The repetitious beeping is the first thing I hear and recognize. The sound of machines is something I’ve come to know for years, but I’ve never been the one attached to them. I can feel something on my face and know that it’s the ventilator I’m hearing.

Whispers echo, and I know I’m not alone. A soft hand wraps around mine, and I squeeze it back.

“Evan.” Emily’s voice is gentle, sending warmth through my body. She’s okay. “Can you hear me, baby?”

I squeeze her hand again. The medicine is wearing off enough to listen and respond to demands, but my eyes are too heavy to lift.

“Is he waking up?” I hear a man’s voice I don’t recognize, which makes me twitch with concern.

“Evan, sweetheart,” my mom’s soft voice whispers in my ear. “We all love you, okay?” Her cool fingers squeeze my hand, and I squeeze back. “I think he can hear me.”

“It’s not uncommon for people going in and out of consciousness to be able to hear their surroundings,” Emily explains. “He just might not be able to respond until more of the medicine wears off.”

I don’t hear the rest of the conversation and slip back into sleep.

The beeping pulls me back to reality, but I have no idea how long it’s been since the last time I woke up. I try opening my eyes, and this time, they crack open just enough to see the sunlight beaming through the window.

“Well hey there, stranger.” I turn, and Fiona’s standing next to me with a chart in her hands. “You’re lookin’ good.”

Nodding, I give her the smallest of smiles. I’m still drowsy, but I don’t want to close my eyes again until I know where Emily is and that she’s safe.

The breathing tube is still in place. I look around the room, shifting my eyes from side to side.

“I sent her home to get some sleep,” Fiona tells me, knowing that’s who I’m looking for. “She’d been here for five days straight, and it wasn’t healthy for her. She’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

I furrow my brows, wanting to ask how Emily is and as if Fiona can read my mind, she answers.

“Her and the baby are fine.” She smiles warmly.

The baby? My eyes widen in response, but I drift back to the darkness before she can explain.

When I feel someone’s palm on my cheek, I reach up and place my hand over it, hoping it’s Emily.

“Evan.” Her small voice is music to my ears.

I peek up at her and smile. The tube has been removed but the oxygen line under my nose is still in place.

“Hi, baby.” My voice is weak and gravelly, my throat dry and sore, but I’m just so relieved to see her that I don’t care.

“Hi.” She chuckles. “I was hoping you’d wake up today. They’ve been decreasing your medicine for the past eight hours and finally took you off the ventilator.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, gripping her hand.

“I am now.” She exhales, and I notice the dark circles under her eyes. “I’ve been anxiously waiting.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” I bring her hand to my lips and press a soft kiss to her knuckles.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, babe. You saved my life.”

“I’d do anything for you, Emily.”

Her eyes tear up, and soon, they’re falling down her cheeks.

“I know.” She wipes her cheek and smiles. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Kinda. The last thing I remember is taking Richard to the ground, and then you leaning over me. I remember feeling a lot of pressure on my chest before things went black, and then I woke up in here.”

“He stabbed you,” she explains, the horror on her face telling me everything I need to know. “The cops arrested him, and the paramedics rushed you to the ER. You went right into surgery, and to prevent infection or complications, they kept you ventilated.”

She saw everything and knew exactly what to do in order to contain the wound. Thank God she acted right away because we both know I could’ve easily bled out from a stab wound.

“You also hit your head pretty hard on the concrete when you fell backward, so they’ve been monitoring you closely for a week.”

“A week?” I gasp.

“Yeah,” she breathes out. “Longest week of my life.”

“Come here.”

She moves her body closer so I can kiss her lips. “You saved my life, too.”

“I only wish I could’ve prevented it in the first place.” Her pained expressed causes my heart to race. None of this is her fault, and I know she feels guilty, though she has no reason to. Richard deserves all the blame, and I won’t let her think otherwise.

“Losing you would’ve destroyed me,” I tell her sincerely. “I’d take a knife or bullet for you any day of the week if that meant keeping you safe.”

She lowers her eyes and swallows as she continues to squeeze my hand. “I really thought I was going to die. In those moments, I could only think of you and what this would do to you and how I never told you how I really felt.”

I smile up at her, remembering those three words she whispered to me. “So tell me again,” I encourage, desperate to hear them.

“Again? You heard me?” Her eyes widen in surprise.

“I don’t remember much after falling to the ground, but I remember your voice. It’s what I held onto because I wasn’t ready to leave you either.”

She laughs between sobs, and I hadn’t realized she was crying again. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.” I bring my thumb to her cheek.

“I love you so much, Evan. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life than those words, and I hated that I hadn’t told you sooner.”

Hearing her say that brings so much joy to my heart that if I weren’t just recovering from surgery, I’d pull her into this bed with me and make love to her all night long.

“Good,” I say. “Because I’ve been in love with your sassy mouth and red heels since the moment I laid eyes on you.” I flash her a cocky grin. “I just didn’t know it yet.”

“Well, aren’t you smooth?” she teases, leaning over and pressing her soft lips against mine.

“Don’t need to be when you’ve already got the right girl.” I wink.

“Glad to see nothing’s changed,” Emily mocks with a smirk.

“Just my dignity.”

Emily snorts, shaking her head.

“Knowing someone’s been changing out my piss bag for the past week really questions your manhood.”

