Carter

We lay in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms after making passionate love on our first night in our new home in our new bed. A bed that I would only ever share with her. Something had been gnawing at me for the past couple of weeks and I didn’t know how to approach her about it. But, I just decided I needed to get it over with.

“There’s something we need to talk about, Zoey. Something that’s been on my mind for a while.”

She lifted her head from my chest and stared up at me.

“What is it? It sounds serious.”

I took in a deep breath.

“Have you given any thought about your job? I mean, I know you’ve taken a lot of time off since everything that’s happened, and now that we’re settled in here, I just was wondering what you’re going to do. I’m not thrilled with you having to leave and live somewhere else while you take care of your patients.”

“I know.” She pressed her lips against my chest. “I’d been thinking about that also. I love my job, but things are different now. I still want to be a hospice nurse, so I’m going to have to figure things out. Meanwhile, I have enough money saved that I can take off some more time to figure it out.”

“Money will never be an issue for you again. So, don’t worry about that. I have all the money you need.”

“Thank you, my love. But I would like to earn my own money.”

“I understand that. You are a very independent woman.” I kissed her head.

I silently let out a sigh of relief. She was on the same page I was and I couldn’t be happier. While she was figuring out what she wanted to do, I was working out an idea in my head. But I didn’t want to mention it to her until I planned to put things in motion.

****

Three Weeks Later

“It’s good to see you so happy again, Carter,” Ross spoke as he sat across from me.

“Thanks, man. I am happy and it feels really good.”

“How’s that deal coming along?”

“It’s done. I got the call this morning. I can’t wait to run it by Zoey.”

“And what if she’s not too keen about it?”

“I think she will be. But if she isn’t, then I’ll sell the building.”

“You’ll take a huge loss. You paid a pretty penny for that.”

“I’m not worried about it. If I take a loss, I take a loss. I’m pretty confident that everything will work out. In fact, I’m going to pick up the keys now and then I’m going to call Zoey.”

****

Zoey

I was helping Holly at her new shop when my phone rang.

“Hey, baby,” I answered.

“Hello, gorgeous. What are doing right now?”

“Helping Holly at the shop. What are you doing?”

“Hoping you’ll meet me somewhere. Is there any way you can escape for a while?”

“Sure. Where do you want to meet?”

“854 Fifth Avenue. Just let me know when you’re on your way.”

“I can meet you there in about fifteen minutes. May I ask why we’re meeting there?”

“You’ll see when you get here. I love you, darling.”

“I love you too. See you soon.”

“I sure hope that was Carter you were talking to.” Holly smirked.

“Of course it was.” I laughed. “I have to meet him at 854 Fifth Avenue, so I’m going to take off. I can come back after?”

“Nah. That’s okay. I’m doing interviews for the rest of the afternoon. Go meet your man and have some fun.”

When I walked out of Holly’s shop, I saw Juan standing in front of the car.

“Hello, Zoey. Mr. Grayson sent me to get you.”

“I just got off the phone with him. How did you get here so fast?” I asked as I climbed in the back.

“I was just around the corner having lunch.”

Juan pulled up to the curb of 854 Fifth Avenue and I saw Carter standing there waiting for me. He walked over and opened the door.

“Hello, love.” He smiled as he kissed my lips.

“Hi. What are we doing here?” I asked as I stared at the mansion before me.

“Come inside. I want you to see it.” He took my hand.

“Carter, you’re not thinking about moving again, are you? Because—”

He let out a chuckle. “No. We are not moving again. I’ll explain everything once we step inside.”

“Wow. Wow. Wow. This is gorgeous. On second thought, if you really wanted to move…” I grinned at him.

“First of all, this place is way too big, and second of all, Sadie would quit. Anyway, this is something I’ve been working on since we had our talk about your job three weeks ago.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I bought this building with the hopes of turning it into a hospice care home.”

“What?” I turned and looked at him with a shocked expression.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, and with a smile, he spoke, “Listen, sweetheart, I know how much your job means to you, so I want to turn this into a hospice care home and I want you to run it. In fact, the whole thing is yours.”

I placed my hand over my mouth in disbelief. “Carter, oh my God, I can’t believe you did this.”

“Did I do a bad thing?” He cocked his head.

“No.” I smiled as I reached up and kissed him. “You did a wonderful thing.” Tears began streaming down my face.

“Why are you crying, sweetheart?”

“I’m just so happy.”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace.

“So it’s a yes?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s a yes! Thank you so much.”

“Excellent.” He smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you around. It has fifteen bedrooms and three elevators, so we don’t have to worry about the stairs for the patients. The one thing we will need to do is put a ramp outside, which won’t be an issue. We can go over all the other details later. I just wanted you to see it first and hopefully approve of it.”

“Of course I approve of it. But if I’m going to run this place, I’m going to need a partner or someone to help me run it.”

“I have someone in mind.” He winked. “You know what the best part of this place is?”

“What?” I asked.

“It’s only four minutes from home. So, if an emergency arises, you’ll be close by.”

“Carter, I love you so much.” I threw my arms around him.

“I know you do and I love you so much.” He brushed his lips against mine. “By the way, we’re having dinner with your dads tonight at Per Se at seven o’clock.”

“Why do you know this and I don’t?” I arched my brow at him.

“Because I’m the one who called and invited them.” He grinned.