“Hey, you,” he said as he quickly came over and leaned down to kiss me. “How’s your head?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He kissed me once more. This one lingered a bit longer, and the feeling of his mouth on mine and the concern on his face when he drew back caused my eyes to water.
Dirk stilled. “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” He glanced over at the nurse. “Have you given her anything for the pain?”
“Yes, we have,” she replied with slight amusement in her voice.
I slowly shook my head and reached for him. “Give me a moment,” I whispered.
Dirk nodded and took a step back as the nurse helped me into the bed. “We won’t have to keep you hooked up to anything, so that’s nice. We will, however, pop in and out to check your vitals and see about your pain.”
I nodded as I gave her a smile and tried not to let anyone know how dizzy I felt. The nurse knew, though, when I held on to her tighter and she helped to guide me into the bed.
“Go slow. It’s okay, Merit,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.”
“Thank you,” I said as I settled down on the mattress.
She lifted the covers and gave me the sweetest smile. “I’m sure you’re thirsty, so let me go get you a pitcher of cold water.” She looked at Dirk. “You’re in charge.”
He nodded while he chewed on his bottom lip, worry very much evident on his face. The moment the door shut, he was by my side.
“You were about to cry, what’s wrong?” he asked as he took my hand in his.
And finally, I let the tears fall.
“Let me go back and get the nurse,” Dirk said.
“No,” I said as I held onto his hand. “I’m not in pain. I mean, my head does hurt, but I was overwhelmed for a moment.”
His brows pulled in closer. “Overwhelmed by what?”
A slight chuckle slipped free, and I wiped my tears away. “To be honest…you.”
“Me?” he asked, his head jerking back in surprise.
I closed my eyes and leaned back against the bed. I took in a few deep breaths and then looked at him.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted this, Dirk. Wanted you to look at me like you just looked at me when I came into this room. The memory of you and me the other night, the idea that I’m pregnant with your baby…I don’t want to be that woman who feels like she needs a man in her life, but the last few days with you…”
My voice trailed off for a moment before I went on. I knew I needed to be honest with him about my fears. “It scares me how much I love you, and I’m even more scared that you’re going to slip out of this confused daze you’re in and realize this isn’t what you want. I’m not what you want.”
He remained silent as he stared at me. He cleared his throat, and for a brief moment, I was terrified he was going to agree with me.
“I know I haven’t given you reason to believe my one-eighty. The only thing I know to do from this point on, Merit, is to prove to you how much I do want this. You, the baby, a life where I go to sleep and wake up with you in my arms. Today, when I saw you fall, it was the worst moment of my entire life. All I could think about was how I had finally gotten my head out of my ass and now you were going to be taken away from me. The fear I had…” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Fuck, I was so scared.”
“I’m okay, and the baby is, too,” I whispered as I brought his hand up to my mouth and kissed it softly.
“I know. And if I didn’t think I’d end up in jail, I would hunt your father down and kill him with my bare hands.”
With a humorless laugh, I said, “I’m pretty sure Michael wants first dibs on that.”
Dirk shook his head. “We’d have to fight for who got to him first. The point I’m trying to make here, and not doing a good job of it, is that you are my everything, Merit. I fought these feelings for entirely too long. I tried my best to forget you, but you’ve always been at the back of my mind, never letting me forget the mistake I made. The way I hurt you. I’ve been given a second chance with you, and I know how rare that is. I’m not going to mess this up.”
I smiled as a rush of both happiness and desire came over me.
The door to the room opened, and the nurse knocked lightly before making her way in. “Here’s the water. This is the call button if you need anything. I’ve already sent for a tray of food for you. The only thing you need to do now is rest.” She looked at Dirk. “The chair slides out and makes a bed. I’ll be sure to bring you a pillow and an extra blanket so that you can stay the night.”