Lacey screamed her frustration. It was better than crying, which was what she wanted to do. According to her therapist, her physical therapy was going wonderfully well. She was young, healthy, and in excellent shape. That didn’t negate the pain and frustration, though. Never again would she take for granted being able to walk with ease, much less run.

There was still the possibility of needing more surgery. And there was also the possibility of a permanent limp. Telling herself she was lucky to be alive, lucky she hadn’t lost a limb—all those it-could’ve-been-worse scenarios went only so far. At the end of the day, she was still a woman on crutches, and she was pissed.

“You’re the only woman I know who can be beautiful and angry at the same time.”

She glanced over her shoulder and glared at one of the biggest reasons for her frustration. “Then you haven’t known many women.”

“Oh, I’ve known my share.”

She turned back around, her hands gripping the rails so tight she thought they might break. She wanted to throw herself into his arms. She wanted him to kiss her until she couldn’t remember her own name. She wanted him to love her.

“Why are you here, Kingston?”

“You won’t return my calls or texts. I’ve been barred from visiting you like I’m some sort of creep.”

“And yet here you are.”

“Tell me what I’ve done, Lacey, to make you hate me.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she was glad he couldn’t see them. He’d know the truth then. That she hadn’t stopped loving him. Would never stop. But things were different now.

“You haven’t done anything. And I don’t hate you.”

“Then why don’t you want to see me?”

Anger replaced the self-pity. She lowered herself into a wheelchair and whirled it around as fast as she could. “The question is, why do you want to see me?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I want to see you because I care about you.”

“Really? Why now?”

“What the hell?” Golden sparks of fury gleamed in his brown eyes. Eyes she could easily get lost in and never want to return.

She pushed herself forward until she was right in front of him. “For almost a year, you’ve pushed me away, making excuse after excuse for why we can’t be together. Showing up when you wanted to, but leaving without a backward glance when you got your fill. And now that I’m injured, you want to see me all the time.”

“Is that what you think I’ve done? Walked away without a backward glance?” Leaning down, he gripped the arms of her chair and stopped within an inch of her face. His nose almost touching hers, he growled, “Every damn time I leave you, something inside me dies.”

“Then why—”

“Because I’m too damn old for you, Lacey.”

“You’re not any younger than you were before, but somehow now you can’t stay away from me. Is it because I may be disabled?” Tears sprang to her eyes, and she was furious with herself for showing her vulnerabilities, but when it came to this man, she was a mass of emotions.

“First of all, you’re not disabled, nor are you going to be. And secondly, just what kind of rat weasel do you think I am?”

“Then, dammit, tell me, Kingston. Why have I suddenly become irresistible to you?”

“Have you thought that maybe it’s because I realized that age is a trivial thing compared to living without you?”

“What?”

He went to his knees in front of her. “When I got the call that you were injured, I was thousands of miles away from you. I’ve never felt more helpless in my life. Not knowing if you were alive. Not knowing if I’d be able to get to you in time. I had hours of travel time to relive every moment we’ve spent together, and one thing became abundantly clear. If I ever got the chance to be with you again, I was never going to leave you.”

“And it’s not because—”

He pressed a finger to her mouth. “Lacey, sweetheart. Whatever your legs, arms, or any appendage you have can or cannot do is not why I love you.”

“You love me?”

“From the moment we met.”

She threw her arms around his shoulders and held him tight. Wyatt closed his eyes again, this time in relief. He had almost messed everything up by being so damn stupid.

“Can you ever forgive me?” he asked.

She pulled away to beam at him. “If you can forgive me for being such a bitch to you.”

“We’ll call it a draw.”

“Deal.”

He kissed her then. The way he’d been dreaming about for what seemed like forever. Ever since he’d met her, he had felt the need to be careful, to not show her how much she meant to him. What a damned stupid fool he’d been. But not anymore. From now on, this beautiful, wonderful, incredible woman would know, every moment of every day, how much he loved her.

The kiss was sweet and then so passionate and deep they both lost their breath. Lips devoured, tongues tangled, and fire burned.

“Um,” she gasped against his mouth. “Think we should go somewhere a bit more private?”

The need to be with her in every way possible was the only thing that enabled him to pull away from her and stand. He glanced around the room, more than a little shocked that there were several people in the room with them. He’d been so lost in her, his surroundings had disappeared. Though the other people were doing their best to give them privacy, he saw more than one surreptitious glance.

“Where to?”

“I’m staying at my mom’s for a while.”

He glanced down at her. “I need to be with you.”

Loving the pink glow on her face, Wyatt laughed. Seeing his bold and courageous Lacey blush made his heart literally leap for joy.

“Wherever you want to go,” she whispered.

Dropping one more kiss on her lips, he walked around to the back of her wheelchair. Leaning over her, he growled in a low, soft voice, “We’re going to my hotel room, where I’m going to make love to you until we can both barely move, and then…”

She tilted her head back to look up at him. “And then?”

“I’m going to start all over again.”

“I love you, Wyatt Kingston.”

“You’d better. I’d hate to be asking a woman who doesn’t love me to marry me.”

“Are you asking?”

“Oh yeah, I’m asking.”

“Then I’m saying yes.”

“Your brothers are going to kill me.”

“No, they won’t. They want to see me happy.”

“Then they’ll love me because I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure that happens.”

“Wyatt?” she whispered. “Push faster.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Their hearts full, they sped down the hospital hallway toward a bright, beautiful future.