Page 14 of Cash (Big Hot Alphas 4)

I try again to speak. Some kind of garbled noise comes out of my mouth. Jesus, my throat burns. I try again, pushing past the pain.

Instead, another voice speaks.

“Dani?”

The second Cash’s voice reaches my ears, my eyes prick with tears. Itishim. Weakly, I try to reach for him. He moves toward me. Takes my hand. Squeezes it. His face comes into better focus, his gorgeous eyes full of love and relief.

“Hi, beautiful,” he says, his voice breaking.

The rest of the room comes into focus then, too. I finally understand where I am. Again, memories of the water come back to me. The ocean. Swimming. Getting stuck in the current.

Then nothing.

“Cash,” I choke out, my voice hoarse.

He moves closer and leans down to give me a hug. I can tell he’s being cautious—I can only imagine how frail I must seem—but it still feels so good to have his arms around me.

It feels so good just to breathe him in.

I get better.Slowly. And even though I tell him he doesn’t need to help me recover, Cash refuses to leave my side. He helps me get better at the hospital in Hawaii; once I’m discharged, he flies home with me.

At my apartment, he demands that I rest while he takes care of everything: picking up groceries, whipping up comfort food, driving me to follow-up doctor appointments, being patient with me when I struggle to do something. At night, he sleeps by my side, his arm protectively draped over me.

The first time he makes love to me after the accident, I break down in tears, because it’s the first time I fully feel like myself again.

After two weeks together at my apartment, Cash flies home to take care of some things. It’s crazy how much I miss him when he’s gone, even though I know I’ll see him again in a couple days. The second he comes back, I jump into his arms, not even waiting until he can set down the bags he’s holding.

“Hey,” he says, laughing as he kisses me. “You miss me or something?”

“So much.”

We share another kiss, then I look at all the stuff he’s brought back with him. Ever since coming back from Hawaii, we’ve talked a lot about him moving up here so we can be together, but we haven’t actually talked specifics yet.

“You pack up your whole apartment?” I tease.

“Just the essentials,” he says. He unzips one bag and opens it up so I can see. “Shirts. Jeans. Shoes.”

“Good choices,” I say.

He unzips another bag. “Work stuff. My laptop.”

“Also good,” I say.

He opens up a third bag and kneels down to dig through it.

“And then there’s…this,” he says, pulling out a small box. Aringbox.

I stare at it, unblinking, as Cash opens it up. Inside is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. But I only gape at it for a second before drawing my gaze to Cash’s eyes.

“I love you, Dani,” he says. “I have for so long. And when I almost lost you again…that was the scariest fucking thing I’ve ever experienced. But even if that hadn’t happened, I’d still be here right now, kneeling before you—because you and I were always meant to be together. Will you marry me?”

I’m already nodding before he gets the question out of his mouth.

“Yes,” I sob, falling into his arms. “Yes.Yes.”

Chapter Seven

Epilogue –Cash

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