“You know he is.”
“Better question is, does the doctor ever go home?”
She laughs. “Not easy running a clinic out here.”
“And yet he still manages.”
She gives me a sly wink and I walk in the back with a wave. I smile at a couple nurses and one of the other doctors as I make it to Brent’s door. I knock once then step inside.
He turns from his computer and a smile lights up his face. “There you are. I was wondering if you wouldn’t show.”
“When my handsome, in-demand husband invites me to lunch, I have to go.”
He grins. “Handsome, in-demand, and filthy rich. Don’t forget filthy rich.”
“Right. Of course. How could I be so stupid?”
He gets up and walks over to me. He kisses me gently and I look up into his eyes.
We moved out to Virginia the moment the deal with my dad was official. He sold his old practice and opened a new one out here. We don’t live too far from Washington DC, about as far from his parents as we could get. We abide by the deal and visit them as often as we can, sometimes as often as every week for a few weeks in a row.
But we have our own life. We try and stay out of their world as much as possible, or at least I try to. He gets pulled back in no matter how hard he fights it.
I feel bad sometimes. He never asked for any of this. And yet he keeps having to fight for and defend his family, even if all he wants to do is get away.
The kiss lingers for a little while before he looks at me. “So, I have a surprise for you.”
“Surprise?”
He nods. “I know I’ve been working a lot. So I guess this is like an apology.”
“You don’t need to apologize. We spend all our spare time together. And I’m not exactly sitting around at home pining for you.”
He frowns. “You’re not?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Liar.”
I laugh as he kisses me again. “Okay, what’s this surprise?”
“Come on.” He takes my hand. “I’ll show you.”
We walk back out into the hall. One of the nurses grins at Brent. “It’s ready,” she says.
He winks at her. “Thanks.”
The girl hurries away with a huge smile.
“What was that about?” I ask him.
“Come on, I’ll show you.”
He leads me down the hall. I remember a time when I needed a cane to keep up with him. But after the last year of working with him day and night, I don’t need the cane anymore. My leg aches sometimes but every day I’m a little bit stronger. He thinks I’ll be back to my old perfect self within another year.
He pauses outside of the doors that lead into the training gym. He glances back at me and smiles then pushes them open.
The room is covered in candles. There’s nobody else in there. Normally, the room would have patients and staff, but it’s empty, the lights are off, and the candles are burning.
“What is this?” I ask, breathless. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen so many candles before, all shapes and sizes, but all perfectly white.
He takes my hand. “Come here.” He leads me into the room. “This isn’t the actual spot we met, but it’s pretty close. I thought it was important we did this here.”
“We did… what here?”
He stops and turns to me. We’re in the middle of the room, totally alone and surrounded by candles. He gets down on one knee and my heart starts racing hard.
“Brent,” I whisper.
He takes a little box out of his pocket. “Amber. The moment I met you, I knew I’d make you mine. I didn’t know our path would be so complicated and winding, but I knew it from that day. I want to make it official now.”
“Brent,” I say.
“You really are mine, Amber. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I choke out. “Oh, god, yes.”
He opens the ring box. He takes out a gorgeous, stunning ring. A large stone set with several smaller ones around it. I stare as he slips it onto my finger and it fits perfectly.
“There,” he says and stands. I throw my arms around him and we kiss.
The kiss lasts a lifetime. I linger there on his lips, tasting him, letting myself fall into it.
My life has been hard. My father was a tyrant and a bastard. I got lucky that I met Brent and he took me away from there. I think that if he hadn’t, I might be dead today, or worse. Forced into some marriage I didn’t want.
This is what I want though. This is what I need. This is my man, my Brent. He’s right, I am all his, body and heart and mind and soul.
He can have me. He can keep me.