SAM WAS IRATE. I couldn’t blame him, but taking it out on the poor woman across from us was not right either.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Goodwin. I’m afraid you were misinformed.”
“Well, your apology is unacceptable! How can you get a person’s hopes up like that? You’re toying with people’s lives here. Check the computer again. Something’s not right.”
Of course something wasn’t right, and that something was Bryce. Sam was too worked up to realize what I already had.
“Calm down,” I urged, placing a hand on his arm and stroking the tense muscles with my fingers. “You know it’s not true. He did this. We’ll get you retested and everything will be fine.”
Sam’s eyes blazed, a fire so bright and intense I couldn’t bring myself to look away.
His expression teemed with emotion. Unspoken words that conveyed decades worth of love and trust captured me, holding me to that spot, to that moment.
“Let’s do it now.” He turned to Doctor Bronson. “Have me retested, immediately. But we have to keep this under wraps. I want you to handle everything. He can’t have anything to do with this, are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
After that, it only took a matter of moments before Sam was taken into an exam room to fulfill our requests. In another thirty minutes, all of this would be behind us and the wheels would be set in motion.
But first I needed to do something I probably shouldn’t. Sam would be furious once he found out, but he wouldn’t stay that way for long. Especially not now. We were just getting started and there was no end in sight. He’d spent so many years getting us to this point, I was certain nothing could get in our way now. Eventually he would understand and we would bury all of this so it was dead and gone for good.
Bryce wasn’t in his office when I got there, but I remembered what Doctor Bronson said about him having patients this afternoon. I checked the time once more, and then prodded the receptionist to see what I could learn about his ETA.
According to her, he was on his way. I thought it was odd that he had plans to continue with his day as if this morning hadn’t happened, but until this morning, there were a lot of strange things I didn’t know about Bryce.
Impatient to get this over with and worried that Sam would be done at the transplant center before I returned, I headed out to the parking garage in hopes of catching Bryce on his way up here. To my surprise, his BMW was parked in his assigned spot but the car wasn’t running and he wasn’t in the driver’s seat.
I looked around the garage, expecting to see him somewhere. No such luck. Retracing my steps back to the building, I paused and my breath hitched when I spotted him in the quiet courtyard.
Even from this distance, I saw the bruises on his hands and face. He’d cleaned up, but evidence of a fight was still visible, especially in the deflated nature of his posture. With his head down, he sat on a bench beside a manmade pond. It was a serene spot where patients and visitors came to find a reprieve from whatever kept them inside.
I shouldn’t have felt remorse, and maybe I didn’t, but I did feel bad. As ridiculous as it might have seemed, I held myself partly responsible for his unhinging. He broke rules and crossed boundaries, but I truly believed his pain fueled his actions. He needed help and I needed closure.
“Hi,” I whispered as I approached.
Bryce’s head snapped up at my voice and his eyes went wide when they landed on me. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I can say the same for you.” I inched closer, but kept a safe distance between us. If he tried anything crazy, I could easily get away and scream for help. We were out in the open, yet secluded enough to hold this type of conversation.
“It’s a wonder I haven’t been fired yet, or is that why you’re here? You and your boyfriend planning to ruin me?”
Of course he would see it that way, but he wasn’t already being escorted off the property in cuffs and that had to account for something. “Bryce, as much as I probably should, I would never intentionally hurt you. What happens next is up to you. We know you tampered with Sam’s test results.”
He opened his mouth to retort but then clamped it shut again. Shaking his head and looking up to the sky he said, “It doesn’t fucking matter. None of it matters.”
But it did. None of this should be taken lightly and Bryce couldn’t get away with it only to do it again to someone else one day.
“It does matter. This is my mother’s life we’re talking about. She’s the priority, Bryce. I won’t lose sight of that. I might’ve for a while, and I know you certainly did, but no more. This ends now.”
