“Your British accent is horrible.”

“There’s no need to insult me,” she says with a frown. “I’ve been shot for godsake. You’re supposed to baby me and pamper me and bend to my will.”

“I’ve been bending to your will since day one.”

“As if.” She rolls her eyes, then closes them and moans softly.

“Do you need more medicine?”

“Nah.” She smiles, but her eyes are still closed. “I’m just sleepy.”

“Did they say when you can go home?”

“Anytime, I think,” she replies softly.

“Sweetheart, I need you to stay awake for a minute, okay?”

“Okay.” But she doesn’t open her eyes.

I lean in and kiss her forehead, her cheek, her lips. “Wake up, baby.”

“Okay,” she repeats and forces her eyes open. “There you are.”

“Here I am.” I swallow and look at her perfect lips, then into her amazing eyes. Why have I been such a stubborn ass? Why couldn’t I admit before how much I love her? God, I almost lost her. “I love you, Sarah.”

“Wow. These drugs are good. I just dreamed that you said you love me.”

I grin again and kiss her cheek. “I did. I love you so much. For those few moments that I thought I might lose you…it was agony, Sarah. I didn’t want another minute to go by without telling you that I love you because I realize how short life can be, and we shouldn’t waste it.”

“This is a very serious conversation for someone on hard narcotics,” she says, but she cups my face in her hands and looks deeply into my eyes. “But I love you too, handsome. I love you so much that it hurts, and let me tell you, that’s a lot.”

“It sounds like a lot,” I reply and lean my forehead on hers. “Don’t ever scare me like this again.”

“Scared me too,” she admits softly. “I just thought of Hailey and you and Becca, and I knew that I couldn’t leave you guys like this. I couldn’t do that to you. And I just found you.”

“You’re stuck with me, baby.”

“Good. I love you, too. Both of you.”

“Both of us?”

“There are two of you right now.” She giggles softly. “And I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Go ahead. I have you, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter Ten

Three months later.

~Sarah~

“Seriously,” Becca says and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “You didn’t have to get a place with an apartment above the garage just for me.”

“Okay,” Adam says as he walks into Becca’s apartment and sets the last box on the dining room table. “We’ll go back out and find something else.”

“Ha ha,” I reply and roll my eyes. “We want you nearby, and we know that you need your own space, so this makes sense.” I kiss her cheek. “Besides, don’t even try to pretend that you don’t love this place.”

“It’s so cute,” she gushes and squeezes me, then jerks back. “Oh God, did I hurt you?”

“I wish you’d all believe me when I say that I’m healed,” I reply. “I’m glad you love it.”

After I left the hospital three months ago, Adam and I decided that even though it seemed fast, we didn’t want to waste any more time, so we started looking for houses for all four of us. It made perfect sense to take this house in the Garden District that has a full mother-in-law, or in this case a sister-in-law, suite above the garage. It’s actually a one-bedroom apartment, and it’s perfect for Becca while she goes to college and helps out with Hailey.

And I like having her close by.

“I want to see my princess bedroom again!” Hailey says and takes my hand, leading me down the stairs.

The majority of the house is unpacked. All of Adams things from his apartment are moved and put away as well, and now it’s just odds and ends.

And keeping a certain five-year-old entertained and out of the way.

“Actually, I was thinking that we should go to the movies,” Becca says to Hailey, who immediately shifts her attention. “And then maybe we’ll grab some ice cream on the way home.”

“Ice cream!” Hailey exclaims. “Can we go, Mama?”

“That’s a great idea,” I reply and fish in my handbag for cash. “Thank you so much.”

“My pleasure,” Becca says. “Let’s go, rug rat.”

“Yay!” Hailey yells as Becca takes her hand and leads her to her car.

“Hmmm, they’re gone,” Adam says and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him as we walk into the house. “What can we possibly do for the next few hours?”

“Unpack boxes. Organize the kitchen. Hang pictures on the walls,” I reply, then sigh when he sinks his teeth into my neck and bites. Hard. “You know I can’t resist you when you do that.”

“Do you want to resist me?” he murmurs against my skin.

“No.”

“Good.” He turns me to face him and cups my face in his hands. “I want you, right now, in our bedroom. We need to get to work christening the house. We’ll start there.”

“We’re going to christen the whole house today?” I ask with a laugh. “That’s ambitious.”

“No, smart ass, not today. But we’ll get started.” He leans in and plants his lips against my ear. “Now, I want you to go upstairs to our bedroom, get undressed, and lie on the bed.”