Page 16 of Finally Yours
He chuckles. “No, I do not. We were both stationed overseas during Vietnam. I got wounded in Saigon and she was my nurse. Knew she was going to be mine the first time I saw her. I swear a light surrounded her that day. She was a damn beautiful angel, took my breath away.”
Mrs. Sheffield snorts. “You were high on pain meds. That old nurse…the one that works here…would have looked good to you.”
Both Lyla and I struggle not to laugh at the thought of Nurse Vicky as anyone’s angel. More like angel of death.
“I wasn’t so high that I didn’t know what was right in front of me.” His wrinkled hand reaches for his wife’s face and caresses her cheek softly. “Knew you were the one. Knew we were going to have years of happiness.”
Even Mrs. Sheffield doesn’t contradict that. I hear her sniff and then say, “Alright, Prince Charming, I need sleep.”
“If you need anything else, let us know, Mr. Sheffield. We’re right outside.” Lyla gives Mr. Sheffield’s hand one last pat and then we quietly leave the room.
“That’s so sweet, isn’t it?” Lyla asks once we’re outside. She’s looking up me with her big blue eyes misted over with tears and my heart beats a little faster.
I stuff my hands in my coat pockets and look away from her. “Yeah, it’s a little unrealistic though.”
“What do you mean by that?” Her voice is tempered with caution, but harsh enough that I know she’s not happy.
I sit down at the nurse’s station to make a few notes in the computer. “I just mean most marriages aren’t happily-ever-after endings. Most are trainwrecks.”
Her blue eyes dim and my heart sinks as I realize my words are making her sad. “Not most, Ash. Some are happy. My parents were happy when Mom was alive. Dr. Blanchard is in a happy marriage. He glows when he talks about his wife.”
She’s right. Those are examples. Two examples. But God, there are so many more of marriages that end in hate, that end in screaming and throwing things and the acceptance that love is not real.
But I don’t say that. Instead, I train my gaze on the computer. “You were lucky. Dr. Blanchard is lucky. But that kind of luck doesn’t strike everyone.”
Now, her blue eyes swim with sympathy. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to see a happy one up close.”
I clear my throat. “So am I, Lyla. So am I.”
Chapter Sixteen
He won’t tell me that he loves me, but the way he looks at me…he has to, doesn’t he? -Lyla
Lyla
“How goes the “work friend with benefits” thingy with the hot doc?” Reina asks in a loud voice.
I glance around at the table next to us at the pizza parlor. “Shhh, could you be any louder? I don’t think the cook heard you in the back.”
“Well, I can say it louder,” she says with a mischievous grin, “HOW IS SLEEPING WITH…” The rest comes out muffled as Sophie slaps a hand over Reina’s mouth.
I apologize to the couple next to us and then turn to Reina. “You are a mess,” I hiss, “I can’t believe Brian puts up with it.”
She giggles at my pouty glare. “Oh, he loves me just as I am, and so do you two,” she says around and picks up a gooey slice of pizza.
My shoulders relax and I chuckle a little too because that’s true. Then I let out a long sigh. “It’s going okay with Asher. I mean, the sex is great, but…” I trail off and look down at my plate. Even the sight of my favorite pizza doesn’t cheer me up.
“But what?” Sophie prompts softly. “Is there something wrong?”
I pick at a piece of pepperoni. “Asher is against marriage and love, thinks it isn’t real,” I mumble.
The other side of the table is silent for so long that I look up. Reina and Sophie both look concerned.
Reina’s hand covers mine. “Hey, just because he thinks that doesn’t mean it’s true, you know? Obviously, he had a rough time at home or something and thinks that couples can’t be happy. But look at me and Brian, Sophie and Liam. Couples do make it work.”
“But how do I convince him of that?” I burst out. “He thinks love isn’t possible, but I know it is because I love him so much it hurts.” I hold my hand to my heart. “I physically ache with it.”
“Shit,” Reina says and then stays quiet.
