"I know, I promise it won't happen again," I said squeezing her hand. "Please stay."

Alex smiled as she leaned over and kissed me then nodded. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but the minute I stretched out to her I felt a sharp pain in my side and winced. Alex stood up and slid onto the bed next to me so that I could wrap one arm around her without having to stretch.

"Is this better?" she asked looking up at me with a smile.

"Indeed it is," I said as I kissed her forehead. "We'll always find a way."

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Alex

It was a long road to recovery for both Cam and Liz, but by the time the spring flowers were blooming and the trees were turning green, both of them were out of the hospital and on their way to being well at last. Without her scholarship, Liz had been unable to afford her apartment. Cam had offered to pay her rent, but she’d refused, so I'd had her move in with me to share my place. She went to meetings or therapy every day, and managed to maintain her sobriety after being released, but her lies had caused a deep crack in our friendship.

I wanted to believe that she was on the road to recovery, but I no longer trusted her to tell me the truth. It created a stressful living situation and one that put both Liz and I on edge. I knew it couldn’t last for very long.

Liz found a job working at the diner where we'd spent so much time studying, and she loved being able to shoot the breeze with the wide range of customers. The constant movement helped her stay focused on what was important and her co-workers knew her challenges, so they treated her like a family member and kept a close eye on her. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than she'd been in a long time.

We'd talked about what had happened at the apartment the day Victor had almost killed us both, but L

iz never wanted to talk about what had happened before that, and I didn't ask. I figured that she'd talk about it when she was ready. She did, however, tell me about the day she cheated and how she'd unintentionally implicated me when she'd done it. She'd apologized and once I'd accepted the apology, we tried to move past it, though it was hard for me to trust her.

Once cleared of any wrongdoing, I moved forward with classes and my internship. Violet and the girls backed down and left me alone once they knew that Cam and I were a couple, and that his firm was running her father's security detail. I'd graciously thanked them for their kind thoughts after the incident, and then proceeded to do what I'd always done -- ignore them.

Mrs. Rikka watched me like a hawk when I returned to my rotation. I think she thought I was going to have a breakdown or something, but Leslie assured me that she was simply trying to ensure that I didn't get overwhelmed or overly stressed as I processed what had happened to me. I was required to attend counseling sessions to deal with the stress and process what had happened, but overall, I hadn't been traumatized by the incident. The therapist was not surprised, and told me that I might have some issues later when other stresses in my life surfaced. She let me go after ten sessions with the reminder that if things got stressful or overwhelming, I should come back and talk with her.

I passed my final exams with straight As and prepared to graduate. We would be walking across the stage at the Chicago Theater and I wanted everyone who'd supported me to attend, so I asked for extra tickets and handed them out. Cam wanted to include Danny and Leo, so we'd invited them as well. Liz and I shopped for a dress for me to wear under my gown and finally found one in Nordstrom's on Michigan Avenue where we'd also let a pretty young woman do our makeup and convinced us to buy the products she'd used. All in all, it was a time of celebration.

The only downside of things was when, two weeks before graduation, Cam, Liz and I were called to testify in Victor's trial. It was unsettling to see him again after all the damage he'd done, but when the verdict came down and the judge sentenced him to life in prison for kidnapping and attempted murder, we were all relieved. I watched him being led away in handcuffs and felt sad that he hadn't been able to find another way to deal with his rage and frustration.

"You okay?" Cam asked as I stood in the doorway of the courtroom staring at the empty stand.

"Yeah, fine," I nodded as I took his hand and turned my back on the past.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Cam

It took me until Alex's graduation to make it through rehab, and even after the physical therapist pronounced me in tiptop shape, I wasn't sure I wanted to return to the fire department. I had developed a new perspective on life and I wasn't sure I wanted to spend my days running into burning buildings anymore. It was hard to admit, but once I told Alex how I felt, she encouraged me to explore other options.

Leo was adamant that I come work at CSC and help him deal with the surge in new business. I agreed to try that for a while, but I wasn't sure that's where I wanted to spend the rest of my time. Yet I wasn't sure what other options I had. I'd spent the past decade running from what had happened to Quinn, that I hadn't spent much time focusing on doing what would make me happy.

"You should think about doing home renovation," Alex said two nights before she was to graduate. "You did such an amazing job with this place and there are tons of homes that need updates and overhauls. This neighborhood alone would give you enough business to keep you hopping for the next five years!"

"I'll have to consider that," I said as I poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her. I raised my glass and toasted, “Here’s to you and your nursing degree!"

"It's hard to believe it's over," she said as she sipped her wine. "But it's nice that I'll be working at General in the ER. I like it there."

"I like having you there, and I'd like to have you here, too," I said as I looked at her. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box that I'd been saving for the right moment, and this felt like it was it. I dropped to one knee next to her chair opening the box and said, "Alexandra Pierce, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Cam?" she said completely caught off guard. "What? Oh my God! Yes!"

"Hmmm, interesting response. Not exactly the one I was expecting, but the affirmative will work," I laughed as I pulled the ring out of the box and placed it on her finger. It fit perfectly, and she stared at it for a moment before she threw her arms around me and kissed me.

I pulled her to me and kissed her deeply. It had been a long time since we'd had sex even though the doctor had cleared me for it a month before. We were both a little scared of what might happen.

Alex pulled back and looked at me expectantly, and I nodded, taking her hand I led her to the bedroom where I slowly removed her clothing stopping to kiss every inch of bare skin that I exposed. When I finally pulled her lacy panties down to her ankles, I looked up at her in wonder. This beautiful woman had agreed to marry me, and I wanted to show her just how happy I could make her.

I gently pushed her back onto the bed and spread her legs as my fingers traced a path around her nipple down to the warmth between her legs. She moaned softly and pushed her hips up as I teased her outer lips before sinking my fingers between them and stroking a path from top to bottom.

Tags: Claire Adams Billionaire Romance
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