But something tugged at the back of her mind.

He’s waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” she breathed into his mouth. “I’ll marry you.”

Chapter 25

Damien

Damien steeled himself before turning the key and pushing the front door open. It was dark inside, but he didn’t reach over to turn the lights on. He took a step forward—just as the world exploded in light, sound and color.

“Happy birthday!” a chorus of voices shouted.

Colorful confetti fell on his head.

People appeared from the kitchen, from behind the sofa—he was pretty sure his home had never held this many people before.

He recognized his team, his neighbors, all his friends. And there, standing in the center of the group, were Jamie and Tess.

Damien composed what he hoped was an expression of surprise on his face.

“What is this?” he growled.

“Happy birthday, Daddy!” Jamie said, launching himself at him.

Damien caught the boy and lifted him easily, enveloping him in a bear hug. He sniffed the little boy smell in his son’s hair.

Damien’s surprise at the party might be feigned—he’d known for a while that Tess and Jamie were planning something—but the pleasure of holding his son in his arms was real, and not something he’d ever take for granted again.