Amy counted the square white tiles of the ceiling and squinted away from the bright lights. At first her voice seemed nonexistent, and her mind wouldn't do more than count. There were two light bulbs in the florescent overhead. She could count her heartbeats. She realized that she wasn't in the field anymore.

She jerked up and people in white uniforms rushed toward her. As she shifted left, she saw Lucio's brown eyes and strong shoulders beside her and, in that moment, she could breathe easier. "Where am I?"

Lucio sat straighter.

The woman in the white nurse's uniform stepped in her line of sight as she placed a stethoscope on Amy’s chest. "Welcome back, Amy. Nice to see that you’re waking. Let me take your vitals."

Amy didn’t have the energy to say anything more.

For a few minutes, she let the nurse do whatever she wanted, but once she moved and Amy had clear sight of Lucio, she felt better.

The nurse finished, stepped back, and said, "Everything is good. I'm going to update her chart and leave you two alone now."

Good. Lucio scooted closer so he had to think the same thing. The moment the door closed and she heard the click of the handle, Lucio brushed her hair out of her eyes and leaned over her. "Amy?"

A huge smile grew on her face. She couldn't feel much on her right side, but if she was here, in a hospital near him again, then she'd been saved. "Oh. Thank goodness. You found me."

His expression tightened and she swore he looked scared. He kissed her knuckles on her left hand. "Amy, finding you like that scared me. I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

She wiggled her right side, not that it did much of anything. "From the cast on my arm and leg, I'd say I'm not going anywhere anytime soon anyhow."

"That's not what I mean." He squeezed her hand a little.

No. He needed to understand. She needed to tell him. She swallowed. "I kept praying you'd come for me and you did."

He shook his head, dejected. "I wasn't fast enough."

The last thing he should do was blame himself—she’d invited Suzie to the wedding. She stared into his warm gaze that made her feel soft. "Lucio... I don't think our wedding can go off in that church your mother had planned for tomorrow."

A small smile hovered on his mouth. "We can wait. As long as I know you're safe—but now we'll have to endure a full royal wedding rather than the quick alternative. Please tell me, what happened?"

A full royal wedding sounded like a lot of work, but she'd be with him. She'd be happy as long as she stayed forever with Lucio, but first he had to know that she’d fallen in love. He’d said he hadn’t wanted love.

She sighed and answered his questions. "I woke up in an ice truck that drove away from the palace. I could see through the frozen windows when I woke up and my teeth chattered. Then I was delivered to a hotel."

He nodded and leaned back in his chair that he’d pulled as close to the bed as possible. "We raided the hotel and arrested a few men. I'll need you to identify them—when you are ready."

"I was knocked out at first but when they dragged me out, I saw them." Her heart beat faster. She'd have to do the best she could to change this conversation, but Lucio cared about justice. In high school, she remembered Marco complaining about the teacher and Lucio always tried to take the middle ground and be fair. It was part of the adult version of him. "I remember the four who kidnapped me."

He briefly rubbed his chin. "We arrested five."

Her mind raced to last night, if it was last night. Time wasn't her friend right now, but she recounted everyone she saw. She pursed her lips. "I only saw four. The two who drove the truck and the two who interviewed me. I broke the window and used the fire escape."

She tried to sit so she could tell him about Suzie.

He adjusted his chair to see her better. "We gathered that by the broken glass. You were lucky not to cut yourself! How did you get thrown from a car?"

Now her face felt hot. If she was Lucio, she'd have thought of a better way out. She hadn’t known what else to do when Suzie sped in the wrong direction, but even now, she had no other solution. She closed her eyes to avoid his judgment. "I didn't. I jumped."

"You jumped?" His hand pulled back slightly. She opened her eyes and saw he sat further back in his seat.

She tightened her grip on his fingers. "Suzie was there outside the hotel when I’d escaped the men. Of course, I hopped in her car! She’s my friend—she was my friend. When I got scared, she refused to pull over. Said she was helping them, for money rather than power. Anarchists generally don't have money to pay like that."

"Suzie?" His eyes widened, then he traced her face with a very gentle finger and kissed her cheek. "We'll figure it out, together. Right now, you need to focus on healing."

"You understand that I had no choice?" It was time she told him everything. He had to know. "There is more though. I need to tell you-"

"Relax." He smiled and took her hand. "Amy, don't strain yourself. I'll take care of Suzie. You need to stay calm."

Whatever happened to her kidnappers or Suzie wasn't what she wanted to know about. "Suzie said you spent an hour in Evie's room. Just the two of you."

His gaze filled with concern. "I went there looking for you but it took no more than five minutes. Then I saw Evie in the hospital waiting area. She's worried about you."

She nodded and ignored her stiff casts. She needed his kiss, but she stayed focused on the conversation and not the shape of his lips. "That was my sense too when I confronted her. She said the same man who came to my office went to her and threatened her if she didn't turn over the pictures. I believed her."

He stood. “Drat,” and he let her hand go.

He then listened to her breathing closer. ”You sound on the mend, sweetheart. I should go tell your parents you're awake."

She held out her hand in the air for him to take it back. He didn’t want love, but he had hers. "No. Wait." She knew this was her chance. She swallowed and met his gaze.

"First, I want to tell you that I jumped out of that speeding car because I love you and want to spend my life with you—I didn’t want to die. When I said yes to you, it was to satisfy my parents and their dreams of social climbing. Now I want to marry you because I love you, but I need to know if this is a problem for you."

His expression lightened and he gently kissed her lips. "It's not a problem. Amy, when I saw you in the field unconscious I almost lost my own reason for living. I can't lose you. Not now. Not ever."

"Why?" His kiss was perfect, but she didn’t understand his words. "We hardly know each other. You can't possibly love me."

"Wait? What?" He stared at her dumbfounded.

She pressed his hand to her heart. "I loved you when I was a teenager. You didn't see me then. "We" only started for you a couple days ago. I'm okay with waiting and hoping one day you might love me."

He shook his head. "But Amy-"

"It's okay," she interrupted. One day he might love her—so long as he was okay marrying her knowing how she felt about him. It was enough for now.

He took his hand back. "It's my turn to talk."

True. She stilled and nodded. "Oh, fair enough. I'm listening."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the door behind him flew open. Her mother and sister's voice filled the air, but it was Evie who made it by her bedside first. "Hello? The nurse said Amy was awake and we could sneak in."

Lucio stepped away from the bed. "Come in."

Evie moved the chair so their mom could sit while Evie took a corner of the bed. "Oh Amy, you look pretty beat up."

Her sister’s slightly cold hands checked her sore cheek. She certainly felt like she’d survived a disaster. The dirt must have scraped against her everywhere. Amy let out a sigh realizing even when worried, Evie looked like a model. Amy tried to ignore the comparison and smiled. "Thanks, sis. I feel that."

Evie gave her a small smile. "Your wedding is probably delayed?"

Her mother then added, "I'd say three months minimum if you want to walk down the aisle, but all that matters right now is your health."

Three months felt like forever. She didn't want to wait that long, not now. She turned to Lucio but he inched toward the door. "Lucio, where are you going?"

He returned to her bedside and gazed at her. "I'm going to call my mother while you speak to your family. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Hurry." She saw the white hall and a straight line of rectangular lights and his tall muscular backside as he turned.

He waved and winked at her over his shoulder. "Always."

She couldn’t wait to marry Lucio now that he knew how she felt and hadn’t reacted negatively. One day he might love her too and she could wait for it. Patience was a virtue she had long developed and he was worth it.