Page 76 of The Library on Plum Island
“You’re a firefighter?” Harriet spluttered.
“A volunteer one,” Finn told her with a tight smile. “Hang in there. I’m glad you’re all alright.”
He turned and walked off.
“He’s a firefighter!” Harriet sighed as she watched him walk away.
“We got that,” Alex grinned. “I see your crush hasn’t died.”
“What?” Harriet frowned. “He’s …” She swallowed, looking uncomfortable. “I… Uh.”
“You’ve had a giant crush on the Finnster since you were sixteen,” Alex laughed. At least there was still a bit of normalcy on this very strange day.
“Doctor Thornton,” one of the firefighters ran up to the ambulance, “we need your help. The lieutenant is injured.”
Daniella straightened, and within a few seconds, she went from Daniella to Doctor Thornton. Alex’s heart swelled with pride as he watched her mask fall into place. She started asking questions and barking orders at the EMT, who jumped into action without question.
She looked down at her stained wedding dress, “Does anyone have a pair of pants for me?”
One of the EMTs pulled out a pair of scrubs for her, and while they gathered the equipment, Daniella disappeared into the back of the other ambulance. Within minutes, she burst through the doors in the blue scrubs, pulling her long golden locks into a neat bun off her face.
“Sorry, Doctor Thornton, but you’ll need to put these on,” the firefighter said, handing her a pair of fireproof boots.
Daniella nodded, pulled her pumps off without blinking, and slipped into the boots. Never had anyone looked so beautiful in such a weird ensemble as his wife did. Alex watched in awe as the tiny golden-haired doctor, who had a fire helmet popped on her head as she rushed to the scene, took command of everyone around her.
“She’s magnificent.” Alex sighed and knew he’d do whatever it took to win her heart. He turned to Harriet. “Please, Harry, you have to help win Daniella’s heart. I’ll do whatever it takes and give you whatever you want—my boat, my house, my car.”
“The superyacht and the Ferrari?” Harriet’s eyes widened as she teased him. She smiled at him. “I’ll help, but none of the above. I’ll do it because I know in my heart how much you love Daniella.”
Alex’s eyes searched Harriet’s to make sure she wasn’t being sarcastic. “And us?” His voice dropped. “Harry, are we friends again?”
“We never stopped being friends, Alex.” Harriet’s voice dropped. “We just needed time apart to adjust to who we were becoming and learn how to be friends with the newer versions of ourselves.”
“You know I’ll always love you, Harry,” Alex told her, feeling a lump wedge in his throat. “While it galls me to admit it, you were right all those years ago. We were young, foolish, and doing what we always did, thumbing our noses to authority.”
“You should’ve known back then that I’malwaysright,“ Harriet grinned.
“While we’re rebuilding our friendship, there are a few things I need to tell you,” Alex said. “I wasn’t having an affair with Sally Hern. All I did was help her with Chemistry. But it was easier for me to let you think that. When I got meningitis, and you started pulling away when I went completely deaf for three months…” He closed his eyes. “I pushed you away. I was deliberately awful to you to push you away. I didn’t want you to have to deal with me not being able to hear. And I didn’t think I could be near you and not hear your beautiful voice.”
“Alex, I…” Harriet’s voice trailed off as Alex held up his hand to stop her.
“Please let me finish, or I fear I won’t be able to,” Alex told her. “Just after I recovered from meningitis, I got mumps. You were away with your family, and I wouldn’t let my parents tell you. On both sides and after I recovered, I was told it had affected my ability to have kids.” He swallowed and rubbed his eyes to hide the tears stinging at the back of his eyes. “It was bad enough that I may never have been able to hear again. I didn’t want to be the reason you never had kids, too.”
“Oh, Alex.” Harriet’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears.
“I know I like to blame you for everything that happened between us,” Alex drew in a breath. “But in truth, I wasn’t at all surprised when you came back from your trip to Europe engaged to a prince.” He took her hand in his. “I’m so sorry for all the terrible accusations and things I said to you back then. I never meant them. I was hurting and foolish and feeling sorry for myself. I’ll always love you, Harry. You are my special person.”
Tears streaked down Harriet’s cheeks, and she swiped them away. “Alex, you had every right to blame me for what happened. I’m the one that gave you meningitis.”
Alex pursed his lips and gave her a small smile. “I know.” He nodded. “The nurse at college warned me to stay away from you, but I couldn’t leave you all alone, so I snuck in to sit with you. You were delirious and kept telling me how scared you were. You didn’t want to die without bathing in a tub of champagne.”
“I said that?” Harriet’s eyes widened, and Alex nodded. “You knew all this time that you got meningitis from me, yet you never said anything?”
“Why would I?” Alex looked at her and moved a stray lock from her face. “You went to great lengths to hide the fact from everyone. I figured you didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Because I’d lied about being vaccinated,” Harriet confessed. When the college had us get vaccinated because of an outbreak, I…” Her eyes darkened with emotion, and she looked away from him. “I couldn’t get vaccinated.”
“Harry, I know how afraid you are about needles.” Alex gently squeezed her hand. “You never have to explain yourself.”