“Always the prideful poet.” Emily snickers.

“Look who’s up and talking,” Fiona says, entering the room with my chart in her hand. “You’re looking much better.”

“Thanks,” I respond. “How’d you get to be the lucky one to take care of me?”

“I fought off some of the ICU nurses,” she teases. “But mostly, I’ve just been checking in on you so I could give updates to everyone in the ER. They all miss you.”

“I miss you all too. I’m surprised Veronica didn’t fight you for the position, though.” I laugh, knowing how protective Veronica can be.

The room goes silent, and I notice Emily’s eyes lower with sadness.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” Veronica and I have worked together for years, and I’d be distraught if anything happened to her.

Emily shakes her head, and Fiona busies herself as Emily tries to explain. I hear her words, but they aren’t making sense. Veronica would never betray me like that. Even though I kind of figured she wanted more than just a friendship, I never once implied that the feelings were mutual.

“I can’t believe this,” I say, completely stunned once Emily tells me everything.

She squeezes my hand, and I can tell she was just as shocked to find out as I am.

“So what’s happened to her now?”

“They arrested her, and charges are pending for being an accomplice to my kidnapping, though according to Richard, she propositioned him to kidnap and kill me, so the prosecutor is pushing for an attempted homicide charge.”

“Jesus,” I mutter, shaking my head in disbelief. “And what’s going to happen to Richard?’

Emily rolls her eyes, and I know she’s been dealing with a lot more than just me this past week. “His attorney is pushing for an insanity plea.”

“Bullshit.”

“I know, but don’t worry. The prosecutor will fight hard for all of us since we have documentation on everything he’s done to me the past year, including the restraining order that he continuously broke even though he knew the restrictions.”

“Justice will be served,” I tell her. “That I believe.”

“Can we come in?” I hear the same male’s voice from before, and when Emily faces the door, she waves him in. “The Bishops are here, too,” he adds.

“Yes, come in,” Emily says. “He’s awake now and talking.”

My mother barrels in and immediately wraps her arms around my neck. My father comes to my side and cups his hand on my shoulder.

“Hi, Mama. Hey, Dad.”

“Son.” My dad nods. “Glad to see you’re awake.”

“Me too.” I grin.

“I’ve been so worried about you. Thank God you’re okay. I’ve had the entire church praying for your recovery.”

I smile. “Thanks, Mama. I’ll be fine.”

“You scared the dickens out of me! Don’t do that to me again,” she scolds, patting my cheek.

“Evan, I want you to meet my father.” Emily grabs my attention to the man standing next to her. “He came a few days ago.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” I hold my hand out as far as I can, and he graciously takes it.

“The pleasure is all mine.” His voice is deep and rough, but I hear the sincerity in his tone.

I’m surprised how much Emily looks like him. They share the same dark hair and facial features. From what she’s told me, they’re pretty close, and it’s evident in the way he looks at her how much he loves and cares for her.

“I wanted to come here and personally thank you for saving my little girl’s life. I know, given the circumstances, we both could’ve lost her that day, and I’ll forever be grateful you came to her rescue.”

Looking at Emily, my heart pounds harder hearing the truth in his words.

I love her so much, and if the opportunity to tell her would’ve been taken away from me, I would’ve been even more devastated. I’m not going to take being able to tell her how I truly feel for granted.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” I tell him truthfully.

Fiona enters the room and informs us I can probably go home in a couple of days, which is a goddamn relief. Any longer and I’ll go stir-crazy in here, but I know it’s all procedure.

My parents leave for the night, but I know they’ll be back before I get discharged. I’m sure they’ve been giving updates to the rest of the family, and when Emily hands me my cell, I see dozens of messages and voicemails.

“Well, I’ll let you get some rest and head back to my hotel,” Dr. Bell says. “I’ll stop in before I head back to Houston,” he tells Emily. “I love you.” She hugs him before he turns away. “Oh.” He stops and spins back around. “Congrats. I’m happy for the both of you.” He winks at us before walking out and closing the door behind him, so it’s only Emily and me.

“Congrats?” I ask puzzled. “What’s he talking about?”

“Well—” she begins, then stops when I interrupt her.

“Wait…” I rack my brain as the memories surfaces. “I remember.” I look up at Emily, and a wide smile spreads across my face. “We’re having a baby.”

She nods and bursts into tears. She covers her mouth, trying to hold them back, but I don’t want her to. Reaching for her hand, I pull her closer until her forehead is against mine.

“I didn’t think I’d ever feel this kind of happiness in my lifetime, but you continue to surprise me, and every day, you make me happier and happier. I had no idea what true happiness felt like until you came into my life and showed me. Now that you’re carrying my baby, I’m pretty sure my heart might burst.” I cup her cheeks and press her mouth to mine, tasting her salty tears on my lips. “I love you and our baby so fucking much. Don’t ever doubt that for a second.”

“I’m so relieved to hear you say that because I’ll be honest and say I was mildly freaking out at first. Then before I even had the chance to tell you, Richard grabbed me, and when he stabbed you, I thought for sure the opportunity for us to be a family had been taken away. I don’t ever want to take that for granted again.”

“I remember your words,” I reassure her. “I just didn’t grasp them until now.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? That we’re ready?”

I smile and look into her gorgeous green eyes. “Never been surer of anything in my life as long as it’s with you.”