Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
There’s no condemnation—which I deserve—only understanding, and I’m not sure I could love him more than I do right now.
It hits me hard.
I love Bodie.
I even told him I loved him, and really didn’t think twice. It wasn’t hard. My words didn’t falter. I spoke from the heart, and that’s what came out of my mouth.
It might have taken me a bit of a shake up and a moment of tremendous doubt in myself to get here, but goddamn it… I’m here now and I’m not leaving.
“I’d kill to know what you’re thinking right now,” Bodie says, breaking into my thoughts.
I give a hard shake of my head. “Nothing that you don’t already know. I’m a chicken shit, and I had a minor freak out over the strength of my feelings.”
“I’ve always known you’re the type of person who will get to your best destination when you’re damn good and ready. And Rachel… you panicked for a few hours last night. Not sure that’s really something to worry about.”
Leaning over the rail so I can get closer to his face, I look deep into his eyes. Beautiful, warm brown eyes of a man who just gets me in all ways. “It won’t happen again. I won’t run again unless it’s into your arms, Bodie. I promise.”
“Well, then,” he says after a moment’s pause. “I guess I love you, too.”
My smile is immediate, and it’s never been brighter. “Really?”
“I’d love you more if you’d move your hand down about twelve inches.” His eyes are sparkling with mischief, but he wouldn’t stop me if I did as he asked.
I consider for a moment, actually start to tug my hand out from under his, but then a nurse walks in. “Good morning, Mr. Wright,” she says brightly.
Bodie groans and looks at me like someone just stole his favorite toy or something.
The nurse walks around the opposite side of the bed and checks his IV line.
“Guess what, nurse?” Bodie says as his head rolls her way on the pillow.
“What’s that?” she asks with a smile on her face but still working with the IV.
“My girl here just told me she loved me for the first time,” he says, and my face flames hot. Bodie has never looked more boyish to me than he does now, grinning like a lunatic at the nurse.
“Oh, that’s so sweet.” The nurse looks charmed. I can tell she’s a woman who loves a good romantic story.
“Think it’s a good time for me to ask her to marry me?” he asks her.
Her head snaps to look at him with her jaw dropped wide, and I feel like someone just pumped a lightning bolt straight down my spine.
“Well, she is pregnant with my kid,” Bodie explains to the nurse without even sparing me a glance. “And she says she loves me, so I’m thinking there’s no reason not to.”
The nurse gets her bearings and steps in closer to the bed. She leans over and lays a gentle hand on Bodie’s shoulder. In a very pronounced whisper, as if she’s giving him some secretive advice, but clearly loud enough for me to hear, she says, “I think, Mr. Wright, that perhaps you should wait until you have a pretty ring and you can get down on one knee. That’s what every girl wants.”
“Huh,” Bodie says as he scratches his chin. His head rolls on the pillow, and he looks back to me. “That true?”
God, I love him.
I nod. “Kind of. I mean, if you’re going to do it right and all.”
“Noted,” he says with a wink and then crooks his finger. “I would like to ask for a kiss, though. I think I’m long overdue one.”
“Now that I can do,” I tell him with a smile. “I really love you, Bodie. You know that, right?”
“I know it. Know it as deeply as I know I love you right back.”
I lean over the rail, and Bodie lifts his head from the pillow. We meet in the middle, and his lips on mine are the perfect completion to how our story should end.
Well, not really…
EPILOGUE
Bodie
“Are you nervous?” I ask Rachel.
In truth, she looks relaxed as she sits on the edge of the exam table, legs crossed at the ankles while she swings them carelessly.
“Excited,” she says in response to my question. “I totally want to do the nursery in an Iron Man theme, so as soon as Dr. Anchors confirms we’re having a boy, I’m going to put a hurting on my credit card.”
“God, you’re the most adorable mom-to-be in the world,” I say with a chuckle before leaning in to rub my cheek on her temple.
The door opens, and Dr. Anchors walks in. He’s holding a folder in his hand, and I tense slightly. We have to get through the amnio results before we can get to the good stuff.