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Pearce was giving everyone the rundown on both Justin and Terri when both of their respective surgeons came in and spoke to each family separately.
“Do you want to see Terri?” Pearce asked me.
“Is she awake?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I’ll wait. Her mom and dad need to be with her first anyway. They’ve been freaking out in here.”
He pulled me next to him and we sat there for a while. Justin had some fractured ribs and some other internal injuries, along with a broken collarbone and a messed-up shoulder. Pearce assured me he would be fine. He said if they hadn’t been in the Range Rover and if the front and side air bags hadn’t deployed, they wouldn’t be here right now.
Terri was a different story. While her injuries were still considered critical and she was in the ICU, Pearce said she would be okay too. She’d ended up with a collapsed lung and an injured trachea. But her pelvis and right leg had been crushed. They’d patched her up, but she would have to have a couple more surgeries to get her back in working order.
I gave a bit of a snort and Pearce looked at me oddly.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing she’s dating an orthopedic surgeon.”
He just rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, but he’s gonna be out of commission for a while with that separated shoulder of his.”
I focused on his hands again and got fixated on them. I grabbed them and brought them to my chest. The thought of something happening to him made me cringe.
“What?” he asked. He felt me shudder.
“I don’t think I could stand it if something ever happened to you.”
His finger tipped my chin up. “Hey, I feel the same way.”
I loved being in his arms.
“I need to ask you something,” he said in my ear. His voice was low, throaty and smooth. I felt his breath fan my neck and I wanted to straddle him, kiss him, and rip his scrubs off until he was sitting in front of me with nothing on but his beautiful skin.
“What?” I murmured.
“Did you really mean it?”
I was at a loss. “Mean what?”
“That you’d marry me?”
“Ask again and maybe you’ll find out,” I said with a wink.
In one point two seconds, I found myself seated on my butt facing Pearce as he knelt on one knee in front of me. He laced his fingers with mine and looked me boldly in the eyes. My heart started beating something fierce. It thrummed all the way to my throat.
“Alexia Hammond, would you do me the greatest honor and become my wife, my partner in life, and walk side by side with me for the rest of our days here on earth? I love you more than the air I breathe, and without you beside me, I’m only half a man.”
Doubt filled his eyes, a look I was profoundly shocked to see. This man, who lived and breathed confidence in everything he did, was still unsure of my answer. I jerked our clasped hands toward me and kissed his lips.
“Yes, yes, yes! I will marry you, Pearce Middleton.”
I was in his embrace and his lips were on mine and I barely noticed the clapping of everyone taking place in the room. All I wanted to do was to be alone with him. I wanted him all to myself so I could show him with my hands, lips, mouth, and the rest of me just how much he meant to me.
He shifted and abruptly broke our kiss. His eyes smoldered as he looked at me. I was so moved by him my heart pounded and my breath caught in my throat.
“I’ll always remember how you looked this day, right here, for the rest of my life.” Then he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I’m getting you out of here and taking you home. I need to be with you, really with you.”
“Yes! I do too, Pearce.”
He rose to his feet, then pulled me to mine. When we turned, everyone was just staring at us smiling. They all congratulated us, and we made a hasty departure. My face heated because I knew they had a pretty good idea of what we were up to.
