AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s great news,” Jo says.
“What can we do for you?” Wade asks.
I scratch my beard. “Could you just say goodbye to everyone for us and wrap up at the venue? I don’t think we’re going back there.”
“Should I cancel your hotel reservation for tonight?” Agnes asks.
Right, I totally forgot about that. “Yes,” I say with a quick nod. “We’ll go straight home when she’s discharged.”
They each hug me in turn, telling me to pass along their well wishes to Jane. When they leave, I go back to her room. I feel a swell of relief when I see her. Most of the rash is gone, and the usual flush has returned to her cheeks.
“You kissed me,” she mutters as soon as I approach her bed.
I swallow hard, shoving my hands in my pockets to prevent them from doing something stupid, like tilting her chin up so I can kiss her again. “I did,” I say.
“Why?”
This is it. I have to tell her. “I love you, Jane. I have for a while now.”
Her forehead wrinkles. “You do?”
I nod, sitting down on the edge of her bed. “I do. You’re the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s like I wasn’t truly living until you came into my life. You changed everything. You changed me.”
I stare down at the sterile floor, waiting for her to answer. There’s a ninety-two percent chance that she’ll reject me, by my calculations, but who knows?
“But . . . I love you too,” she says.
My head jerks up. She’s frowning, and I can see in her eyes that her mind is reeling as much as mine is.
“You do? You’re not pretending anymore?” I ask, my heart accelerating with each passing second. There was a miniscule part of myself that knew she felt the same way. I saw it in her eyes during the ceremony, felt it during that kiss, and sensed it from the way she looked at me. But hearing her say it out loud has just given me the best two seconds of my entire life.
“No,” she says, a slow smile building on her face. “I’m not pretending. But I thought you didn’t want—”
“Like I said, things changed.”
“Yes, they do.” She nods. “Does that mean I get another kiss?” she asks, cocking her head.
“I believe I can make that happen,” I say with a smile. Leaning forward, I capture her mouth in a single, soft kiss that makes her grin against my lips.
She pulls back slightly to whisper, “I want more,” and I oblige.
That single kiss turns into a thousand, and in that moment, I realize everything they say is true. My wedding day has been the best day of my life. Hands down.
Jane loves me. And I love her. Everything is so perfect right now, I can’t bring myself to ruin it. I tried to talk to her when we woke up this morning, but I chickened out. Just like I didn’t feel it was the right time at the hospital, it’s not now either. Not when we’re basking in wedding bliss and reveling in our newfound profession of love. Finally, I have everything I need. I'll tell her tomorrow, I promise myself, assuming guilt hasn't eaten me alive by then.
“Are you all right?” she asks, placing our breakfast plates into the dishwasher after a scrumptious meal of French toast.
I take a deep breath. Maybe I should just come clean now. But just when I open my mouth, the doorbell rings.
I check the app on my phone and see Max’s face in the camera. He’s shaking a manilla folder. As I close the app, my pulse quickens.
“I’ll go get it,” I say before bolting to the corridor. I open the front door only halfway, sticking my head out.
“Whoa. Bad time?” Max teases, hiding his face with the folder. “I should have known better than to interrupt newlyweds the day after their wedding.”
“Then why did you?” I grumble, not hiding my frustration.
“You missed one signature on the contract with the Dune Investment Group.”