“What if I don’t want it to end?” Hurt and fear registered in the caramel eyes that once breathed new life into me. Seeing him this way wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. When all was said and done, things turned out the way they were supposed to for me, but for Bryce—his reality was a painful one. Maybe I could get through to him. Maybe he wasn’t a total lost cause.
“Bryce, you need help. You’re better than this. There is a good man underneath it all—I saw him. I know he exists.”
“Then why did you choose him?” His tone became harsher and I worried he would get violent the way he had earlier. Something in him must’ve sensed my unease and he remained seated, unclenching his fists.
“There was no choice. I didn’t know that when I met you and I’m sorry I hurt you, but I didn’t mean to.”
His jaw tensed as he stood from the bench. “So, you used me until you didn’t need me. You chose him even though I love you more. I can give you more. We can be happy together.”
He wasn’t getting it. He was still deluded.
I backed away, making myself visible to any passersby. If Bryce did anything stupid, it wouldn’t go unnoticed. I didn’t want to provoke him, but I had to end this. I had to say my piece and then get the hell out of here.
Standing tall, I did not back down. I puffed up my chest and fought through the tears that wanted to break free. “No, Bryce. You’re wrong. While I will always be grateful for everything you did for me and my mother, you crossed the line and there’s no turning back. Get help or I’ll be forced to go above your head and report you. You can’t operate like this. You can’t be in charge of anyone else’s well-being until you take care of your own.”
At that, I knew I’d said everything I could. I’d left it in his hands to make things right for himself, but as soon as I walked away from here, I would inform the hospital board that Bryce was unstable. I couldn’t live with myself if he hurt anyone else. Or if he hurt himself.
“Good-bye, Bryce,” I whispered over my shoulder.
Before he could respond, I walked away. I half expected him to chase me, but was so relieved when he didn’t. He stayed where he was supposed to be from this moment forward—behind me.
I returned to the transplant center with time to spare. Sam met me at reception ten minutes after I sat down to wait for him.
“There you are.” He beamed, rushing toward me.
I stood and opened my arms to accept him.
Hugging me, he rested his chin into the soft spot between my neck and shoulder and didn’t let go.
“You’ve been away from me all of forty minutes. You’re squeezing me like you’ll never see me again. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Mmm,” he moaned into my ear, pulling away and smashing our lips together in a quick kiss. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear that?”
I giggled. His enthusiasm was all-encompassing, contagious. I was responsible for the happiness he exuded. I loved that. And I loved knowing I had a lifetime to keep doing it.
“No more waiting.” I smiled up at him.
“Oh, definitely no more waiting.” He laughed as he reached down to clutch my hand and guide me outside.
Like little kids, we swung our arms back and forth as we exited the transplant center and headed in the direction of the hospital.
The sun shone down on us as if it were smiling—a blessing, a premonition. Mom still had a way to go before she was in the clear and now I also worried about Sam having the surgery. The road ahead was not free of dangers and uncertainties, but I didn’t care what was thrown my way—I was ready. Ready to end Mom’s battle and to start my forever with my best friend.
Euphoria drowned out every other emotion, as well as my fears. With our fingers laced together in a perfect fit, I asked, “We have one more stop to make to put this all behind us, but after that . . . what do you want to do?”
Facing me, he arched a brow and flashed a devious grin. “You know, anything can happen during that surgery . . . complications with the anesthesia, bleeding out, I could—
“What’s your point, huh?”
“There’re so many things I want to do with you now that you’re mine. Some things we’ve already done as best friends; some I’ve only dreamed of doing with you. Every experience will be different now because we’re together and I can’t wait for that. But there is one thing on the tippy top of that list that I’ve been dying to do.”
“Hmm, whatever can you mean, Goodwin?” I bit my bottom lip and tapped my chin.
“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I’ve waited for you to be mine, certain it would never happen.” Sweeping me up into his arms, Sam twirled me around as if I were as light as a feather. In that moment I was. Floating and weightless, I took flight in his declaration of love. “But now you are—you’re mine, London Monroe—and our story starts here.”