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“I’ll arrange for your discharge. Look after yourself, and no more stepping out onto the road.”
“Yes, doctor,” I say, dragging my gaze away from Gabriel, finding the doctor grinning at us both.
Gabriel gathers my things, while a nurse gives me a lesson in crutch walking. It’s a lot harder than it seems. Gabriel chuckles in the corner. “You’re a liability,” he says.
“Why do you think I steer clear of heels?” I say, shooting him a fierce look.
He walks up behind me and grips my waist. Showing me how to move. With his help, I get it in no time.
When the nurse is satisfied, she places me in the chair and goes to find a wheelchair to transport me out of the hospital. I’m not allowed to walk. As promised by Dr Hanson, the paperwork is all signed and letters will be sent to my local doctor’s surgery.
“You ready?” The orderly from the day before says, wheeling a chair into the room.
“Yes,” I say, looking over at Gabriel, who’s been busy fielding emails and answering calls for the past thirty minutes. Guilt overwhelms me. He should be at the office, not here with me.
Gabriel ends his call, before looking up and smiling. “Let’s go home.”
My chest swells at his words.
“Let’s.”
CHAPTER 50
GABRIEL
Icome out of the home office to find Leah sitting on the balcony, staring out over the water below.
“Hey,” I say, coming up behind her and dropping my head to hers, stealing the kiss I’ve been longing for.
“Hey yourself,” she says looking up and smiling. It’s been three weeks since the accident. Her ankle is down, but I’m making her stay at home, much to her frustration. “Rob and Leon both called. They’ve sent you emails but said it’s nothing that can’t wait until Monday. Amanda also called. She and I have gone through the latest press releases. If I didn’t know she loved being your secretary, I’d be worried for my job.”
She may not be in the office, but it doesn’t mean to say she’s stopped working. She and Amanda are working side by side, sharing their two roles to ensure all jobs are done by either one or the other.
I grip her chin and tilt her head, dropping a more passionate kiss on her lips. “You’ve nothing to fear. You’re stuck with me. I don’t care whether you are my PA, communications officer, or bed warmer. I’m —”
She slaps my arm, locking her hands behind my head.
“Is that right? Bed warmer?”
I swing around, dropping myself onto the seat beside her, pulling her into my arms.
“What I meant to say,” I say nuzzling her neck. “Is I don’t care about titles providing I have you in my life.”
“Well, you’re stuck with me and our little bean,” she says, taking my hand and placing it on her stomach.
“I’m not sure he or she is a bean anymore. More peanut sized,” I say, gently stroking where the life we’ve created is growing. Her body changing week by week, highlighting the miracle.
“True, and soon he or she will be a bowling ball. Not that we’re a secret anymore.”
Her accident outed us. My mad, frantic dash and protective response left no one in any doubt something was going on between us. What shocked me the most, was their lack of surprise. The outpouring of love towards Leah and her wellbeing, showed me I wasn’t the only one who saw her true value. I’m the lucky man however she has chosen to be with.
Vince came and saw her, when he heard about the accident, but Leah closed him down. I was privy to their conversation as she met with him here. He didn’t seem surprised when he found out, I was the person Leah was now with. When I walked him out, he told me I was a lucky man.
We stare out over the city below us, a comfortable silence stretching between us. The streets below are still busy, although we get to enjoy the silence being this high up. Important in a city that never sleeps.
Leah snuggles in and I wrap my arm more tightly around her. “Today was crazy. I was hoping to finish early so we could go out.”
She looks up at me, her chin resting on my chest, understanding reflecting there. “Don’t apologise, Gabriel. I know the company and what it demands of you. It’s who you are, and I’ll never ask you to change. The fact you’re even here with me and not at the office is more than I expected.”
