Page 113 of His North Star
I blew out a breath. For once, could my love life be easy? His pinky intertwined with mine and tugged. My eyes darted to his. Stress, pain, and something else I couldn’t quite decipher pinched his features.
“But Ty, remember how you said you loved me despite all of my flaws? That no matter what, you’d be there for me? That your love was unconditional? Let me do that for you. Neither one of us has to be whole in order to love. We can work on our broken pieces together.” A lesson that took me way too long to learn.
Ty’s brow furrowed and his lips pulled into a straight line as thought about what I'd said.
I stayed silent, internally pleading for him say yes. We’d waited long enough.
“I guess we can’t be partners if I’m not willing to let you love me when I’m down for the count.”
My heart soared. “Exactly.”
He smiled shyly. “Okay, Mare.”
I smiled back. “Okay.”
We sat there, smiling at each other like love-sick puppies. Ty and I were finally on the same page. I was so ready to move forward with my best friend as my partner in life.
“All right,” I said, after a crazy long time of soaking in my partner’s dreamy green eyes. “What’s the plan for the lodge tomorrow?”
“Will you call Jen and ask her to reschedule the event?”
“Can’t she go for you?”
“No. I need to postpone.”
I slid my fingers into his. “But people are coming in from all over for this. Some might even be here already. You can’t cancel.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he said weakly.
He was in no condition to walk out of here today. It pained me to see all his hard work wasted. I guess not wasted, just put on hold. “I’ll get it squared away with Jen. Is there anything you need right now? A drink? More pillows?” I smiled coyly. “A kiss?”
He huffed a brief chuckle. “No. I’m gross. You don’t want to kiss me right now.”
Darn. “Okay. Want to talk about something else? Or I could read to you? I know you’re dying to know what’s happening in the latest romance novel I’m reading,” I teased.
“Mare?”
“Yeah?”
Our eyes locked. Warmth crawled over me. I loved him. More than anything in the galaxy and beyond.
“Just stay with me,” he muttered before his eyelids drooped.
“Always.”
I pulled a chair to his bedside and sat with his hand between mine. I stayed until the pain meds worked their magic and Ty snored. I placed my lips on his forehead, lingering a little, then slipped out.
When I walked into Ty’s hospital room the next morning, Charlie and Denise were talking to Ty. My heart skipped a beat. Ty spooned soup with his uninjured arm into his mouth.
“Hey,” I said with wide eyes. “You’re sitting up.”
“It’s difficult, but if I want out of here, I have to start making progress.”
“When did they say you’d be released?” I asked. I was dying to get Ty home and away from this place.
Charlie spoke up. “It could be as early as tomorrow.”
“Really?” I smiled. “That would be amazing!”
