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A deep throaty voice. Donovan. Where on earth had he gotten a phone? ‘There isn’t anything else to say.’ Her breath was caught in her throat and her heart fluttering in her chest. How could he have this effect on her?
‘Yes, there is. I love you, Grace. I don’t want you to walk away like this. I want to talk.’
She felt herself sag against the wall. ‘But...’
‘But nothing.’ His voice was raspy. It must be paining him with every word.
‘I love you, Grace Barclay. I get what you say about the work thing. My first thought when I realised something was wrong was that I might have infected you too. I couldn’t live like that, Grace. And I might be right, but I’m wrong too. I can’t just walk away. I can’t pretend that I don’t think about you every minute of the day. You’re what I want, Grace. You.
‘I don’t care about gossip. I don’t care about talk. I want to protect you. I want you to love working at the DPA. I want you to grow and flourish and for everyone else to see what Callum and I already have—that you’re a great doctor. I don’t want to get in the way of that We can find a way to make this work. There’s always a way to make things work.’
Her brain was whirring, trying to absorb his words. The three little words she’d wanted to hear. The three little words she’d admitted to herself but not said out loud.
‘Grace? Say something. Please. Anything?’
Her heart was fluttering in her chest, the corners of her mouth creeping upwards. He’d said it. He felt it too.
The barriers were down. All bets were off. This was about him and her.
‘I love you too, Donovan.’
There was a cheer in the background from the phone. ‘Who was that?’
‘The nurses. Now, can you come back so I can kiss you?’
‘I think I can manage that.’
EPILOGUE
One year later
THE DREAM HAD turned a little strange. The waves lapping up on the beach weren’t clear blue water any more but something kind of rough and soggy.
‘Casey!’ She sat up in bed and pulled her hand back from where Casey had been licking it.
She turned but the bed was empty, a hollow in the mattress showing Donovan had only just got up.
Things had worked out perfectly. Grace was now a member of Callum’s team. No drama, no gossip. With the director’s blessing she’d simply done a swap with another member of staff.
Casey jumped up onto the bed, trying to burrow in beside her. It was his new favourite trick. ‘Get off.’ She laughed as she pushed him away, noticing his collar had been replaced by a big red bow.
‘What on earth...?’
She pulled Casey onto her lap. He tilted his head to the side, staring at her with his big brown eyes. After a few months of tiptoeing around her, with some disdainful doggy stares and some huffs, he’d finally accepted Grace into the family.
‘Well, who looks very pretty?’ She looked around either side of Casey’s head, her fingers catching on something attached to the ribbon. There was a tag.
She snapped it off and read the card.
Will you be my new mommy?
Her breath caught in her throat as her fingers felt something else attached to the ribbon. Something with a bit of sparkle.
‘Donovan?’
He appeared around the door with a tray in his hands.
‘Casey! You were supposed to wait for me.’
He laid the tray at the end of the bed. ‘I think I’m supposed to be in this position when I ask this.’ He moved down onto one knee next to her side of the bed, his grin stretching from ear to ear as one hand moved over and rubbed Casey’s ear.
He unfastened the red ribbon and laid the ring in the palm of his hand. ‘Grace Barclay, I love you with my whole heart. You’re the woman who can always show me an exit route, and you definitely hold the key to my heart. Will you marry us?’
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, ‘Will you say that in our wedding vows?’
‘That you always show me the exit route?’
She nodded and placed her hand on his chest. ‘And you always light up the dark for me.’
‘I like the sound of those vows. Is that a yes?’
‘That’s definitely a yes.’ And Casey gave a yelp as the two of them rolled over on the bed and landed on top of him.
* * * * *
