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Speaking in a raspy voice, I asked, “How long have you been here, Colt?”
Smiling, he placed his hand on the side of my face and rubbed his thumb gently across my skin.
“You’ve been here at Brackenridge for four days.” Glancing up at the clock he looked back at me. “Five days actually.”
Swallowing, I closed my eyes, then opened them again. “You look so tired, Colt. Have you slept?”
Leaning over, he brushed his lips against mine. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Everything is fine now that you’ve come back to me.”
Smiling at him, it felt as if my heart was going to burst in my chest. This man, who I loved so very much, had stayed by my side the entire time. He was indeed the tick to my clock. My everything. “I’ll never leave you, Colt. Never.”
Colt started to walk away when I called out. “Wait. Don’t call anyone yet. I just want you to hold me. There was a moment when I felt like I was slipping away from you, but I closed my eyes and pictured you holding me. I could feel your warmth spreading through my body, pulling me to you.”
Colt quickly walked over as I attempted to move myself over some. Crawling into the bed with me, Colt moved tubes out of the way as he pulled me closer to him.
Gently kissing me on the forehead, Colt began to talk. “For a few minutes there I thought I was going to lose you, Lauren. I’d never felt so empty in my entire life.”
“I’m so sorry I scared you, Colt.”
Pressing his lips to my head, he said, “Sweetheart, I love you. Marry me, Lauren.”
Wait. What did he just say? Oh. My. Glitter. Pressing my lips together to contain my excitement, I slowly smiled. “What?” I asked in a whispered voice.
“Marry me. As soon as you get better and get out of here, let’s go off somewhere and get married. Let me make you mine. I don’t want to waste another minute, another second, in this life without you.”
I tried to absorb what Colt was saying. “You want to get married? What about school?” Then it hit me. Colt had been by my side this last week; that meant he must have missed a football game and practices. “The game?”
Colt’s head flinched back slightly. “The game? Lauren, this isn’t a game. I’m serious, I want to get married the moment you get out of this hospital and get your strength back.”
I began to blink rapidly in an attempt to hold back my tears.
Colt wants to marry me. Oh my. Mrs. Colt Mathews. Mrs. Lauren Mathews. That sounds so good. I feel like I should start practicing writing it down or something. I need paper right away.
“Lauren? Um, your silence is kind of scaring me.”
My body felt on fire as my stomach dipped and my heartbeat increased. Colt wants to marry me. Grinning, I looked into his eyes. God those blue eyes were able to drown out everything else in the world when I looked into them. “I know it’s not a game, I meant your football game, you missed it.”
Colt’s expression changed for one brief second before a grin spread across this face. “Nothing else matters to me except for you, Lauren. Football, school, ranches, none of it matters. As long as you’re by my side, I’ll forever be happy.”
Feeling the tear slide down my face, I sucked in a shaky breath. “There is nothing more I want than to become your wife, Colt.”
Leaning over, Colt pressed his lips against mine. His tongue ran along my bottom lip, asking for entry and I gladly gave it to him. Letting out a soft moan, I was quickly lost in Colt’s kiss. His love for me felt as if it was pouring into my body and I was already feeling better.
The door to my hospital room opened and someone cleared their throat. Pulling back some, Colt whispered against my lips. “Our secret for right now?”
Nodding my head, I wiped my tears away. “Yes.”
“Ms. Reynolds, I see you’re awake.”
Peeking over to the nurse, I smiled. “Yes ma’am.”
Walking over to me, she gave Colt a polite smile as he crawled out of the bed. “Let’s see how that fever is, shall we?”
Nodding my head, I let go of Colt’s hand and kept my eyes on him as he took a few steps back. When he winked at me, I felt my insides melt and my face flush. That crooked smile of his was driving me mad with desire, even though it felt as if I had been in a train wreck. My body was aching and my head hurt with a dull headache.
Smiling, the nurse nodded her head. “Your fever is down to one hundred. That’s amazing, considering it was one hundred and five the other day.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? Wow. That’s really high.”
