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She wore leggings and one of her off-the-shoulder shirts that I loved, and even though she looked tired, she was the most beautiful woman I’d even seen.

And she loves me.

I didn’t even know what I did to deserve her, but I knew I’d do anything to make up for the way I’d made her feel.

She took a deep breath. “I’m having a partial hysterectomy the week after the wedding,” she said flatly. “I have uterine fibroids. They’re tumors that grow on the walls of my uterus. Mine are imbedded. They can’t be surgically removed, and they didn’t respond to treatment. They cause heavy bleeding and cramping. And…and infertility.” She said the last word like she had to force it out.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked away from me, tears welling in her beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It was embarrassing for me. And I don’t need you to say anything. I just needed you to know why. Because it was never my intention to make you feel unwanted.” Her chin quivered and my heart broke. “I did want you, Josh.” She looked back at me. “I always have. You didn’t imagine anything.”

The admission that she’d wanted me made my heart reach for her. I took a step toward her, and she took a step back.

I put my hands up. “Kristen, nothing has changed. My feelings for you haven’t changed. I want you, no matter what. I’m so sorry—I didn’t know. When I said—”

She shook her head. “Josh, this isn’t open for discussion. I didn’t come here to tell you so you could decide whether you want to date me. That’s not even on the table. I just realized that for the last few weeks, I made you feel unloved. And I’m really sorry. I thought you…well, I didn’t know you had feelings for me. I thought only I…Anyway, that’s my fault. I should have never let that happen.”

I scoffed. “There was nothing you could have done to keep me from falling in love with you. Even if I’d known this from the very beginning, it wouldn’t have kept me away. You should have told me.”

“No, I should have stayed away from you,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”

The call bell went off, and the red lights started blinking. Three beeps and then, “Traffic collision, motorcycle down on the intersection of Verdugo and San Fernando Boulevard.”

Fuck.

“You have to go.” She turned toward the door.

I lunged after her, grabbing her hand. “Wait…just wait.”

She looked up at me, her eyes sad. “There’s nothing else to talk about, Josh.”

“There is. Will you wait for me to get back? Please? Just wait here. Twenty minutes, so we can talk.”

She pressed her lips into a line.

“Please, Kristen.”

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. She nodded. “Okay.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and before she could object, I pulled her into me and kissed her. “I love you,” I whispered. “Wait for me.” Then I turned and jogged down the hall as the rest of the crew streamed out of the bedrooms.

Leaving her felt wrong. Everything between us was fragile and I knew how easily she could shut down on me. The timing of this call couldn’t have been worse. I practically dove into the driver’s seat, determined to get this over with as quickly as humanly possible.

The guys got in and Shawn put on his headset. “Kristen’s here, huh?”

“Not now, Shawn.” I turned on the lights and pulled out into the street. The accident was only a block over, thank God.

Javier opened the laptop. “Might be a DUI,” he said, reading the notes from Dispatch.

Luke scoffed from the seat behind me. “Not even nine in the morning.”

“Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere.” Shawn snickered. “So, what’s got her panties in a bunch now?”

I turned onto Verdugo and gave Shawn the finger over my shoulder.

I pulled up to the accident. The police were already on the scene, blocking traffic at the intersection, so I parked the engine behind a cop car with its lights on, and Shawn, Javier, and Luke hopped out to get the trauma kit.

A Hilton Garden Inn, newer-looking apartments, and an artists’ senior living complex flanked the four-lane, tree-lined road. The brown, tired Verdugo Mountains loomed in the distance.

I checked my watch as I climbed out of the engine. If she was gone when I got back, I’d lose my fucking mind.