Page 119 of Blow Me Down
“Good. I was a bit worried that you wouldn’t like me in real life. I’m not nearly as exciting or dashing or any of those things that Black Corbin is,” he said, looking so endearingly unsure of himself that I ignored the paramedic attaching sensors to him to kiss him again.
“I love you, Corbin. I loved you in the game, and I love you out of it. It took a little bit for me to realize it, but now I know that I fell in love with your mind, not your body, and the real you, the you I love isthesame no matter where it is. So stop worrying. You’re exactly the same person here that you were there—
the perfect man for me, despite your penchant for getting yourself shot by ruthless programmers.”
He laughed, winced at the pain it caused, and pulled me down for another kiss.
“And I knew you were the perfect woman for me the minute you beat me in that sword fight. If getting shot for you is what it takes to prove that I’d give my life for you, then so be it.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic, Corbin. I have many, many plans for you, and you’ll need to stay hale and hearty to satisfy them.” I was talking a lot more brave than I felt. Outside I joked lightly with Corbin all during the trip to the hospital, but on the inside, I was weeping, shrieking, and swearing eternal revenge on Paul if he had seriously harmed Corbin.
Luckily, I didn’t need to risk my own safety or sanity to seek revenge on Paul—
the bullet that struck Corbin missed vital organs and exited without doing any major damage.
“Thank God,” Holder said as I burst into happy tears when the doctor came out of the emergency room to announce that Corbin was as fine as anyone could be who’d just been kidnapped, given a mild concussion, and shot in the side. “Now maybe you’ll stop making a list of all the things you’re going to do to Paul. I was getting worried when you started in with medieval tortures. It’s not easy to find an ironworker to melt lead for a really quality drawing and quartering anymore.”
“Can I take him home now?” I asked the doctor, focused on the only thing that mattered.
“Let’s give him an hour or two to make sure his vitals are stable, then, yes, he can go home.”
Home meant one thing to me—my home, something Corbin found out that afternoon when I pulled up outside my cute-but-uninspired little yellow and white house rather than his sprawling stuccoed beauty.
“You know, I have five bedrooms,” he said shortly thereafter, leaning forward slightly so I could stuff yet another pillow behind him. “More than enough room for everyone.”
“Wow. Do you have an indoor swimming pool? I’ve always wanted to have an indoor swimming pool,” Tara said from the doorway, where she’d been banished for getting in my way and bothering Corbin when he should be resting.
I eyed the mound of pillows propping him up and decided he could use another one.
“As a matter of fact, I do have an indoor lap pool.”
“Woohoo!” Tara did a little dance of victory in the doorway. “And I get to beta test everyone from now on, right? I’m a really good beta tester. I take all sorts of notes and stuff.”
“You’ll be my number one beta tester,” Corbin agreed, his lips quirking as I approached him with another pillow. “Amy, any more and I’ll be leaning forward.”
“My friends are so going to die when they hear about you,” Tara said, doing another little dance. “When are you and Mom getting married?”
Corbin’s eyebrows rose as he looked from my daughter to me. “Who said anything about marriage?”
“That’s it; no more Florence Nightingale,” I said, slapping the pillow over his face and holding it there. “Tara, close the door after you. I have a few things to say to your stepfather-to-be, and I don’t want you picking up any of the bad language I’m about to use.”
Tara looked worried for a moment, then grinned as Corbin, rather than fighting me, made shooing motions with his hands. “We’re gonna be rich! And I’ll have PC Monroe for a stepdad! I’m going to telleveryoneI know!”
I waited until the door was closed before pulling the pillow off his face.
“Just so you know, I’m not actually related by birth to her. She was left by a pack of wolves.”
One side of his mouth twitched.
“Now, on to more important things.Whosaid anything about marriage?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.
He raised a hand. “I did?”
“That is correct. I will allow you to live.”
“Good, because there’s something I need to tell you.”
I smoothed a strand of hair off his forehead. I’d managed to clean most of the blood off of him, but he had been given strict instructions neither to get his six stitches wet, nor to do anything strenuous that might open the gunshot wound.
