Page 29 of Cole
She nodded but the look on her face told him that she still wasn’t convinced.
“Hala? If you’re truly frightened, I can sleep in one of the spare bedrooms.”
“Under the same roof?” she gasped.
“Yes,” he chuckled. “It’s not unheard of. I won’t do anything inappropriate and I will not touch you without your permission. You have my word.”
“I-I know that it’s been done before and that many young American women live with their boyfriends, or just friends. People at university lived that way. I’m just, I don’t know. Worried?”
“Worried about what, babe?” he asked pulling her to the plush sofa. “I’m not going to change my mind about you, Hala.”
“You haven’t even kissed me, Cole,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“Well, let’s fix that,” he said gripping the back of her neck. He covered her mouth with his own, tasting the sweetness of Hala. She’d been honest when she said she’d never really been kissed. He slowly started to pull away but the little temptress gripped his arms, pulling him closer.
Cole was happy to oblige. He hadn’t been with a woman in at least eight months and he couldn’t even remember that woman’s name. This one, he would remember forever. She would be the last.
“Whoa,” he said softly, kissing her brow. “We need to slow this down a bit or I’m going to touch you in all the places I shouldn’t.”
“Cole, I’m a doctor. I’m well aware of anatomy, love making, all of it. I even know how babies are made,” she said with a smile. Cole laughed, shaking his head.
“I suppose that does make all of this easier for us but I don’t want to rush you. I’m crazy about you, Hala. I know that seems nuts considering how we met, what we’ve been through and what we have to face.”
“Together. We face it together, right?” she asked hopefully.
“Always, babe. We will face everything together. You’ll figure this out over time but my family sticks together. Mygreat-grandfather, Angel, nearly lost his life protecting my great-grandmother, Mary. They had triplets and raised them all to be successful, wonderful people who also all had triplets.”
“I remember Bailey telling me that on the plane,” she smiled. “Is that something you want? Triplets, I mean.”
“I haven’t thought much about it because there was never anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But. Yes. I think I’d love that. I was, I am, very close to my sisters. We did everything together until we left for college and the military.”
“We’ve led such different lives,” she whispered. “This is what I worry about. That you’ll turn around one day and realize I wasn’t the woman you really wanted.”
“Hala, I knew you were the woman I wanted the moment your damn donkey pulled me from that well,” he laughed.
“He wasn’t my damn donkey. He was my grandfather’s,” she frowned.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that any longer. You heard Kennedy. You’ll get your final licensing all set, take your boards and you’ll being practicing here.”
“If I do that, Cole, he can track me. He’ll track my name. It’s unusual. I can’t do that.”
“You could if we changed your name,” he smirked.
“Changed my name?”
“Yes. Like maybe, Hala McDonald.” She laughed, shaking her head.
“I think Hala is so unusual it would still bring him here. Maybe something slightly more American. Like Layla.”
“Layla. Yeah, that’s good but hold on a minute. Are you saying you’ll marry me?” he grinned.
“You didn’t ask me,” she smirked, standing to move to the other side of the room.
“Then I’m asking you now. Will you please marry me and become Layla McDonald?”
“Definitely,” she laughed leaping into his arms. “Oh, Cole. I never thought I’d find love and I definitely never thought I’d pull it out of a well.”
“Believe me, babe, I never thought I’d find it when I crawled out of a well but there you were. Here you are.”
