Page 112 of Doctor’s Forbidden Match

A burst of laughter carries over from the others farther down, and we break apart at the sound, both of us breathing hard.

“I’ve dreamt of that for weeks.”

“Me too,” I breathe out, his forehead resting on mine.

“Hannah.” Brooke’s voice calls from afar. “We’re heading back.”

We pull apart reluctantly. I’m still a little dazed, my crutches forgotten under one arm, my heart still racing from everything we just said out loud. Zac keeps hold of my hand, like he isn’t ready to let go yet either.

“Come on,” he says, tugging me gently back toward the group.

I let him lead me, matching his slower pace without him having to ask, my mind still catching up to the fact that he said it. I love you. With nothing but truth behind it.

Everyone’s gathered back at the house. Emmett suggests a bonfire, and soon, Jameson and him are gathering wood, while Brooke sits on a log, watching them, clearly delighted with herself about something.

As we sit around the fire, Zac pulls me down next to him on a blanket, crutches stacked to the side, and I lean into him, his arm around my waist, my back against his chest. I could stay exactly like this for the rest of the night.

“So, what’s the plan, Hannah?” Jameson asks, poking the fire with a stick. “You’re heading back to LA?”

“Next week,” I confirm. “Then I have a new series in Beacon to host.”

“Oh, nice, and you?” Emmett asks Zac. “Back to cutting people open and repairing bones?”

“Hopefully,” Zac says. “Still waiting on the investigation to close before anything’s official.”

“It’ll close,” Jameson says confidently.

Zac’s hand tightens slightly at my waist, and I lift my chin to look at him. There’s tension pulling at his features from his life still being entirely up in the air.

“It will,” I say quietly, just for him.

He looks down at me, easing slightly.

Nobody pushes the subject further, and the conversation drifts into easier things. Brooke’s work, Emmett’s terrible fishing luck, and a heated argument over groceries.

I laugh more than I have in days, tucked against Zac’s chest, his fingers occasionally tracing absent patterns against my hip like he’s not aware he’s doing it.

Later, when people start packing up and the fire dies down, Brooke takes one of the spare rooms in the cabin, not before whispering in my ear that if I don’t go for him, she’s going to kill me.

“So,” I say as Zac closes the door to his room behind us. “Earlier, we told each other we love each other.”

“We did.” He steps closer, his hands finding my waist. “I know it won’t be easy. The investigation’s not over. You’re leaving in a week. I have no idea what my life looks like.” His thumb brushes my chin. “But none of that changes what I said out there.”

“I know.” I drop one crutch to rest my hand against his chest, right over his heart, still beating fast. “It doesn’t change it for me either.”

He bends forward, lifting me into his arms. I’ve missed him carrying me.

The other crutch drops to the floor, and he kisses me breathless.

Chapter 37

Zac

I lower her to the mattress. We can’t be too loud; the cabin is small enough that any sounds will carry straight through the walls. But the need burning inside me has me reckless. I’m entirely done waiting. I’ve wanted this for way too long.

Our mouths join in a hungry and desperate mix of teeth and tongue that confirms what we’ve finally admitted to each other. She’s here. I love her. This is actually happening.

A wave of possessive heat hits me as I tear at her clothes, flinging her top across the room until it lands somewhere on the floor. I slide her shorts down her legs and toss them aside too.