Madison glanced up from where she took Mrs. Cline’s blood pressure. The poor woman had been readmitted earlier in the week due to another exacerbation of her COPD. Fortunately, she had recovered nicely and would likely be discharged in the morning.
“Where did you get an idea like that?”
Mrs. Cline cackled. “Don’t go playing dumb with me, girlie. I heard all about you sweeping Dr. Fielding off his feet and him planning to march you down the aisle this Saturday.”
Madison just smiled as she made a mental note of Mrs. Cline’s systolic and diastolic numbers so she could record the numbers into her computer record. “Dr. Fielding tell you that?”
“Me and every other person who was within hearing range and at his mercy.” The woman gestured to the various lines and equipment hooked to her. “All us poor helpless souls who aren’t able to escape are subjected to his extolling of your virtues.”
Madison laughed. “Was he that bad?”
“Worse,” Karen chimed in, stepping into the room and shaking her smiling head. “He’s making all my nursing staff sick.”
Stifling a laugh, Madison rolled her eyes at her soon-to-be maid of honor. “I’ll talk to him. Again.”
“You see that you do that.” Karen winked conspiratorially at Mrs. Cline, who smiled even wider. “’Course, I think most of them are just sick that he’s off the market.”
“Definitely off the market,” Mrs. Cline added. “Never seen a man so in love.”
“Actually,” Karen said, coming over to stand by Mrs. Cline’s bed, “that’s what I was coming to tell you.”
Madison’s heart rate picked up speed. Levi was on the medical floor? She hadn’t expected him until later in the evening. “Oh?”
“Don’t play dumb with me either,” Karen warned, rolling her eyes indulgently. “He’s here.”
Madison’s heart sang with happiness. “Okay, no playing dumb.” She smiled at Mrs. Cline, patted the woman’s hand, then turned to her best friend. “Where is my fiancé?”
“Right here.”
Madison’s breath caught just as it did every time she saw Levi. Just as she imagined it always would whenever she saw him.
He took her breath away.
Time wouldn’t change that.
Wouldn’t change her love for him.
His eyes met hers, shone with love. That might always take her breath away, too. That he loved her. Really deep-down loved her.
When she looked into his eyes, into his soul, she knew time wouldn’t change the way he loved her either.
Except possibly that with each day that passed they’d grow to love each other more and more.
“What are you doing here?”
“Exactly my thoughts,” Karen interjected, frowning and waving something in front of Levi.
Madison looked closer. “Hey, that’s my shirt.”
“Yeah, it is. Somebody…” Karen cleared her throat “…was supposed to wait while I came and gave this to you for you to put on.”
Madison glanced from Karen to her Woodstock-covered scrub top to Levi. “Oh?”
Levi grinned. “I got tired of waiting.”
Karen gave another eye-roll. “I wasn’t in here two minutes. Lord save us from couples in love.”
Madison and Mrs. Cline watched Karen and Levi quip back and forth.